Too chilly to plant tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant?

 

When do we plant summer vegetables?

>The soil needs to be warm!

>Night temperature can be a guide to how warm the soil is.

 

 

For night temperature: use a maximum-minimum thermometer, or check the local weather listings.

For soil temperature: use a soil thermometer, or visit the UC Davis weather info site.

Going by the calendar: usually mid to late April for tomatoes, early May for peppers.

 

Why do we have them now?

>Some gardeners like to buy small plants to shift them into larger pots for a few weeks before setting them out.

What happens if we plant too early?

>Tomatoes will sit, discolor a bit, and then begin to grow as it warms.

>Peppers and eggplant will sulk and be stunted all season. Peppers planted later out-perform peppers planted early.

To increase soil temperature:

         turn in organic material and mound up the soil.

         build a raised planter bed

         cover the area with seedling blanket

Or, just wait! We'll have plenty in stock through May.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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© 2008 Don Shor, Redwood Barn Nursery, Inc., 1607 Fifth Street, Davis, Ca 95616
www.redwoodbarn.com
Feel free to copy and distribute this article with attribution to this author. Click here for Don's other Davis Enterprise articles