In years past, I would have already had pots in my windowsill with tomato or squash seeds. Trouble is, when the little fellows have sprouted, grown a bit and would be ready to transplant, the ground is too cold. If the frost doesn’t get them, they simply languish in the cold soil.
This year, I’ll be patient.
Though I recently saw some tempting seeds on display, I am resisting the urge to plant. I even plant too early in my early spring plantings. Onions will grow with an early March planting, but they’ll grow anytime. I am going to wait until at least March 15 to plant lettuce, onions and maybe a few potatoes. And I’m going to do my best to hold off on my second planting until May 1.
Though the weather may be, and is often gorgeous in April, the ground is still cold.
According to the Horticultural Society, the best temperature range for planting beans is 75 to 85. Beets can safely be planted at 65 to 85. Same with cucumbers. Lettuce and peas both do better at 60 to 75. Squash likes the soil to be 85 degrees, and I am always way early in that regard. The optimum range for tomatoes is 65 to 85.
In past years, I’ll get the tomatoes in the ground early, and while they don’t die, they don’t do anything else, either. They just sit there and sulk.
This year – I swear on a stack of Farmer’s Almanacs – I’ll be patient.