Warm Soil

When making planting schedules, too many gardeners look at the last frost date or the daytime temperatures for the coming week.  What we really need to be looking at is the soil temperatures and the night time temperatures.  I've done a lot of extra soil warming this year and I'm seeing the difference right away.

Cucumber and Squash plants under a row cover

I typically seed my cucurbits in pots where I can keep an eye on them instead of putting them directly in the ground where they are at the mercy of rains and clay based soil sealing over them and pushing them too deep.  This year I added a square of row cover just to keep busy birds off of them.  The warmer microclimate created by the little "greenhouse" made an immediate, noticeable difference in speed and percentages of germination.

This year I am going to try covering the cantaloupe vines with a heavy frost cover.  It will be open on the ends to let in pollinators and the vines will be able to push under the sides.  I have not put a thermometer in there, but any day if you put your hand under there, the air temperature is noticeably warmer.  That will help a lot considering that our forecasted temperatures right now are only in the low 70s during the day.  The seedlings are just forming their first true leaves now,

Two of the three varieties of summer squash had already put out their first leaves and were transplanted yesterday.  I put a basket over them to protect them from birds and give them a little transition from the row cover to direct sun,  I am also going to try caging them again this year because I liked how it worked out last year.

My pole beans were planted a few days ago and germinated right away.  Below is the bed warming with the polycarbonate panels.  I have never bothered to warm the soil for beans, but when I moved the panels off of the bed to plant the second bed sweet corn it was just easier to put them on the bean bed rather than lug them back into storage.  Once again, laziness scores an accidental success.

Pole Bean Bed warming

Even the older seed germinated right away.  Which is better than I can say for the Jade bush beans I planted a week earlier in the next bed without warming the soil.  I am still waiting on those to germinate.  There are half a dozen plants up but that is a very small percentage of what was planted.  From here on out, I will always warm the bed for beans.  Right now the panels are on the cucumber bed warming it for transplants.

Old Monte Gusto seed (packaged for 2020) germinating very well.

This is my first lesson learned from the 2022 growing season:  Soil Temperature is even more important than you thought it was.  Yes, having raised beds gives you warmer, drier soil than an in ground garden but even that can be boosted a bit.
 

Sorbet Peony in full bloom