two weeks to planting

Last frost date is around May 15th, although new maps were issued this year and now they say last frost date is May 10th. Just to be safe I have some floating row cover I will use for a couple of weeks after I plant.

Now is the time to resist temptation. With all the warm weather I really want to get my plants in the ground but that would be a bad thing for two reasons - cold and sunshine. I already touched on the cold part. A frost could settle in and kill young plants. I lost several last year in just such a manner. But the other thing to worry about is sunshine. Setting out plants that have been started and growing under lights will cause a plant to die, just like frost. Think of it as a very bad case of sunburn.

You have to slowly acclimate your plants to the sun. This will take several days. First, you have to realize that all but the most brilliant and specialized lights are very dull compared to sunlight. Even shaded areas are brighter than your grow lights.

At my house my deck gets morning sun and afternoon shade. What I do is set the plants in the afternoon shade for about an hour, less if it's windy (the plants aren't used to wind either so you need to limit the time spent outdoors until they get stronger). I do the same thing for 3 straight days, increasing their time spent outdoors each time and always bringing the plants back indoors when done. Next, I set the plants in an area that gets mostly shade with maybe some morning sun. My deck works perfectly for this. The spindles in the railing partially shade the plants until the sun is shaded by the house. I leave them there all the time unless it's too cold at night or if the wind really kicks up. It's VERY important to watch their water and the condition of the leaves. You can't let them dry out. You may have to water them every day. Also, you'll be able to spot the signs of sunburn, the leaves will start to turn yellow and papery. Once this happens you can't save the leaves, but you may save the plant. Bring it back indoors and see what kind of growth you get if you get new leaves, set the plant outdoors. The new leaves will be adjusted to the brighter light conditions. If not, toss the plant and make a mental note for next year. Once the plants are acclimated, I keep them outdoors until planting time; unless it's going to get cold overnight or for a few days then they come back indoors.

I'll start this process for the tomatoes and peppers this weekend. The peppers can probably wait a week but with the floating row cover I am going to plant them right along with my tomatoes. Peppers like it a little warmer than tomatoes.