What’s in Store for our Gardens?

In today’s news, despite recent cooler temperatures, the WBZ meteorologists said this has been the warmest Northeast spring on record. http://wbztv.com/local/record.warm.spring.2.1743079.html
So what is in store for our gardens? In terms of flower bloom, everything has been accelerated this year. One orchard grower said earlier in the season if the weather continued, “Petal drop (after apple blossom) was last week. And next week, we will be open for picking.”

With that said, here are a few vegetable growing tips for the above average spring temperatures:

1) Remove sucker growth to keep the tomato vines clean so the energy is put into developing the fruit.
2) Make sure the tomato vines are properly supported with ties.
3) If you are growing lettuce, make sure you provide ample water. If it is too dry during the warm spells, lettuce becomes tough and bitter.
4) If you are growing potatoes, you must mound them. The warm weather and moisture has potatoes growing at record pace. After the second mounding, mulch them in for the season.
5) This is a great time to direct seed many warm season crops including beans. The soil is moist and warm. One of our rows germinated in three days!

Stay on top of your garden and keep an eye on diseases and insect problems. Many times they grow as fast as the garden. Enjoy the rainy day. As one of my favorite Scottish comedians, Billy Connelly says, “In Scotland, there is no such thing as bad weather - only the wrong clothes.” If you have ever been to Scotland or close to its border, you get it!

P.S. Don’t forget that Dads can get free weekend garden admission (June 19-20) at Tower Hill Botanical Garden, Boylston, MA. Start planning your activities for Dad’s day out.

Image from Internet