Spring Fever

It doesn’t take much to get a gardener’s motors started. Just two consecutive days above 60 degrees usually does it. The forecast isn’t that good yet but my weatherman says that 7 of the next 10 days will have high temperatures in the 50’s. And it should be relatively dry. But it will be below freezing on several of those nights.

Time to plant the tomatoes? Not quite. Many of the things we grow in our gardens are tropical and will not tolerate cool temperatures, not to mention a freeze. In the vegetable world, we’d consider all of the vine crops (cucumbers, zukes, melons) to be most cold sensitive. Tomato, eggplant and pepper will tolerate a bit more cold stress but still prefer temps above 45 at a minimum. So, in Bucks County the vine crops go in about June 1 and the tomato/eggplant/pepper group in mid-May.

So, if you’re itching to plant something, what can you do? Start with hardy perennials. They don’t mind a freeze. All of the fruiting plants such as strawberry, brambles and fruit trees should be planted ASAP…as soon as the soil is fit to work. If you were thinking about planting trees and shrubs in the landscape, now if the time. No worries about cold temperatures here.

In the vegetable realm, think about leafy vegetable crops such as lettuce in a week or two. Onions and shallots can go in then, too. Root crops such as beets and carrots also tolerate early spring weather.

You can enhance the growth of early seeded crops and protect from wind and cold by using cold frames or floating row covers. In addition to cold protection these techniques increase daytime growing temperatures and accelerate growth.

In many areas the soil is still simply too wet to plant regardless of temperatures. Those of us with raised beds have an advantage since they dry out sooner than soil. Never try to work soil that is still saturated. You will destroy soil structure.

So, rake those garden beds, finish pruning fruit trees and shrubs, plant a tree or shrub, start a new compost pile, get a soil test and sharpen your hoe as we wait for planting season.

Pansies have appeared in the gardnen centers and are a great way to liven up a late winter/early spring landscape. They love the cold. Put them in a planter box with potting soil if native soil is too wet.

Lettuce bolting... tomatoes smoking

Lettuce is a wonderful garden crop. Easy to grow. Makes a crop in as little as 28 days. And if you find a good seed catalog you'll find dozens of lettuce types... stuff you don't even see in the stores. Almost nothing bothers lettuce except the occasional slug... and hot weather. The recent heat wave and lengthening daylight periods has caused my lettuce to "bolt". Bolting is the natural inclination of lettuce to form seed stalks under long days and high temperature. So there was a mass harvest in my garden and everyone I know is getting a bag full. Fortunately, I have seeded lettuce several times and the less mature plants are still coming on. Plant breeders have improved heat tolerance in lettuce varieties and this helps. For tips on growing lettuce check out Penn State's nifty fact sheet called growing leafy vegetables.



Some like it hot. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and melons thrive under the conditions we're having right now. You can just about see tomatoes plants grow before your eyes! Even the most tender vegetable crops should be in the garden now. Many gardeners used row covers and other devices to get a jump on the growing season, especially with these cold sensitive crops.



Tomatoes are almost as fool proof as lettuce, but we had a call in the Bucks County Extension office today describing a complete disaster. Twenty-five tomato plants went in... twenty-five are wilting. Same thing happened the previous year. While you will read and hear about Verticillium wilt and Fusarium wilt, these tomato diseases are now a rare occurrence because plant breeders have done a fantastic job breeding for resistance to these problems. So what was up? A quick look at our references came up with a possible cause. Question? Was there a walnut tree growing next to the tomato patch? Answer. Yes. Mystery solved! Walnuts produce a toxin in their roots (as well as leaves and other plant parts) that is deadly to tomato. Doesn't happen often but there it was. A CSI moment. Our web-based tomato fact sheet appear to be under revision but we'll mail you an old fashioned paper copy if you call 215-345-3283 and request it.