My plants are coming, now a question..

[btrowe1]

I ordered some plants through a catalog, Just received notice they are shipped. I can't put them in just yet still a bit too cold for peppers and tomatoes up this way.But by mothers day they will be in, the general rule of thumb in Northern NY...

I usually buy from the local growers but I wanted to try a few new varietys that they just don't have, I will still support the locals as this is just a few special plants.

I have tried seed in the past but never have had much luck, My brother has the starting green thumb.

Questions,

What can I expect the plants to look like??

Is there anything special I should do with them besides water and keep in a sunny location? I have a morning/afternoon room that gets alot of sun.

Are these hardened off yet?

I'm sure they will come with instructions but this site is so full of knowledge to tap that it would be a waste not to use this resource..

Thanks as always.
I am so jealous of reading about the southern growers already picking, I'd love to see more pictures..

[mscratch]

cant tell you what shape they will be in as we never really know until they arrive.. sounds to me you are right on target with the sunny room and the watering! lets see what shape they are in before hardening them off.. they may possibly need to be repotted before setting out if they are of a good size and the weather will surely be a factor..I realize the shippers state they will ship your plants at the time of year for your area but sometimes its just screwed up... when the plants arrive you can take it from there!

[jal_ut]

We aren't picking tomatoes yet, although they are forming on the vines. We did have our first bell pepper this week

I am amazed. I can't even plant my tomatoes and peppers out until about May 25. Oh, well I got some of those Texas onion plants planted and they are looking good.

[Duets]

I have about about 19 little maters on the vines so far. 4 whole green beans, lol. The onions have shoots that are growing well. Unfortunately, my one & only little green bell pepper got knocked off the vine while I was putting a cloth over for wind protection earlier this week, due to high winds, ugh. But many more have blooms on them. A few zucchini boy flowers have shown up, now waiting for the girls to join them, lol.
[NV here]

[btrowe1]

The plants arrived, the peppers looked really strong. The tomatoes looked a bit wilted, possibly from the cold weather up this way and being on the trucks.
I transplanted all of them to larger containers since they"ll be sitting for 2 more weeks. Hopefully they"ll get stronger, I used miracle grow potting soil to give them some go go juice.

The shippment came with a few packets of "Jacks Classic" plant food. It's a 20/20/20 thingy. Has anyone ever used this before is this a super type of miracle grow??

I do have a few things in, onions,brussels and cabbage onions look good.

Thanks for the replys, I'll be with you all soon with the rest of the garden when its all in.

[mattie g]

I took about ten days to go through the hardening-off process with my online-bought tomatoes and peppers. I re-potted them in Solo cups and went through the standard process before eventually planting them. They're doing pretty well right now, though they've been asking where all the warm weather went!

[btrowe1]

The instructions shipped with the plants say to use it when I plant them in their final position.

If the stuffs tthat strong maybe I'll use 1 of the Jacks packets on my house plants might fire them up after the winter!!!

Yes I have to agree with you Marlin, I think I did get the cool weather crops right this year, I"ve missed in the past.. I have to say those types of plants are pretty frost tolerant. I've covered my strawberrys the last 2 nights but the others I left open and they still look good..The pleasures of early season gardening..

Thank you for the responses,

[Rabbits2]

The main thing is make sure they get enough light. If the weather is above 40 put them under a tree in the shade during the day! If the nights are above 40 you can leave them out in a sheltered area. If you had a nice cold frame covered with glass it would work if its not below freezing at night! I put up a quick small greenhouse and covered it with plastic and have some of my flats in there!