Oh, man, are we loving the fact that it all of a sudden warmed up here in the Interior! With temps in the 60’s, we’re finally able to start working on things outside. The mad rush of summer is on!
We are proud that we were able to achieve our first flower of the season! This year, the winner is lobelia! Unfortunately, it didn’t have any early competition from the violas since someone, not naming any names, forgot to actually sow them when we were supposed to!
We’ll put a reminder up here that it’s tempting to start getting in the ground once we see these warm temperatures. That can spell a recipe for disaster and waiting for last frost is wise. We’ve seen the weather turn on a dime, freak hail storms and even snowfall in the early season. While you “might” be able to get away with it from season to season, eventually, it will sting you. (Yes, we’ve paid that price, more than once!)
With cold hardy and frost tolerant crops, putting them in the ground 1-2 weeks prior to last frost is usually quite fine, so long as nothing weird is going on weather-wise. But, for those frost sensitive crops like tomatoes, squash, peppers, most flowers and all the rest of ’em, waiting until shortly around last frost to plant is the right thing to do, at least if you want to keep your plants!
