For the past few weeks, I’ve been feeling really anxious because of the abnormally high temperatures so far this spring. I see all this gorgeous plant life outside in my flower gardens, woods and fields and feel like I’m horribly behind on my vegetable plantings. I’ve had to stop myself from moving up my planting schedules, seeding more outside, or starting seedlings too early indoors. And each beautiful, sunny, warm day, I second-guess myself on the decision to hold firm to my original planting schedule.
Well, it snowed here yesterday, enough to actually accumulate on the ground and not be completely melted until after noon today. And overnight temperatures are below zero for the next couple days, so I have direct proof of why it’s wiser not to jump the gun, no matter how nice it is outside! All my field plantings (cold hardy) of sugar snap peas, salad mix, radish and spinach are fine even after the snow, though they’ll be growing at a slower rate for the next day or two until temperatures go up again.
Indoors, my 500+ tomato seedlings are happy and my brassicas (kale, cabbage & napa cabbage) are germinating well. Soon I’ll need to take a road trip to Burkhart’s Greenhouse to pick up the flats of leek, onion, hot pepper, pepper & eggplant they started for me back in March. Since I don’t currently have a heated greenhouse, I sent my early starting & hot crop seedlings to a heated greenhouse to get started. My summer kitchen isn’t warm enough to start hot crop seedlings until April/May when the sun has more time to warm it up and overnight temperatures aren’t too low.
Hopefully, yesterday’s snow flurries are the last until November!