Spring seedling care
Seedling care in May
Cold snap predicted & tender plants need protection
As this post is being drafted in 2020, the Minnesota weather forecast for the next 5 days predicted temps as low as 32 degrees! Moving seedlings indoors or covering of your warm-season plants overnight during this cold period will be necessary, especially tomato relatives and basils. If you have eagerly have planted these crops already, then covering with blankets, or sheets is an option. Do not be surprised if cold snap slows down plant growth, even if a killing frost is not achieved. This Michigan State Univeristy resource has a list of warm and cold season crops. Be sure to protect plants on this list during the upcoming 2nd week of May in the Twin Cities!:
Basil, Bean (Lima, Snap), Corn, Cowpea (Southern Pea), Cuban Oregano, Cucumber, Cuca-melons, Edamame, Eggplant, Ground Cherries, Muskmelon, New Zealand spinach, Okra, Pepper (Bell, Hot), Pumpkin, Soybean (Edible), Shiso, Squash, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Tomato, Tomatillo, Vietnamese Balm, Watermelon, Zucchini, & lots of annual flowers.
When May temps are hot
Despite the predicted dip, Minnesota May typically brings some lovely warm days. Seedlings need protection from hot temps too. You need to be a bit of a weather-hound combined with daily checks of your seedlings when they are outdoors. Warm temperatures over 70 degrees are hard on just emerged root systems that are in tiny amounts of soil. If they dry out, they die AND if you over-water them, they also die.
A challenge for sure, so the only prescription is to frequently check on seedlings, particularly if you have them outside. This is true of winter-sown seedlings, or those started indoors that you are transitioning to outdoors (hardening off). On a daily basis, touch the soil just below the surface, and if it is dry, consider watering. Ironically, it is best to let the soil surface dry before watering though, so you don’t encourage fungal disease (damping off). If your soil never dries out, then increase the number or enlarge the drainage holes on the container’s bottom side. After the plants get larger, they become more tolerant to extremes.
I have made a couple of videos that help explain seedling care in winter sown containers. These tips can apply to seedlings in conventional containers too:
How to prevent winter-sown seedlings from overheating: Video tour on Instagram.
How to water winter-sown seedlings: Tips on Instagram video.
Update on the #outplanttheoutbreak effort
We are still stocking the little free cabinets around some St. Paul neighborhoods. Locations and all tips found at this page. Note, have stopped stocking the Dale Street location after 6 weeks of supplying seeds there, however, there are still 3 other Frogtown locations. Currently, the seeds packets are focused on direct seeding warm-season crops, and root crops that can be planted now! If you have potatoes that are starting to sprout from their eyes, then you could consider spring planting those too. Here is a video that shows how potatoes grow throughout the season. As the season unfolds, look for future seed drops of bean and cucurbits (cucumbers, melon, squash, zucchini)!
#OutPlantTheOutbreak
Locations and all tips found at #OutPlantTheOutbreak blogpage