Hmm ok! Our nights and days here still mostly hover around 45/55, it wont' safely go up to the 65s/70s for another month yet. Is it safe to plant them out, still? The wind is also whipping around crazy hard from a group of storms. its going to be a tough year- how do I prepare them for that?Bobberman wrote:Harden them off in the shade and where there is not to much wind! When you plant them try not to disturb the roots too much! Watch out for frost that will be your main problem but you can put a cover over them if that is the case!
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rainbowgardener
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It is a tough year for a lot of us. I still have a bunch of plants in my basement that would have gone out a lot sooner, except for all the storms. But regardless of temps, you can't put seedlings out into whipping winds and expect them to make it. Wind like that is the toughest thing.
Patience! This has got to end sometime, doesn't it?
It is a drag. April in my area is when we would be having beautiful sunny days in the 70's. Instead we've had nothing but dark and cloudy and thunderstorms. By the time it finally lets up we will be into summer weather, having missed most of the best part of spring.
Patience! This has got to end sometime, doesn't it?
It is a drag. April in my area is when we would be having beautiful sunny days in the 70's. Instead we've had nothing but dark and cloudy and thunderstorms. By the time it finally lets up we will be into summer weather, having missed most of the best part of spring.
Oh, I sure hope so!rainbowgardener wrote:It is a tough year for a lot of us. I still have a bunch of plants in my basement that would have gone out a lot sooner, except for all the storms. But regardless of temps, you can't put seedlings out into whipping winds and expect them to make it. Wind like that is the toughest thing.
Patience! This has got to end sometime, doesn't it?
It is a drag. April in my area is when we would be having beautiful sunny days in the 70's. Instead we've had nothing but dark and cloudy and thunderstorms. By the time it finally lets up we will be into summer weather, having missed most of the best part of spring.
I've got the same weather here.It's just really frustrating; I'm worried my seedlings have gone leggy or are heading that way, and then they'll end up doomed. (I've got them by the window during the day, then I put a light I had handy over them in the evenings now to give extra light) because it's been so dark and stormy. I'm thinking about uppotting the Zuccs and burying them down a bit further, so they have a bit more of a support system to work with (I had just set the seed in the soil and let it grow from there. So I stop worrying. I guess the leaf span is just about the same width as the pot, and it'd probably help to get them out of the tiny 4" pots
My lettuce is ready to eat of course I have it in my cold frame and cover it when the weather is really bad! I just put a screen on it now! I have a 100 or more nice onions up. My radish in the cold frames are about ready to eat. I put my spinich plants out two weeks ago and they are about ready to eat! Lots of storms here in Pa. with hell supose to be today and the screen protects from that!
I'm obviously a rookie- whats a cold frame?Bobberman wrote:My lettuce is ready to eat of course I have it in my cold frame and cover it when the weather is really bad! I just put a screen on it now! I have a 100 or more nice onions up. My radish in the cold frames are about ready to eat. I put my spinich plants out two weeks ago and they are about ready to eat! Lots of storms here in Pa. with hell supose to be today and the screen protects from that!
I have onions and lettuces in ground right now thats starting to sprout since it finally got warmer, but not ready to eat yet.
A cold frame is a raised type bed that is covered with a window or plastic during feb where you can start some cold weather early crops! You can do all kinds of things with it since the temp is about 10 or more degrees higher even at night! Usually you make it lower to the ground to get some of the under ground heat. You can as I do add some compost material a foot under the surface for extra heat.
+++Some people actually put a heat wire under the surface to maintain a better temp all winter! a few brick on the inside absorbe some day heat and warm it slightly at night!Lettuce and cole will thrive in this enviroment if done right! Putting some fall crops in a cold frame will all growth all winter! I convert a few of mine to raised beds in the spring just by addind more soil mix! and raising it 6 or more inches! I even leave a few crops in the cold rame to grow all summer! Nothing beter than a cold frame except a greenhouse!
+++Some people actually put a heat wire under the surface to maintain a better temp all winter! a few brick on the inside absorbe some day heat and warm it slightly at night!Lettuce and cole will thrive in this enviroment if done right! Putting some fall crops in a cold frame will all growth all winter! I convert a few of mine to raised beds in the spring just by addind more soil mix! and raising it 6 or more inches! I even leave a few crops in the cold rame to grow all summer! Nothing beter than a cold frame except a greenhouse!
