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Hardening Off Plants and Planting the Vegetable Garden
Each gardener knows best when to plant the vegetable garden. For many, it’s Memorial Day weekend, though I tend to plant some things later, others much earlier. But long before I plant seedlings, I get them ready for planting. It’s called “hardening off.” Unlike a mother bird, you do not have to push your plants out of the nest all at once.
Whether you plant tomatoes that you bought at the greenhouse or started indoors yourself, your tomatoes have led a pampered life. Temperature, wind and moisture levels have all been controlled. Light levels have been less than the full sun plants will encounter in the garden. In the greenhouse some of the sun≠s power has been filtered through plastic and absorbed. My plants have been growing under lights much less powerful than the sun. It is important not to shock plants by moving them from shelter to garden in one fell swoop. They can get sunburned or windburned, which won’t kill your plants, but will slow down their growth for a couple of weeks.
I grow over 100 tomato seedlings most years (though I share many). These plants have been going for a walk every nice day to get ready for their big adventure. I start the process of hardening off my plants by carrying them outdoors onto my deck where they will get 3-4 hours of morning sunshine and just a little wind (the wind is blocked in 2 directions). If rain is forecast, I don’t put them outside – they can be beaten down by hard rains, or waterlogged.
Vegetables
After a few days spent in the morning sun, plants are ready for afternoon sun. But be careful: big, leafy plants (like lettuce) can dry out very quickly on a hot sunny day, particularly if growing in a 6-pack with only a small space for roots and moisture. You need to watch over them – or continue to leave them in a morning sun location. After a week of hardening off, plants are ready for the full sun of the vegetable garden.
The date of the last frost is unpredictable. I believe that it is better to wait and plant after all chance of frost has past. I have a garden in a low spot where cold air settles. And it is near a stream, so the soil is generally wet, which keeps the root zone chilly. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cukes and squash do not do well in cold, wet soil. So I wait. And sometimes I wait until June 10 or so, but my plants catch up to those planted by my friends on Memorial Day. Even broccoli, a cold-hardy plant – does not do well in soil that is cold and wet and can get root rot.
In case you believe the tale that the last frost occurs with a full moon, 20 years of weather records kept by Sally Wellborn here in Cornish show that not to be true. Clear nights are more likely to have frost than cloudy ones, however.
Jet Star tomato
That said, I planted a Jet Star tomato in the garden on May 7. I teach Sustainable Gardening at Granite State College, and wanted to show my class how to plant a tomato sideways to develop a bigger root system (more on that later). After planting it I installed a “Wall-o-Water.” This is a flexible plastic cylinder that consists of baffles that I filled with water and then gathered together at the top to form a sort of teepee. The water heats up during the day, and gives off heat at night – and holds it in. I put one over a tomato plant last spring in early May and it went through several frosts without harm. They are available at garden centers and from Gardeners Supply (www.gardeners.com). They are reusable.
Tomatoes Sideways
Planting tomatoes sideways is good way to establish a bigger root system, and to deal with long, lanky plants that might otherwise flop over. I use my CobraHead weeder to loosen the soil in an 18-inch diameter circle and mix in some compost and bagged organic fertilizer.
Stripping tomato leaves
Then I strip off all the lower leaves from the tomato, leaving just a cluster of leaves at the top. Next I dig a hole for the rootball and a trench for the stem, and place the tomato in the soil (placed sideways) and cover it over with soil. I bend up the top few inches of the stem so that the leaves are above the soil line. It may seem to you that the stem will break, but it won’t.
If you have started broccoli, cabbages, kale or Brussels sprouts indoors and have floppy plants, you can plant the rootball and stems deeply, so that the thin stems are buried.
I believe that everyone should grow rutabagas, parsnips and kale, all under-appreciated plants that grow well, and are tasty. Plant rutabagas and parsnips by seed now, following directions on the packages. Kale is slow to start, so it is best planted now as seedlings. I find Winterbor kale the most productive, but Lacinato and Red Russian are also terrific. Good garden centers will have more than one type of kale.
Whatever you grow, remember to water when the plants are little. And don’t let the soil dry out where you have planted or you can lose your crop before it even starts. Gardening really is very easy: visit your garden every day, water if dry and pull a few weeds. You’re bound to succeed.