Hey y’all. The calendar says it’s spring, but it turns out that General Beauregard Lee had it right and Punxsutawney Phil had it wrong this year. Lesson learned: never trust a Yankee groundhog.
Listen, I know I’ve told you all about frost dates. And I know I told you that our 50% frost date in middle Georgia is March 23. I know you’re itching to get some tomatoes in the ground. But please DROP THAT TROWEL AND TAKE THAT TOMATO SEEDLING INSIDE!
The frost dates are a great guideline, but you’ve got to use common sense and you’ve got to check the soil temperature. The weather folks are predicting some chilly overnight lows in middle Georgia this week. Lows that may harm your warm season plants. And the fine folks (and/or computers) at the Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network say that the soil temperatures in middle Georgia are only in the low to mid 50s. Remember, you need the soil temperature to be at least 60 for most warm season crops (65 for okra).
This girl’s meat thermometer says the soil temperature of her raised beds is only 54, so my tomatoes are going to be coddled inside just a little more. Sure, I’ll take them for a stroll during the day to get them used to the sun, but those babies are sleeping inside.
Please protect your plants too! If you jumped the gun and put them in the ground already (Did you already wear white shoes too? Bless your heart!) make sure you cover them when the overnight low dips into the 30s. Good luck!
Georgia Garden Girl 