# Last frost date; anyone thinking of planting early this year?



## Dune (Apr 15, 2012)

I have over 100 seedlings I want to put out, but I don't want to lose them to frost. What do you all think?


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## Defiant (Apr 15, 2012)

http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/climatenormals/climatenormals.pl?directive=prod_select2&prodtype=CLIM2001&subrnum to Freeze/Fros

Give that site a shot, we generally wait for the last full moon in May to be worry free. Also it depends on what you are planting.


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## nate379 (Apr 15, 2012)

Still a ft or two of snow on the ground here.  Might start a few plants inside in the next couple weeks, expect we still have another month before snow is gone, ground is mostly dried out and it's not freezing anymore.


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## Defiant (Apr 15, 2012)

Must have a short growing season in Alaska, are you near the Actic line?


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## nate379 (Apr 15, 2012)

No, arctic circle is roughly 300 miles north.  Growing season is around June-Sept, though keep in mind we have near 24hr daylight for much of that.


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## Backwoods Savage (Apr 15, 2012)

I see some of the guys are planting corn here. Usually that is not done until the last week of April or later. Ground should be warmer than iti is right now so early corn sometimes just lays there dormant for a while. Then you pray for not too much rain.  Beets are all in the ground already. Beans have to wait a bit.


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## billb3 (Apr 15, 2012)

My peas are up about 3 inches.
I picked some leaf lettuce this afternoon. 
(just a handful, but it counts ! )
Cauliflower, broccoli and spinach are out . (they can go out early anyway)
Carrots look good this year so far. I tried beets early and have one of those white tunnel blankets over them. The control beet seeds in the greenhouse are quite a bit further along, but at least the ones  outside haven't froze.
I used to always wait for memorial weekend for cold sensitive like tomatoes and squash but will bump up a couple weekends this year.

I've had to water  . 
Except for peas, I've never had anything in the ground this early to water.
Usually I'm fighting the wet trying to get  compost turned in.
Which I tried to do last Fall after the Halloween snow, but the tiller wouldn't start.


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## Defiant (Apr 15, 2012)

billb3 said:


> I've had to water .


The ground is like powder here, No consistancy to the weather, either it pours or it is dry.


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## Retired Guy (Apr 16, 2012)

Put some grass seed down couple of weeks ago. Probably a few weeks early but it was a nice day. Vegetables are still a month away for us.


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## Dune (Apr 16, 2012)

Decided to pull my coldframe out of the weeds and put my tomatoes outside, but in the coldframe. They will get a lot more sun that way.
Picked up a couple loads of well composted horse manure to augment my sand a bit more. Will also be adding about ten- 12 bushel of bio-char and of course I already spread the wood ash. I couple yards of leaf mold will more or less complete the sand augmentation for this year, other than whatever I use for mulch.


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## Ash_403 (Apr 16, 2012)

Yep, beets are coming up, same with the radishes, and sugar snap peas.
I have 20 tomato plants started already inside....just waiting for a few more weeks for those.

(We had two nights of freezing early last week....and I forgot to throw a sheet over my dwarf plum tree..Santa Rosa.  At least about 1/3 of the baby plums survived the frost though.  The early warm weather this year really screwed things up.  It has plums the size of a shelled peanut already.)

Cheers.


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## flyingcow (Apr 22, 2012)

Whats your ground temp? Is it warm enough? I would guess it would be, but I'd check it.


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## katwillny (Apr 22, 2012)

We just put in some lettuce, basil, tomatoes and peppers seddlings in yesterday. today I planted beans in the seeds, carrots beets and sunflower seeds. we should be ok with the overnight frost, the area gets direct sun for most of the day up to 4 pm or so.


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## lukem (Apr 23, 2012)

We had a freeze warning last night, but nothing became of it....only got down to about 36.  I had to cover a few things.  The extended forecast looks pretty good so I'm saying we are done with frost here.


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## save$ (Apr 23, 2012)

You mentioned seedlings. Usually that means "tender plants" as the most other vegetables are direct seeded So if it is tomatoes, peppers, cukes or squash, I would wait a while unless you can provide some row protections like http://gurneys.com/product.asp?splid=SPLID01&pn=2005&sid=0517734&gclid=CLrazsCPy68CFQhN4AodIBwAaw I just put some over my raised beds to keep this rain from washing out my plants. I've seen people cover their tomatoes at night with pails, but that is a lot of work and cost. You said you had a hundred seedlings. If they are tender, I it’s a good bet you will need some protection at some time before the last May moon. But, if you do plant and protect the seedlings, the gains can be huge. I have some tomatoes with fruit forming,(I bought the seedlings and reported them)  and some tomatoes with second leaf (planted under lights, then moved to the solar space). I plan on an early crop for the table and the later one for canning. I am no weather man, but I would have lots of mulch available this year. Don't put it down until the ground is warm, but then it will help keep your watering needs down. I haven't had to water any of my mulched garden areas for the past two years. If your seedlings are plants like cabbage, or most greens, just harden them off for a few days then go set them out. If you set tender plants out when the ground is cold, they can't take up the needed nitrogen, so their leaf color might change, growth and total fruit yeild is stunted. You can help this by giving a liquid foliage feeding that is absorbed through the leaves. This will need to be repeated until the ground warms up. I usually use half strength of the directions and apply weekly.


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## pen (Apr 24, 2012)

I've gotten away w/ planting early in the past, but never found any gain.

For example, If I were to put 6 tomato plants in the ground on the second week of May, then decide the first week of June to add 6 more smaller plants, when it comes time to harvest they were all producing at the same time and of the same size.

