Early spring time to plant some rugged vegetables
For some vegetables the answer is yes, but be prepared to protect them if temperatures near 32 degrees are predicted. For others, even though our days have warmed up, soil temperatures are not yet quite warm enough for them to grow well.
OK to plant these now
In a typical year, coastal areas in our region can expect the last spring frost to occur about March 30, while inland areas often experience light frosts as late as April 15.
This year, warmer temperatures seem to have set in early. As a result, soil temperatures throughout southeastern North Carolina have already reached 60 degrees or more, making them warm enough to plant many summer crops outside.
Though unlikely, frost can still not be ruled out, so if you do plant early have a plan to protect sensitive crops by covering them with old sheets or floating row covers, especially during the next few weeks.
Corn is one of the most cold-tolerant of the warm season vegetables. It can be seeded in the garden now with little concern for potential frost damage.
Green beans and butter beans can also be seeded directly in the garden now. Both bush and pole varieties are available. Bush varieties are more convenient because they do not require trellising for support, though pole varieties tend to be more productive.
If you are prepared to protect them from frost, you can set out squash, zucchini and cucumbers now as seed or small plants. When seeded directly in the garden, these vegetables are often planted in hills, with three or four seed planted on mounds spaced two feet apart.
Tomatoes are more tolerant of cool temperatures than their relatives, peppers and eggplants. When setting out tomatoes, plant them deep, so the first couple of inches of the stem are covered with soil. Because tomatoes produce roots along their stems, deep planting results in a stronger root system.
If you have found tomatoes difficult to grow in your garden because of diseases that cause them to wilt and die, your best option is to try growing them in large containers filled with potting soil, since most wilt diseases live in the soil and cannot be treated.
Beginning gardeners should definitely try cherry tomatoes, since they are the easiest to grow.
Wait to plant these
Even if we don’t experience another frost, soil temperatures have not quite warmed up enough for some of our heat-loving summer crops. In addition, all of these vegetables are extremely frost-sensitive, so if a frost occurs in the next couple of weeks they would be sure to be damaged.
My advice is to wait a few more weeks before setting out pepper, eggplant or basil plants, though they could be planted in container gardens now if they can be moved inside when temperatures below the mid-30s are predicted. Watermelon, cantaloupe and okra can be planted in the garden as seed or young plants, but they do best after soil temperatures have reached at least 70 degrees, which will probably take a few more weeks.
Southern peas, which include field peas, black-eye peas and cow peas, as well as peanuts, need warm soils to grow well and so usually are not seeded in the garden until late April. The same is true for sweet potatoes, which are set out as rooted cuttings or slips.
While all vegetables need well-drained soil to do well, it is especially important to have excellent drainage to successfully grow peanuts and sweet potatoes.
Learn more
Stay up to date on the fruits, vegetables and herbs you can grow, along with planting times and pest problems, by subscribing to the free Food Gardener email news service. To sign up for Food Gardener, send an email to [email protected]. Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the message put: subscribe foodgardener.
Learn more about growing tomatoes by attending “Growing Great Tomatoes,” a free class that will be offered Tuesday, April 3, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Hampstead Library and again, Saturday, April 14, 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Burgaw Library. Registration is required. To register, call the Pender Cooperative Extension office at 259-1235.
Post your questions to be answered online at the Pender Extension website, Pender.ces.NCSU.edu. Visit the Pender Gardener blog at PenderGardener.blogspot.com to stay up to date on all the latest gardening news.
Grow your own fruit and vegetables with Bill & Sheila
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