Re: planting out dates?

**J* E* M* S* <h*@sbcglobal.net>**

Here in central Indiana, we had several 80+ degree days in April, which pushed the spring blooming trees, bulbs, shrubs and perennials. I left for Holland on April 9 and nothing except daffodils and a few tulips were blooming. When I returned April 14, the yard was in full bloom...viburnums, Virginia bluebells, more daffs and tulips. Then the weather turned cool and rainy. I work in a garden center and it has been rainy each of the last four weekends. Mother's Day was slow because of the crappy weather.

In early May, the temps dropped to freezing and frost was predicted. I was off that day, but staffers moved as many tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and basil plants that they could inside the greenhouse and covered the rest outside. The covered tomatoes took a big hit and are being sold for $0.50 each. Then the Saturday before Mother's Day, more frost was predicted and we repeated the process, only this time changing how we covered the plants. We were much more successful except for a batch of cucumbers that  were not quite tucked under the bench.

We usually say Mother's Day as the plant out day for warm season crops and annuals, and if everyone had followed that rule, there would have been little crop damage. I did  move my tomatoes indoors during the cold snap and am hoping to get my stuff planted in the next week to 10 days. It is still cool and rainy, just like it was last spring when every known leaf disease on tomatoes showed up and pretty much kept production low and disappointments high last year.

jems
____________________
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
Director, Garden Writers Association
hoosiergardener@sbcglobal.net
http://hoosiergardener.com
Phone: (317) 251.3261
Fax: (317) 251.8545
P.O. Box 20310
Indianapolis, IN 46220-0310

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