by Mark Levisay
After waiting all winter and the first part of spring for warmer weather to arrive I know everyone is anxious to go out and plant your warm weather crops, especially tomatoes. Here in central Virginia I THINK we’re past our last frost, but that can vary from year to year. Last year, we had a frost on May 10th capable of killing tomatoes and peppers. In year’s past, we’ve had even later frosts. I know not everyone who reads this is from central Virginia, so I urge you to learn what your area’s average last frost date is, and then carefully watch the long-range weather forecasts. Saturday May 8th will be cool in a lot of areas in the eastern US and depending on your location may be one of the last really cold mornings you have to deal with.
Prepare tomato beds
Even before your last frost date you can begin to get your garden beds ready for the plants to come. I will put up sturdy poles for my tomatoes to climb, and also circuits of soaker hoses to water the plants once they’re in. If you’re past the last frost date and the weather report looks good, it’s time to roll. Tomato and pepper seedlings can go in, as well as warm season crops like beans, cucumbers, squash and melons. Most of these do best if the soil is good and warm, so don’t be afraid to wait a few days to plant if the weather is cool. Some varieties of bean seeds do better in cooler soil-check the descriptions in your seed catalog to be sure. It’s also time to plant warm season herbs like basil.
Stakes and soaker hoses set up and ready for tomato plants.
Care for early crops
There’s also maintenance work to be done on crops planted earlier in the spring. Beet “seeds” are actually clusters of seed and typically give you clusters of seedlings when they germinate. Now is a good time to thin them, and other crops like carrots that may be coming up too close together. Harvest early crops like spinach and lettuce. My spring spinach is now coming in as the fall spinach burns up on the warmer days. Lettuce plants that both overwintered under a row cover or were started under lights this spring indoors have been pickable for a while now, so enjoy lots of fresh salad greens if you have them. It’s probably a little late to plant those crops now, but they do really well in the fall, and through the winter if covered.
Just a quick note about fall planting, which we’ll discuss in more detail later this summer. Most of your local stores that sell seeds at this time of year will return unsold seed to the seed company in mid-summer. If you think you may want to plant vegetables in the fall, buy the seed now, as all of a sudden you won’t be able to find it locally when planting time comes. Most on-line or mail order seed companies will have a good selection of seeds available at any time and that can be your fall back if you can’t find them locally.
Get flowers started
Vincas and profusion zinnias started from seeds.
Most annual and perennial flowers can go out into the garden once frost is past. Garden centers have loads of seedlings for both in stock now, and many can be started directly from seed in the garden. An example of that is both zinnia and marigold seed, which can be saved from your own plants year to year. They’re deer resistant, and usually do pretty well in dry conditions. Another of our favorites are vincas, which can be started from seed, but more typically are purchased as transplants. They grow in either sun or shade and have also been reliably deer resistant. Some seed catalogs have deer resistance listed for various plants, and don’t hesitate to ask if you have a question.
Lawn care
The lawn usually doesn’t need too much work, other than mowing regularly, at this time of year. Keep mowing at the highest setting your mower allows, especially if it’s dry. If the lawn is tall when you mow, try to re-cut any large amounts of grass left lying on the surface, or rake it up and dispose of it in your compost heap. It’s easy for a few clipping to decompose, but you don’t want masses of cut grass smothering the grass trying to grow underneath. If you haven’t applied lime to your lawn yet this spring you can do that now, or any time. If you have weed issues you can spot-treat them with an herbicide designed to be used on the lawn. Make sure to follow the directions exactly, as it can kill the grass if mixed too strong. Avoid Round-UP (glyphosate) as it kills EVERYTHING and will leave your lawn with big brown patches wherever you spray it!
Now go out and get planting! Any questions please e-mail me at marklevisay@gmail.com