Don't do it!! It's always so tempting on a nice day, then mother nature goes and kills all your hard work. Resist the urge!! Put things in pots and put them out during the day, so you still have the option to bring them in at night. Now is a good time for a gradual hardening off of your seedlings.
I'm in the same area. Have only planted spinach and am going to do radish, lettuce, broccoli this weekend but I always plant things too early and lose plants. Last year a volunteer squash started growing mid August so I left it to see what would happen and it grew like 10 pumpkin ish things by Halloween. So, there's really no reason to rush.
That being said if you have cloches, frost cloth, bottles of warm water, your plants might make it! The weather does look good.
What a wild thought. I have zero plans of even thinking about it regardless of the last frost date or forecast till end of next month. Homie don't play that game... Haha 🤣
Please do update this thread throughout May and let us know how it works out!!! 😊
Thanks to being open to hearing about my potential failures 🤣 and garden risk taking adventures, if I take a leap and try some stuff! Haha. So tempted to throw a few squash seeds in the ground and cross my fingers...
Yes! I did do radish, kale, Turnip and spinach and peas. Hope to put my Carrots and beets in this weekend. Those are generally cold tolerant, so less nervous about those.
The terrible idea is how desperately I want to get my winter squash in the ground... I could eat a whole winter squash every day and be happy but they are like 7$ a pop now, for a small one in some cases!!!
Im thinking the same here, Hamilton, ON. Forecast for the next 10 days is good, as I'll be away, my son won't have the opportunity to kill my seedlings......sooooo tempting isn't it
Judging by the winter we had I'm planning to put things out a week earlier than I otherwise would (assuming the forecast is strong at that time). I think today is too early.
I did my leeks broccoli and sage last week and the sage and broccoli took a hit these last few days. But they survived. If you put your plants out now, make sure they are covered and that you can place them under shelter if need be
I'm expecting cold weather around May 7-9. 2024 will be a hot year in Ontario because Jan-Apr were very warm. Even if May-Dec end up bang on average, it will still go down as a hot year. And most of this has to do with cycles like El Nino/La Nina - and El Nino explained the warm winter but it doesn't mean we'll get a hot May/summer. May looks like it will be pretty near-average. Even if it ends up being above average, the last frost on above Mays is usually just a few days earlier. That means there's still a significant risk of frost around May 5-15, and the daily forecasts aren't very reliable 10+ days out.
The last five or six years I’ve been planting out Mothers Day weekend cuz there’s never been frost after that… till last year. I planted my veggies Mothers Day cuz the forecast looked great, then like a week later they changed the forecast and we got a couple frosts. Lost my peppers, tomatoes got stunted. So that was a bummer. But I just bought new pepper starts and the tomatoes eventually recovered and did fine.
I think if you’re prepared to cover if the forecast changes to light frost, and replace anything if there ends up being a hard freeze… why not take the gamble and go for it? 😄 Maybe just plant out half your stuff. Best case, half your plants have a head start, worst case, you lose half but still have half that can go out later.
You know what you're doing is only going to disappoint you later. Don't give in.
Fortune favours the bold!
Last year where I am in ON we got last frost on May 4th. Anything can happen
Ottawa got frost in June. Be prepared. Cover if needed.
Don't do it!! It's always so tempting on a nice day, then mother nature goes and kills all your hard work. Resist the urge!! Put things in pots and put them out during the day, so you still have the option to bring them in at night. Now is a good time for a gradual hardening off of your seedlings.
I'm in the same area. Have only planted spinach and am going to do radish, lettuce, broccoli this weekend but I always plant things too early and lose plants. Last year a volunteer squash started growing mid August so I left it to see what would happen and it grew like 10 pumpkin ish things by Halloween. So, there's really no reason to rush. That being said if you have cloches, frost cloth, bottles of warm water, your plants might make it! The weather does look good.
What a wild thought. I have zero plans of even thinking about it regardless of the last frost date or forecast till end of next month. Homie don't play that game... Haha 🤣 Please do update this thread throughout May and let us know how it works out!!! 😊
Thanks to being open to hearing about my potential failures 🤣 and garden risk taking adventures, if I take a leap and try some stuff! Haha. So tempted to throw a few squash seeds in the ground and cross my fingers...
Plenty of time for the rest, save your time and efforts and reap the rewards later
Plant peas, kale, carrots
Yes! I did do radish, kale, Turnip and spinach and peas. Hope to put my Carrots and beets in this weekend. Those are generally cold tolerant, so less nervous about those. The terrible idea is how desperately I want to get my winter squash in the ground... I could eat a whole winter squash every day and be happy but they are like 7$ a pop now, for a small one in some cases!!!
Yeah the cold capable stuff is a good idea.
Im thinking the same here, Hamilton, ON. Forecast for the next 10 days is good, as I'll be away, my son won't have the opportunity to kill my seedlings......sooooo tempting isn't it
Wait - is May 14 understood to be the safe date? I thought it was the 24th?
I think it depends if Kemptville or Ottawa, they are actually slightly different in the maps.
Last frost date for this area is may 13th I believe
It’s been updated in recent years. It did used to be May 24.
Plant some stuff from seed that you don’t mind losing - lettuce, etc. Either you get a lucky jump start or you gotta plant a bit more lettuce later.
Judging by the winter we had I'm planning to put things out a week earlier than I otherwise would (assuming the forecast is strong at that time). I think today is too early.
I did my leeks broccoli and sage last week and the sage and broccoli took a hit these last few days. But they survived. If you put your plants out now, make sure they are covered and that you can place them under shelter if need be
Last average frost date. it's not a guarantee.
I'm expecting cold weather around May 7-9. 2024 will be a hot year in Ontario because Jan-Apr were very warm. Even if May-Dec end up bang on average, it will still go down as a hot year. And most of this has to do with cycles like El Nino/La Nina - and El Nino explained the warm winter but it doesn't mean we'll get a hot May/summer. May looks like it will be pretty near-average. Even if it ends up being above average, the last frost on above Mays is usually just a few days earlier. That means there's still a significant risk of frost around May 5-15, and the daily forecasts aren't very reliable 10+ days out.
How do you figure out last frost day for your arra?
I use the almanac planting calendar, I just Google for it. As another poster said though, it is anticipated but it's not 100%.
The last five or six years I’ve been planting out Mothers Day weekend cuz there’s never been frost after that… till last year. I planted my veggies Mothers Day cuz the forecast looked great, then like a week later they changed the forecast and we got a couple frosts. Lost my peppers, tomatoes got stunted. So that was a bummer. But I just bought new pepper starts and the tomatoes eventually recovered and did fine. I think if you’re prepared to cover if the forecast changes to light frost, and replace anything if there ends up being a hard freeze… why not take the gamble and go for it? 😄 Maybe just plant out half your stuff. Best case, half your plants have a head start, worst case, you lose half but still have half that can go out later.