Almost April and the ground is very frozen with ice
patches. The culprit is low nighttime temperatures
combined with a lack of full bright sunny days.
It has happened before, and all of us have been impatient before. The most complex science based advice you can
get it -- don’t.
The frost will move up and the weather will be cloudy for a
couple of weeks, so try not to rush anything.
Start seeds indoors and in cold frames.
Prep smaller gardens with black plastic (temporary) to both raise the temperatures
and aid drying. Avoid planting seeds in
wet soil and although some seedlings (greens) can be put in wet soils, most
suffer setbacks and compression effects.
We will be later than we want for the enjoyment of our
gardens, but the price of premature starts is soil compression and runoffs and
stunted plants. The good news is that the end of April is always redemption –
the strength of the sun and the stringing of degree days back to back accelerates
the growth of everything – subject to good soil tilth. Do your peas if you must
(they seem to survive everything) but go easy on the rest until the dirt feels
right.
No comments:
Post a Comment