Early spring in South Jersey allows us to experience all of the seasons — sometimes all in one day! First, we start with a little tease when the sun comes out on a brisk day, then we bake in the sun and decide to pack up our winter clothes. As soon as we don our flip-flops, we find out that we are under a frost warning. For gardeners, the rollercoaster of temperatures can be an especially unwelcome thrill ride.
After a long winter, gardeners are eager to dig in the dirt and start planting. Fortunately, cool-season plants like peas, lettuces, radishes, and spinach can be planted “as soon as the soil can be worked” as the oft-used gardening phrase goes. These cool guy plants can handle low temperatures and some of the vegetables, like kale and radishes, are said to taste sweeter after a light frost. You may, however, lose a few of the outer leaves of certain plants, like lettuce. A lot depends on the stage of the plant. If your vegetable is starting to flower and a hard frost hits, the flowers and leaves might turn brown, but the plant can survive. But it might look and feel a little beat up, and you may lose a bit of your crop. Likewise, while seeds that have just been planted may be able to handle cool temperatures, seedlings (young plants that have just sprouted) will be vulnerable to swings in the weather. This applies to high temperatures as well as low. A hot day can fry a young seedling and cause as much damage as a freeze. Potted plants are also more sensitive to extreme temperatures, compared to plants that are in the ground.
So what should we do to protect our plants from these ups and downs of spring? The good news is, you don’t need to worry as much as you think. Perennials were made to handle various temperatures. Keep in mind that they have just made it through an extra cold winter and have come back fighting. However, if you felt the sun on your face and ran to the garden nursery and planted a new perennial this year, this new plant may be susceptible to extreme temperatures since the roots have not had time to become established. For the most part, early spring is the ideal time to plant new perennials so that the roots can become strong before the heat of summer hits. But if there is a frost warning, a frost cloth can be used on your most vulnerable plants. Make sure you use a breathable material. In a pinch, I have even used an old sheet. If you are desperate, a plastic cloth can be used, but make sure that the plastic is not touching the leaves of your plant. In the morning after a frost, remove the plastic covering so that the plastic doesn’t cause a new problem. Plastic can magnify the sun, causing the plant to burn, or trap moisture, causing it to mold and rot.
As mentioned, a sudden heat wave in spring can also damage young plants. If you see high temperatures in the forecast, give your plants a good watering early in the morning so that the water can soak into the soil before it evaporates from the intense noonday sun. If you have a tray of seedlings that you started indoors, you might want to bring them inside for a little break, or slide the tray under some shade during the hottest parts of the day. You can also use that breathable frost cloth as a shade cloth, but remove it once the hottest part of the day passes. Just make sure you aren’t suffocating the plant and making it even hotter in there. Allow some room for air to flow.
Fortunately, we are in the homestretch of reaching frost-free days. Mother’s Day is used by gardeners as a rule of thumb for the time period when it is safe to start planting annuals and tender plants such as tomatoes, zucchini, basil, and cucumbers. Those of us living near the coast may be able to plant frost-sensitive plants even sooner since the ocean helps moderate temperature extremes. But Mother Nature doesn’t always play by the rules, so keep an eye on the forecast. The tender plants listed above prefer temperatures above 50 degrees.
This time of year is amazing. From one day to the next, the garden grows almost before your eyes. I always feel like I’m in the middle of the scene from “The Secret Garden,” when the garden magically comes to life. Each new day brings little surprises as buds open and little plants emerge from the soil, waking up from their winter slumber. When the roses bloom and the bees buzz by, we look at each other as if to say, “Well done, you’ve made it through another winter.”
Tammy Thornton lives with her husband, children, and crazy pets while enjoying a life of gardening, cooking, and going to the beach.
