It's Memorial Day, what NOT to plant today

We all have heard (at least in Wisconsin) that Memorial Day is the signal of the garden season.  I have posted plenty of things that I have planted and seeded.  Contrary to popular belief, Memorial Day is not the signal for everything to go in the ground.  These are the plants that I have found cold sensitive.  They may not be hit by a frost, but a cold night can set back their growth and delay flowering and/or fruiting.

• Basil (and other tender herbs)
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Salvia
• Impatiens (if they haven't been hardened off, you will see them suffer)

There are also other precautions you should take with plants.  I purchased a couple plants from a local green house and should have realized that it was a bit too warm in there for a cloudy day this late in the season.  I set the plants out yesterday while working outside all day.  When I went to tuck them back in the garage for the night, one plant was especially damaged by the cool winds.  They hadn't hardened off their plants by lowering the thermostats and opening up the vents.  The leaves will recover as the plant puts on new growth, but this beautiful (and not very inexpensive) plant, now has brown spots from being outside one day.  I will live with what I have and know that the plant will recover.  I shudder to think of what kind of complaints this greenhouse will suffer when other folks come back with brown leaves on their plants.

If you have to harden things off yourself, start in an area with some shade and protected from the wind.  Put your plants out during the warmest part of the day for a few hours.  Gradually increase the time and the sun exposure until the plants can take a full day in the conditions in which you will be planting them.  Another part of hardening off plants is giving them a little less water.  When you do water, have it come through the bottom of the pot (not like a waterfall, just a bit).  Let the plants dry out a bit before watering again.  Lift up the pots.  Weight is a better indicator of dry than just looking at the soil surface.  The tops of the pots can be dry from sun and wind, but just below the surface the soil may be quite wet.  You can put your finger in it, but that is a subjective judgement of what is wet enough.

The next week will be soon enough to get the rest of the garden in.  This will give you the opportunity to not go on a gardening marathon.  Sit back with a drink and enjoy a barbecue instead.