I’m forever trying to get an earlier tomato. I start my seeds indoors no later than the middle of March. Lacking a greenhouse or cold-frame, I start them indoors in a sunny window in my spare bedroom and have nice sized transplants ready to plant outside—but when?
Most people say our last frost is around April 15th. According to the UVA Climatology Office, here in Richmond we have a 50% chance of having a frost on or after April 6th. We have only a 10% chance of having a frost on or after April 21st. We have had a frost as late as May 10th, however. That was May 10th, 2020.
SURPRISE!
I wasn’t expecting frost. It was after mid-April and I’d already moved my houseplants outside for the summer and planted my precious tomato and pepper seedlings. That night, I saw down to watch the eleven o’clock news and, just a few minutes later, my neighbors saw me running around the yard pulling plants back inside and draping sheets all over everything!
Boy, I learned that lesson! Now, I direct-sow cucumbers, squash, melons, and beans no sooner than the second week of May. Beans perform better in warmer soil anyway. And, waiting until closer to the end of May to plant cucumbers, means that hungry cucumber beetles, who hatch early to mid-May will be munching on your neighbors cucumbers instead of yours.
JUST TO BE SAFE
I’m not saying I still don’t try to get my veggies in as soon as I can but now I tend to keep them in pots a week or two longer. Keeping them in little pots in trays makes it easier to grab the whole thing and stuff it back inside if necessary.
I don’t commit tender veggies like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, to the ground until May and only then after checking the long-range forecast. And don’t let the warm weather we’ve had fool you. The year we had that late frost, the week before saw temperatures in the 80’s.
So go out and enjoy planting your garden, but it is best to play it safe….