Keep an eye on shifting temperatures before gardening
By Kyle Schmidt
While it’s officially spring, gardeners should be mindful of the fluctuating temperatures before fully jumping into planting.
Employees at Moffet Nursery & Garden Shop are getting ready for the season and offered tips for those potentially wanting to start early.
“People have already started planning what we call cold crops,” said Debbie Stubblefield, an employee at Moffet Nursery. “We do have those, and those sort of things can be planted now.”
Cold crops include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, onions and potatoes.
“Some people go under the adage that you plant your potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day,” Stubblefield said. “If you don’t do it then, do it on Good Friday.”
She mentioned that for those wanting to get started, some people start to seed inside and then move them outside.
Out in Savannah at Huckleberry Gardens, one worker gave her input on when to begin gardening.
“I mean it’s hard to guess, it could be May 1. Traditionally, Mother’s Day is usually what people go by. After Mother’s Day it’s generally safe,” Kaitlyn Paxton said. “I know our USDA hardiness map changed recently, so it’s actually supposedly a little bit warmer. So potentially you could plant a little bit sooner.”
Even though it is an early spring, there is no exact start date for gardening because of the inconsistent weather.
“You’d have to ask the man upstairs as to when the weather is going to cooperate,” Stubblefield said.
Another garden shop employee Jenny Shackelford chimed in with advice for those who have already planted.
“It’s important to not cover your plants or trees with plastic,” she said. “You would use cloth like a bedsheet or some lightweight fabric.”
The purpose of the cover is to insulate the plant and to prevent frost from sticking to the leaves.
Stubblefield emphasized that some products won’t work unless the ground is a certain temperature.
“Some people get in a hurry to put down crabgrass preventer or grass seed. You can apply your crabgrass preventer, but it’s not going to do anything until the ground temperature has been 50 degrees or above for three consecutive days,” Stubblefield said. “We took the ground temperature two days ago and it was 41.”
