disregarding the 5/15 frost date? (Ohio 6a)

Can I do it? I looked at the next two week forecast and it's not going to get anywhere close to a frost before the 5/15 "OK" date.

I know it's a little risky, but surely at this point with 85F days and 50/60F nights it's OK? I need to harden up those babies!

It's a total crap shoot. Understand the risks that you may lose your plants if it gets cold again and you don't take action to protect them. The nice thing about the SFG is that it's pretty easy to put a hoop up and protect the plants.

Like camp said its a crap shoot if I had planted 3 weeks ago like the wifee wanted me too it woulda been all destroyed Thursday night by the hail storm we got. The hostas got pretty much sheded. They might recover crossing my fingers.

I am with you, Zone 5A here, but what exactly are you planning on putting in the ground. I like to be risky but it depends on the veggies??

Don't look at daytime temps, go with night time forecast which for us means starting Tuesday night it will be low 50's and high 40's. My babies are staying inside for now.

The new zone charts have change my area from a Zone 5b to a Zone 6 base on recent weather data that does not go back far enough to include the winter of 1977-1978. I am sticking with the fact that I am in Zone 5a. All of that being said, two years ago I put out my plants on May 15th and it frosted on May 18th. Though it is tempting I am waiting.

I have planted out tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and pole beans. If it frosts I start over, but i don't think it will. I say roll the dice and have a cover of some sort to hand, just in case.

I am planting out my tomatoes and peppers this week after they are hardened off. We could technically still have a frost, but I have never seen it this warm this early here. I will have cloches on standby!

GG

I'm with the majority. I just HAVE to get more plants outside. I keep old sheets and towels handy in case of a frosty night. I know if the nights are even in the 40s the plants won't be springing up with growth, but having them there and ready to shoot up when the warmth hits makes me smile. All my cool-weather crops are doing well outdoors and I plan on transplanting some tomatoes and peppers as soon as they are hardened off, probably by this weekend. I'm holding back several for the end of the month just to be sure. There's also a few later cabbage transplants I have to get outdoors tomorrow.

I've got warm-weather seeds planted in the community garden for cantaloupe, watermelon, pie pumpkin, zukes, and spaghetti squash but they are under milk jugs to gather the most heat. If they don't 'take' then I'll just sow some more later.

In the past I've transplanted some seedlings and sown seeds on the same date and in a few weeks you couldn't tell one hill from another in growth. When the heat hits, they just all grow together with the seeds quickly catching up. With that in mind I don't start the above seeds indoors any more. Its a waste of time and space for me.

I wish everyone good luck taking an early chance.

cheyannarach wrote:I am with you, Zone 5A here, but what exactly are you planning on putting in the ground. I like to be risky but it depends on the veggies??

As my avatar shows I have table tops the wifee wanted lettuce ,carrots, Swiss chard, kale in the mm the beginning of last month when we had that warm spell. The hail storm woulda destroyed it. So up here I don't plant anything before the 15th jus ta be on the safe side.

Boog

boog1 wrote:

cheyannarach wrote:I am with you, Zone 5A here, but what exactly are you planning on putting in the ground. I like to be risky but it depends on the veggies??

As my avatar shows I have table tops the wifee wanted lettuce ,carrots, Swiss chard, kale in the mm the beginning of last month when we had that warm spell. The hail storm woulda destroyed it. So up here I don't plant anything before the 15th jus ta be on the safe side.

Boog

I probably would have risked the lettuce simply because of the amount seeds in the packet, and it's easy to start over! I understand the hail though my kohlrabi to a pretty good beating a few nights ago but the broccili, cabbage, cauliflower, radishes, lettuce, and spinach faired pretty well