Before the Last Frost (0 Weeks)

If you live in Raleigh, don’t plant today or tomorrow. I’m holding my breath for spring (and for the pollen to be washed away). If you have already planted, consider cloches or floating row covers to protect tender plants. I’ve used buckets, tarp tents, plastic cups, and cloches all to varying degrees of success. Yesterday I noticed that most of my pumpkin and watermelon seedlings were done for, so I will be direct seeding after this weather passes. 

My tomatoes and peppers are sunning on the kitchen table and will be moved back out to the deck for the day to keep working on hardening them off and making sure they get enough light. 

The crazy thing is that I already have been starts that are flowering inside. I don’t start beans indoors,  I don’t even plant them until a little later in the spring, but these were leftover form a 4th grade science project. There is even a tiny bean growing! These are supposed to be bush beans, but they are draping off the shelf in the window. 

• Check on your seedlings and add supports to tall tomatoes and peppers if needed.
• Keep up the watering and fertilizing.
• Once your 10-day forecast gives you the green light, get planting!

What to plant this week

You can start the following outdoors once the 10-day forecast shows no more freezing temps: anything that says on the seed packet “direct sow outside once the chance of frost has passed”.