Even if you don't get frosted, if the ground and air isn't warm enough to promote growth, it just isn't going to happen.  I vote for waiting.

pen


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## firebroad (Apr 24, 2012)

Pen is correct.  Studies have shown "jumping the gun" in mild weather has no effect on harvest dates.  Most fruiting vegetables are diurnal, and I have found this to be true as well.
Also, even though you have itchy garden feet, try to be patient.  Around my neck of the woods, Mother's Day is the traditional earliest date to put in tomatoes and peppers.  Couple of years ago, I planted on Mothers Day.  Next morning there was a surprise frost, and I had to replant.


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## save$ (Apr 29, 2012)

I have some golfball size tomatoes on some plants I bought a few weeks back.   The plants are growing rapidly and have been moved to large pots and staked up to prevent falling or breaking off.  They are in an unheated greenhouse.  The door is open when the sun is out.  The bees are around.  They fly in and out of the greenhouse and manage to do their thing so we will be getting some fresh fruit long before we normally would be able to.  I have some mesh covers in the garden.  If you can increase the heat, you can beat the clock.  Row covers and cold frames are good ways to add heat without too much effort or investment.


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## Crane Stoves (Apr 29, 2012)

billb3 said:


> My peas are up about 3 inches.
> I picked some leaf lettuce this afternoon.
> (just a handful, but it counts ! )
> Cauliflower, broccoli and spinach are out . (they can go out early anyway)
> ...


 
Awww man, update on how your stuff did through this recent frost? Im so glad i waited now... ill give it one more week then go for it!


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## nate379 (Apr 29, 2012)

I'm thinking of planting some cucs this year.  I don't have time to tend to an actual garden, but a couple pots I think I can handle.  I love fresh from the garden cucumbers.  Don't know why they are SO much better than the store bought ones, but they don't even compare.


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## Dune (Apr 29, 2012)

Forcast is for 32 degrees tonight, here. Hopefully the last one.


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## nate379 (Apr 29, 2012)

Forecast here is talking about mid 20s as a low next week. Brrr haha. Highs are in the 50s at least though, snow is melting pretty good!  And 18 hours of daylight now too.


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## save$ (Apr 29, 2012)

nate379 said:


> Forecast here is talking about mid 20s as a low next week. Brrr haha. Highs are in the 50s at least though, snow is melting pretty good!  And 18 hours of daylight now too.


I've seen cucumbers on full size plants growing in large tubs in another person's greenhouse.  There are a few varieties that will do well in or out.   My space is too small for really big things (8x14) solar gain, attached to the south side of the house.


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## nate379 (Apr 29, 2012)

I think for this year I'm going to buy 3 or 4 decent sized pots and set them out on my patio. I had tried this 2 or 3 years ago but I had set them out in the yard. Well the moose got to them and pretty much ate everything 

Cukes seem to be easy to grow though, I have more or less a black thumb and I can grow them!


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## billb3 (Apr 29, 2012)

doug crane said:


> Awww man, update on how your stuff did through this recent frost? Im so glad i waited now... ill give it one more week then go for it!


 
So far so good. 
Except for the beets, everything I have out should withstand all but  an extended hard freeze.
All the  cold sensitive plants I have are in a small hobby greenhouse. Unheated.
Except for one electric pad heater under peppers.


We have one flowering plant that doesn't like the cold. Fuschia. Normally one throws these out in the Fall, but this one is now 4 years old. Comes in in the Winter. I put a black plastic bag over it and with a little bit of wind  the dog wouldn't go any where near it. Had to put a box over it so the dog would go out. With our luck and her sensitive stomach she'd be a nervous wreck puking all night afraid of the fluttering monster by the back door. 175 pound scaredy cat.


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## firebroad (Apr 30, 2012)

nate379 said:


> I'm thinking of planting some cucs this year. I don't have time to tend to an actual garden, but a couple pots I think I can handle. I love fresh from the garden cucumbers. Don't know why they are SO much better than the store bought ones, but they don't even compare.


Cukes will shrivel up pretty quickly without refrigeration, the ones on the supermarket are bred for keeping, not taste.  Then they coat them with a waxy oil to help them resist shriveling.
I love homegrown cucumbers, but I have to lay off of them this year as well as other cucurbits thanks to an invasion of sqashbugs and cucumber beetles last year.  In the case of the squash bugs, the ground was literally moving with them.  Don't even get me started with the stinkbugs...


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## Crane Stoves (Apr 30, 2012)

I think last night brings an end to this cold snap... im going for it and planting this week! glad to hear your stuff made out OK...


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## nate379 (Apr 30, 2012)

When I had a garden a few years ago I had the fridge stuffed with cukes (I had like 10 plants and just me eating them!) and they seemed to last 2-3 weeks without getting weird.  I was GIVING them away by the sack full to whoever would take them!



firebroad said:


> Cukes will shrivel up pretty quickly without refrigeration, the ones on the supermarket are bred for keeping, not taste. Then they coat them with a waxy oil to help them resist shriveling.
> I love homegrown cucumbers, but I have to lay off of them this year as well as other cucurbits thanks to an invasion of sqashbugs and cucumber beetles last year. In the case of the squash bugs, the ground was literally moving with them. Don't even get me started with the stinkbugs...


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## firebroad (Apr 30, 2012)

nate379 said:


> When I had a garden a few years ago I had the fridge stuffed with cukes (I had like 10 plants and just me eating them!) and they seemed to last 2-3 weeks without getting weird. I was GIVING them away by the sack full to whoever would take them!


Thank goodness for refrigeration, or I would never have enough to can or pickle at one time!


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