Vegetables do their best in the right conditions
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Oh, these poor pepper plants, at a big-box store on Feb. 9. Note the flower buds already
on some of them. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)
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There they were Tuesday, flats and flats of them, on shelves that were empty less than a week before: Snackabelle Red pepper plants. Most of them were 5 to 6 inches tall, and several already had flower buds.
Really? And February not even half over yet?
Across the aisle were many dozen tomato plants, apparently just off the truck, all the perfect size for transplanting. If only it were April. Or even late March.
It made my heart break to see them all.
These plants, even if they are purchased soon, are going to have rough, rough lives. When they go into the ground, their little roots are going to be so cold. The soil in my raised bed today is 52 degrees; the ground itself is even colder, 51. The roots are where the action is when a seedling is transplanted. They anchor the plant against wind and weather, and send nutrients and water up to the leaves, where the plant's food is made via photosynthesis.
Oh, yeah, there's not much sunlight out there right now, either. And we still have lows in the 30s in the forecast.
Now, if an experienced gardener really, really wanted to buy one of those Snackabelles right this second , he or she could bring it home, pot it up immediately, and put the container in the warmest outdoor spot in the garden, preferably under the eaves next to the house. Maybe even move the pot into the house. And then baby it until mid-spring, when UCCE Sacramento County master gardeners recommend planting out peppers. (See their great vegetable planting chart -- for both seeds and plants.)
But you know that's not going to happen because:
a) many experienced gardeners like to grow their peppers from seed, having started them in the past few weeks, or
b) they know they can buy fresh transplants at local nurseries in April, and/or
c) they have better things to do with their gardening time than babying a potted bell pepper through unpredictable weather.
So it will be inexperienced gardeners or impulse buyers who take home a few of those pepper plants. Then the plants -- newly moved from their cozy greenhouses to outdoors at a big-box store and then to someone's garden -- will just sit there for a long time, assuming we don't get any more frost. The stressed plants won't grow much, might drop their leaves and might be chomped by slugs or birds. The flower buds will fall off, too, unpollinated. Finally the owner will pull the plant out and go buy something else.
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Some good tomato varieties here, but it's at least 6 weeks too
early to plant them in the Sacramento area. And 11 weeks until
our unofficial "tomato planting day," April 28. |
Moral of story: Just because a plant is offered for sale doesn't mean it's the right season or right climate to plant it. A little homework on planting will save any gardener a bucket of money.
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Flowers in My Back Yard Series
July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show
July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)
July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy
July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies
June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden
June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners
June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)
June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself
June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude
May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?
May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs
May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power
May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens
May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend
April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look
April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower
April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact
April 7: Calendulas do double duty
April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come
March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)
March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots
March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums
March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come
March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy
Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?
Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come
Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers
Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses
Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?
Local News
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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 2
Get out early in the morning and monitor your garden’s moisture needs. Deep water and add temporary shade structures for plants that are feeling a little burned. In particular, protect developing peppers and eggplant.
* Put off fertilization until this heat passes; plants need to concentrate on hydration instead of growth.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don’t let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.
* Pinch off dead flowers from perennials and annuals to lengthen their summer bloom.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips. Make sure to keep seeds and seedlings consistently moist.
* Plant potatoes.
Contact Us
Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com
Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
FALL
Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden
Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it
Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air
Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets
Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty
Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?
Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you
Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water
Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers
July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
July 15: Does this plant need water?
July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
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