In The Past We Have Planted Our Garden In The…
Angela Asked
In the past we have planted our garden in the middle of May. We just put our garden out today, May 29. Is this too late? We planted tomatoes, peppers, and squash.
The Gardener’s Answer
Hello, Angela in Kentucky: The average frost-free date for our area is May 10; this means that after this date passes it is safe to plant warm-season crops. Although this year has been warmer than average, and if we had known we could have gotten a jump start on the growing season, but Mother Nature is very unpredictable so it is always better to be safe than sorry. It is certainly not too late to plant your warm-season vegetable garden. As the old saying goes “better late than never,” but in all reality you are just a couple of weeks behind and you will still have plenty of tomatoes, peppers, and squash to harvest. Preparing the soil is an important first step in any successful vegetable garden. Ideally the garden is south-facing so that it will receive plenty of sunshine. The soil should be fertile and well-drained. The pH should be between 6.2 and 6.8. and sufficient water is essential to a healthy crop. Cool-season crops can be planted again this fall. If you would like to read more information on growing vegetables, the following publication is available to home gardeners from the Extension Service. It has full planting information on home vegetable gardening in Kentucky: www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/id/id128/id128.pdf. Enjoy your harvest!
