Is it possible to grow veggies in cool weather?
Question:We just bought our house last year. I want to have a veggie garden this year. My first one. But the weather here hasn't been very good. Its spring, but the weather is still cool. Its only 41 right now. It got in the 70s yesterday, but today it is only suppose to get to 53. It will be getting down to 34 to 38 tonight. But the rest of this week is suppose to be warmer as of right now. Should I go ahead and plant my seeds, or should I wait a little longer? Thanks for your help.
Answers:
Rule of thumb...Do not plant till Memorial weekend. You will not get the yield before that. But you can start seedlings in the house much earlier. Good luck! I love gardening.
The soil has to be around 60 degrees for seed to germinate. Theres a good Chance of a frost when temp. go into the 30's. Wait it will warm up. Radishes will grow though and carrots
Yes you can grow certain veggies in cool weather. Lettuce and most other greens thrive in cool weather as long as there is no frost at night.
If you are handy, you can grow veggies in the winter as well.
To do this mark off an area of 64 square feet (8x8) and dig out that area to a depth of no less than six feet.
Add soil and fertilizer, plants or seeds, preferably lettuce, broccoli, swisschard and cabbage. Slightly water them. Cover the dugout area with framed plexiglass no more than 1/2 thick. The difference in the temperature on both sides of the plexiglass will form condensation and your underground garden will water itself continuously. The average temperature of your garden will be in the low to mid 60's if you live in the northern part of the U.S.
Of course you may plant--depending what you want to plant. The first important bit of information is know your USDA zone. This will tell you the last frost-free date for you area.
Since you are talking about vegetables, we can divide your seeds into 2 groups: before frost-free date, and after frost-free date. Crops that can be planted before the frost-free date (but after the ground has thawed, is workable, and not WET) are peas, brocolli, cauliflower, lettuce, carrots, beets, potatoes (most root crops), onions, shallots, garlic, asparagus (which will come up every year), and many others related to these plants.
Many garden vegetable plants originate from warmer areas. Although some may be able to handle a 40 degree night/day, they don't like it. Some, such as eggplants, prefer nights above 50F. Plants that go in after the last frost-free date are corn, beans, squash, tomato, pepper, eggplant (better to plant started plants, or the previous 3 will not have time to produce before the cool weather returns), cukes, melons, okra, and the rest that do not go in before with the peas and such.
The seed packet may give some planting information with a chart, but keep in mind that some seeds require a certain temperature just to germinate, so if it is cool & wet/damp, the seed may rot before it sprouts. So go ahead and plant those "before" plants, and wait until the weather settles to plant the "after ones". You may get a jump on things by starting the seed of some after plants by starting them indoors. This, however, is not recommended for corn.
Much of the country has passed the last frost date, but in some areas, and unusually cool and damp spring will delay planting of those "afters".
Enjoy your garden!
Robin M.
You can plant
Carrots, parsnip, beet, turnip, onion, swiss chard, spinach. peas, transplant Cauliflower, broccoli and sprouts as soon as you can work the soil, Wait till about 1 week after last chance of
frost for tomatoes, eggplant, and bean
Wait till the ground warms up to 60 ( or when you can sit in your garden comfortably with a bare bottom, or you can walk in your garden with bare feet (I use this method cause it's less area to wash)) to transplant peppers and plant lima beans
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