Three things gardeners need to know for spring
On Monday, as I watched the evening weather report on TV6, I could practically hear a collective jaw-drop around the Delaware Valley, when Adam Joseph announced the possibility of overnight temperatures near 30 degrees this coming Friday and Saturday. Isn’t it spring yet?
While the last frost day for our area is generally given as April 30, there’s no way of knowing exactly what’s in store, so it’s always been my practice to hold off on planting out into the garden until the middle of May. And frost mid-May is not something that Mother Nature has cooked up just this year.
In browsing some of my past columns, I came across one from May 24, 2009. In it, I mentioned that we’d had several nights with lows in the 30s just a week before, i.e., somewhere around May 17-20 we’d had frost warnings.
It’s almost always worth it to wait an extra week or so to plant out the tender stuff — vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. If the weather is cold, they’re not going to be doing much anyway, and they may become needlessly stressed. If you’ve already put your tomatoes and peppers into the ground or containers, you’ll want to cover them up this weekend.
This brings us to “hardeningoff,” the process of exposing indoor seedlings to the outside environment a few hours a day, and gradually increasing the time outdoors.
When I first heard the term, I thought it referred to getting indoor seedlings accustomed to cold temperatures. Not so.
While sudden cold weather can shock tender plants, no amount of time spent in cold weather will protect vulnerable species from a freeze. It just doesn’t work that way. Consider us humans, for instance.
As the seasons progress from summer to winter, we gradually adjust, but we’ll still get frostbite if stuck in freezing temperatures unprotected.
No, the reason transplants need to be hardened-off is to get them acclimated to sunlight after coming out from under the grow-lights or off of the windowsill.
As a comparison, if you’re fairskinned, consider what happens if you spend a whole summer day outside if you haven’t gradually built up a tanned base.
Something else to watch out for as we continue into spring is the return of the spotted lanternfly, whose insatiable appetite for plants and crops poses a serious threat to Pennsylvania’s economy.
To help us cope, the Penn State Agricultural Extension Service has created a series of webinars. These are available online 24/7, so if you wake up in a panic about spotted lanternfly in the middle of the night, you’ll have someplace to turn to quell your anxiety and create a plan for how to deal with these insect pests. A few of the tips: Learn how to identify spotted lanternfly. (If you live within a known quarantine area, there is no need to report sightings. Counties under quarantine: Philadelphia, Chester, Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, Lancaster, Berks, and beyond. For a map, go to: https://bit. ly/35zNjU2.)
In the spring, if you notice lanternfly nymphs, band trees with sticky tape to trap the nymphs crawling up the trees to feed.
Inspect yard waste and other items for egg masses. Scrape off the eggs and destroy them by covering them in alcohol, crushing them, or burning them.
Access the webinars at: https:// bit.ly/2W3hsrK
Finally, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) announced that it is participating in the global May 5, 2020 #GivingTuesdayNow initiative. PHS works with thousands of gardeners and volunteers to carry forward its programs that advance the health and well-being of our region.
This year’s #GivingTuesdayNow will support PHS’s efforts in four impact areas: increasing access to fresh food; creating healthier living environments; building deeper social connections; and growing economic opportunity.
Donations to PHS are welcome at any time, at https://PHSonline. org/givingtuesdaynow. Please consider making a contribution.
Pam Baxter is an avid organic vegetable gardener who lives in Kimberton. Direct e-mail to pamelacbaxter@gmail.com, or send mail to P.O. Box 80, Kimberton, PA 19442. Share your gardening stories on Facebook at “Chester County Roots.” Pam’s book for children and families, Big Life Lessons from Nature’s Little Secrets, is available on Amazon, along with her new companion field journal, Explore Outdoors, at Amazon.com/ author/pamelabaxter.