Dear Friends,
I am presently "abstaining" from e-mail and
will not resume until after Pascha (Russian Easter), which is April 30 this
year. Homeschooling, gardening and other family and spiritual
responsibilities have made this decision necessary.
If you need to reach me with something that
requires a quick response, please send the message to my husband's e-mail at d*@planetc.com Don will then bring it
to my attention.
Thank you and have a wonderful Lent!
Julianne Wiley
----- Original Message -----
From:
a*@tvorganics.com
To: v*@eskimo.com
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2000 5:46
PM
Subject: Re: Cold-hardiness
Julianne,
Although spinach, peas & beets can all
withstand quite cold temperatures, the seeds do need some warmth in order to
germinate. Chemical processes in the seeds just don't kick in until the
soil temperature is above about 45 F ( 6 C). And that's soil
temperature, not air temperature. If the soil is too cold, the seeds
"sit" and become susceptible to rot & attack by soil pests.
If you do want to try to plant in cold soil,
make sure you plant about twice as many seeds. Most won't end up
germinating so you have to allow for that.
On the other hand, the spinach & peas can
be germinated indoors and then transplanted outside as soon as true
leaves develop.
For the beets, you'll want to direct sow.
I'd suggest covering the area you want to plant
with some plastic to warm it up. Then, after planting, cover
the area with hot caps, plastic, whatever you have to keep the area
warm.
Arzeena
------------------------
Terra Viva
Organics - www.tvorganics.com
Your
organic gardening resource
----- Original Message -----
From:
j*@planetc.com
To: v*@eskimo.com
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2000 3:10
PM
Subject: Cold-hardiness
I just wanted to ask a few questions about
cold-hardiness. (I'm Zone 6 but my sputhern-sloped wind-protected
front yard is more like Zone 7.)
- Can I plant peas, spinach, and beets ---
I'm talking about seeds---- right in the ground as soon as the soil can be
worked, 2 months before the last average frost date? Will they
survive below-freezing nights and come up anyway?
- Do I need to protect them? Hot-caps or
whatever?
- Are there any other veggie seeds I can do
this with?
- Where could I see a chart or a list of
cold-hardiness in common vegetable garden plants?
I'm itching to get started. Itr's 70
degrees here today. But it was 29 last night.
Ears perked,
Julianne Wiley
Upper East Tennessee
USDA Hardiness Zone 6/7 (hope springs
eternal)