I see- I'm already gardening in 4 4x4 bottomless raised beds- I also have plastic covering (for like a painter when he's painting the floor). if I take the plastic and wrap it around the fence thats around my garden, would that count as a make shift cold frame and wind shield?Bobberman wrote:A cold frame is a raised type bed that is covered with a window or plastic during feb where you can start some cold weather early crops! You can do all kinds of things with it since the temp is about 10 or more degrees higher even at night! Usually you make it lower to the ground to get some of the under ground heat. You can as I do add some compost material a foot under the surface for extra heat.
+++Some people actually put a heat wire under the surface to maintain a better temp all winter! a few brick on the inside absorbe some day heat and warm it slightly at night!Lettuce and cole will thrive in this enviroment if done right! Putting some fall crops in a cold frame will all growth all winter! I convert a few of mine to raised beds in the spring just by addind more soil mix! and raising it 6 or more inches! I even leave a few crops in the cold rame to grow all summer! Nothing beter than a cold frame except a greenhouse!
Anything that protects the crops without too much heat will work! The more soil in your raised bed the better especially if it has a bottom.! Most cold frames are connect diectly to the ground like your raised bed which can also be cold frame! The main difference with a raised bed is its usually more above the ground level and has better drainage unless there is too much clay in the soil!
Thank you, you've been extremely helpfulBobberman wrote:Anything that protects the crops without too much heat will work! The more soil in your raised bed the better especially if it has a bottom.! Most cold frames are connect diectly to the ground like your raised bed which can also be cold frame! The main difference with a raised bed is its usually more above the ground level and has better drainage unless there is too much clay in the soil!
I was thinking about wrapping chicken wire around my current fence, then some extra plastic around that to help keep the animals out (lots of rabbits and squirells, chipmunks, etc. squeezing through the holes in the fence). Perhaps I'll try and use it as a wind shield, too!
As it is, my zucchinis are no where near ready to go out yet, so I'm going to up pot them and hope for the best thus far! Since some of my onions and lettuces are coming up now, I have to wait for them to show themselves so I know where I have room to plant my tomatoes, peppers, zucchinis and lima beans
I have a few tomato seedlings that are leggy. When I put them in the ground I plan on burrying them deep, will I still get a good crop or are they doomed?rainbowgardener wrote:Looking pretty good so far, especially that nice sturdy zucchini.
The question in growing seedlings in a window is always whether they get enough light. Tomatoes are particularly susceptible to getting "leggy" - getting spindly and stretched out as they reach for light.
Here's what you want to watch out for:
healthy tomato seedling:
https://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/Black-Krim-Tomato-Seedling.jpg
leggy tomato seedlings: (had trouble finding a good picture)
https://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt58/achilles1974/100_1215.jpg
I think it depends on how leggy they are. Do you have a photo of them?BP wrote:I have a few tomato seedlings that are leggy. When I put them in the ground I plan on burrying them deep, will I still get a good crop or are they doomed?rainbowgardener wrote:Looking pretty good so far, especially that nice sturdy zucchini.
The question in growing seedlings in a window is always whether they get enough light. Tomatoes are particularly susceptible to getting "leggy" - getting spindly and stretched out as they reach for light.
Here's what you want to watch out for:
healthy tomato seedling:
https://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/Black-Krim-Tomato-Seedling.jpg
leggy tomato seedlings: (had trouble finding a good picture)
https://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt58/achilles1974/100_1215.jpg
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rainbowgardener
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- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
But no, definitely not doomed. Plenty of leggy tomato seedlings, once planted outside, buried deeply do fine. It's just getting them there that can be iffy. When I have had leggy tomato seedlings, I tend to lose more of them in the hardening off process. I'm usually dealing with a bunch of them. They tend to grab on to each other (all the little hairs on the stems and branches cling together), fall over with the slightest breeze, etc. Those long stems are fragile and can easily snap off when going through the being moved in and out to harden off. That's why I try to avoid legginess.
But once you get them well planted, they will be fine, assuming they are basically healthy plants with good root systems.
But once you get them well planted, they will be fine, assuming they are basically healthy plants with good root systems.