“Lord, give me patience.
And give it to me right now!”
Every backyard gardener should hang that plaque on their garden fence. If you don’t have a garden fence, there’s no need for the sign because the deer will eat everything you plant and you won’t need patience.
Every early spring, Mother Nature teases us with a few days in the 80s. The birds are singing, and flowers and trees are blooming, but it’s still too early to plant a summer garden. April 15th is one of the earliest approved dates but this year we had upper 30 temps on April 17, so that’s not a given
The old pros advise to wait until May 1 to plant summer crops. From my humble experiences, plants like squash, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and okra don’t grow in cold soil even if it doesn’t frost. I know for a fact that okra likes hot weather, not just warm. They will peek out of the ground as seedlings, feel cool nights and say, “I ain’t doing nothing till it gets hot.” Then they go nuts.”
So, I am still waiting to put a few squash, tomatoes and other summer plants and seeds in the ground. Maybe this weekend?
My early crops, however, are all loving life. I planted a couple rows of potatoes this year and they have finally made an appearance. I know that you can buy a ten-pound bag of potatoes for $5 or so, but I don’t plant taters because of the return on investment. A freshly dug potato (especially the little ones) is unrivalled in taste and flavor. It’s like the difference between eating a filet mignon and a 70/30 hamburger.
The recent rains have helped us backyard gardeners, I just hope we continue to get a little rain throughout the summer. In the meantime, have patience.
