I live in upper michigan. Day time temps have been around 70 or above, sometimes high 60s. Night time temps have been around 50s, sometimes 40s.
When they say wait til your ground is warm enough to plant says 60-70s what does this actually mean., since the temps around here change from highs to lows? Sorry, I'm new at this and want to make sure I'm good to plant my corn...
I want to plant green beans and cucumbers and tomatoes but I believe I should wait longer to plant the tomatoes and cucumbers, or am I wrong about the cucumbers and tomatoes???
>>Lol can I use a thermometer the kind you stick under your tongue??
yes. those are usually glass and break easier than a metal probe, but a thermal-bobbiter is just a device to measure temperature.
(well, presuming it has sufficient min-max range...)
>>what time of day . . .
at two inches down, you're not likely to see huge differences between mid-night and 2 pm.
and,,, if it says "wait until the soil is 70 degrees" and you're seeing 69 - like ,,,, some common sense need apply - plant away, close enough.
yes. those are usually glass and break easier than a metal probe, but a thermal-bobbiter is just a device to measure temperature.
(well, presuming it has sufficient min-max range...)
>>what time of day . . .
at two inches down, you're not likely to see huge differences between mid-night and 2 pm.
and,,, if it says "wait until the soil is 70 degrees" and you're seeing 69 - like ,,,, some common sense need apply - plant away, close enough.
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rainbowgardener
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jal_ut
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I have never put a thermometer in my ground.
I base my planting around the average last frost date. If you don't know what that is, Google it. There is plenty of info on the internet.
Early cool weather crops can be planted six weeks before that date. Potatoes two weeks before that date. Corn ten days before that date. Squash and beans a week before that date. Melons on that date. I wait until a week past that date to plant tomatoes and peppers out and to plant cukes from seed.
Of course this sched may change a bit from year to year depending on weather and how the season is progressing.
If the lilacs are blooming you can plant corn, squash and beans.
I base my planting around the average last frost date. If you don't know what that is, Google it. There is plenty of info on the internet.
Early cool weather crops can be planted six weeks before that date. Potatoes two weeks before that date. Corn ten days before that date. Squash and beans a week before that date. Melons on that date. I wait until a week past that date to plant tomatoes and peppers out and to plant cukes from seed.
Of course this sched may change a bit from year to year depending on weather and how the season is progressing.
If the lilacs are blooming you can plant corn, squash and beans.
I am not sure but it could be that the agricultural agency (and land-grant university) in every state has one of these:
[url=https://www.agweather.geo.msu.edu/mawn]Michigan State University and Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station (click)[/url]
The location is not always (ever
) greatly useful for a gardener with a backyard . . . but, it can give you a general idea about what is going on in your soil.
Mid-day is something of a traditional or official time for measuring. But, don't take some of the advice the garden experts have on such things too much to heart. Soil temperature is critical for seeds and for root growth but take into account the experts' above-ground climate and their local constituency. We see examples here of Utah gardeners (arid, high elevation) who could easily make mistakes if they just followed afternoon highs or average daily temperatures or, even, a somewhat consistent soil temperature.
Gardening is local and success takes experience. I dearly love "rules of thumb" but that experience thing is just how gardening is.
Steve's digits, including thumb
[url=https://www.agweather.geo.msu.edu/mawn]Michigan State University and Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station (click)[/url]
The location is not always (ever
) greatly useful for a gardener with a backyard . . . but, it can give you a general idea about what is going on in your soil.Mid-day is something of a traditional or official time for measuring. But, don't take some of the advice the garden experts have on such things too much to heart. Soil temperature is critical for seeds and for root growth but take into account the experts' above-ground climate and their local constituency. We see examples here of Utah gardeners (arid, high elevation) who could easily make mistakes if they just followed afternoon highs or average daily temperatures or, even, a somewhat consistent soil temperature.
Gardening is local and success takes experience. I dearly love "rules of thumb" but that experience thing is just how gardening is.
Steve's digits, including thumb