When do I uncover my Strawberries & Asparagus
rive...@sprint.ca
plants and your asparagus plants with straw or something similar.
The problem I have is I don't know when to uncover them. The snow is now a
thing of the past (Thank God) but we could still have a frost.
Do I wait until all danger of frost is past? This could be the end of May.
Any help or advice appreciated.
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Don & Jeanne Chapman
cover is mostly to prevent the soil from thawing and refreezing over and
over during the coldest days of winter. Now that we are nearly into April,
the days of frozen soil should be over, even in your northern location.
You might check the berries to see if any are beginning to sprout leaves -
if so, they definitely are ready to be uncovered.
Don Chapman <d...@bio-organics.com>
Chappy's Power Organics
3200 Corte Malpaso, #107
Camarillo CA 93012
Info & Orders <http://www.bio-organics.com>
rive...@sprint.ca wrote in article <7dpgh3$h1m$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
Trapper
beginning to sprout new leaves and this exceptionally early. So is
the rhubarb, onions and a number of herbs. The winter was very mild
here. I can stick my fingers into the soil as deep as want go. The
soil is still cold but not frozen solid. Make sure you water to
provide moisture for the soil.
I experimented by sticking a piece of ginger that I found in the
kitchen into one of my strawberry boxes. I was really surprised to see
it survived the winter and is pushing up new leaves.
The asparagus hasn't broken ground yet but it is in a colder shady
spot along the fence and is also covered by the thick mulching I gave
it last fall.
The roadside grass around here is greening up too.
I'll still have a couple of bags of leaves handy in case we get a
prolonged lte cold snap.
I won't do any serious planting until my usual time that around here
the middle of MAY.
Trapper
Pat Kiewicz
>
>I live in Ontario, Canada and here it is customary to cover your strawberry
>plants and your asparagus plants with straw or something similar.
>
>The problem I have is I don't know when to uncover them. The snow is now a
>thing of the past (Thank God) but we could still have a frost.
>
>Do I wait until all danger of frost is past? This could be the end of May.
>
I'd start to (slowly) uncover the strawberries now, but leave the heavy
mulch on the asparagus. You want to hold off the growth of new spears
if possible, as they are vulnerable to frosts and freeze. We're both likely
to see some more of that. (April snowstorms have been known to happen -- but
they do melt quickly.)
--
Pat in Plymouth MI
"The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to chance."
Robert R. Coveyou
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To reach my personal mailbox, put the letter
'p' in front of the 'kiewicz' in my e-mail address
Gary Rice
okay to put out tomato plants. if put them out now and there is a frost
(about 4 doz. plants), what should i do to protect them? straw? plastic?
thanks for your help,
gary rice
Neohippie
> I can stick my fingers into the soil as deep as want go. The
>soil is still cold but not frozen solid. Make sure you water to
>provide moisture for the soil.
>
You lucky person! I couldn't do that anyway, even when the soil is not frozen.
---------
"Here we are now. Entertain us."
Guy Bradley
My practice is to plant tomatoes in the garden on or after May 10. This
is the absolute last frost day. In 23 years in St. Louis the last frost
was on May 7. Wouldn't you know, I had planted my tomatoes a few days
earlier and they all were killed!
Even if you luck out and don't experience a frost, the ground is still
cool and the tomatoes won't grow much. If you compare tomatoes planted
two or three weeks apart, in a month or so they'll be the same. The
risk/reward ratio favors waiting.
BTW, although you didn't ask, I recommend planting tomatoes deep, about
8". I bury the plant, even leaving a hole if the plant isn't tall
enough at the time, filling in the hole as the plant grows. The
advantages are:
1. roots very deep, able to find water during the hottest days. This
helps with blossom end rot.
2. plants more robust, will put out roots along the buried stem, thick
stalk, not spindly as is frequently the case for pot-grown plants.
Mulch heavily, fertilize and stand back.
If your plants are large now and threatening to outrun their pots, I
recommend repotting them into larger containers. Once tomatoes get
stunted, it takes them some time to recover and start growing again. You
want your plant growing vigorously when you put them in the ground.
Guy Bradley
St. Louis MO (actually Chesterfield)
zone 6
Carl Pope
they work well. Have the store put your food in paper bags if you have that
option, split the corners about three inches fold out and place dirt on the
flaps to hold them in place. You are quite right the plants don't do well in
cold weather, it just feels good to have something started in the garden.
Plastic pails work well also I have used these have a good supply from where I
work.
Carl Pope
Guy Bradley wrote:
--
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
The Wizard