What to plant in Cooler Temps - Mickman Brothers Garden Center

Getting the itch to plant, but there’s still danger of frost? No worries! There are still plenty of things that can thrive when soil and air temperatures are cool! Try these cool-season vegetables, flowers, and herbs now while your warm-season crops are happily soaking up the heat inside.

Vegetables:

Buttercrunch Lettuce

•  Any of the cruciferous crops (think broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts) thrive in cooler temperatures. In fact, frost actually increases the coloring on ornamental varieties of these crops!
•  Lettuce and spinach varieties are typically sweeter and more tender in the cooler temperatures. And they bolt slower than in warmer temps, meaning your harvest will last longer.
•  Peas are a wonderful crop that can take minor frosts with minimal damage to the plants. They are fast to produce, meaning you may be able to plant multiple times throughout the season!
•  Because the edible part is underground, root vegetables such as carrots, radishes, turnips, beets, etc. can take frosts with minimal damage.

Herbs:

Herb Pot

•  Chives are often the first things we all see come up in the spring after the bulbs emerge. They can be chopped back and eaten soon after the plant fills out.
•  Mint is also a perennial that can take a few frosts. However, beware that mint can quickly take over a garden; this can be prevented by planting the mint in it’s container to prevent the roots from spreading underground.
•  Oregano
•  Parsley
•  Sage

Annuals:

•  Pansies and violas. pictured at right, are typically the first plants you see popping up in garden centers. That’s because they are the most cold tolerant annual flower, able to take a solid freeze. You will notice once the weather gets warmer they will start looking long and sickly. Just chop them back and let your other plants take over; once fall comes, they should look as good as they did in the spring.
•  Snapdragons
•  Alyssums
•  Calendula (pot marigold)
•  Lobelia
•  Dianthus
•  Forget-me-nots
•  Nasturtium

If you are planting from seed, be aware that the seedlings are more damaged by frost than plants with true leaves. If have already started your plants indoors or in a hoop house, they need to be hardened off for about two weeks before they are planted in the ground. To do this, simply increase the time the plants spend outside during the day so they can acclimate to the change in temperatures and sunlight.

Good luck and happy planting!!

Alyssa - Garden Center Annuals Manager

www.mickman.com

Find us on Facebook!

Follow us on Twitter!

Pin us on Pinterest!

Planting Your Tomatoes: Mickman Brothers Garden Center

Tomato plants in the garden.

You've chosen your Tomato varieties based on:  growing habits, disease resistance, uses, color, flavor, etc. and after much careful consideration you've chosen the very best!  Now, let's get them growing in the garden!  Take the time to ensure proper light, tomatoes like at least 8 hours of sunlight per day; soil condition, do you need to add any compost or other nutrients to the soil; and irrigation, they need to receive water on a regular schedule to prevent disease.

Plant tomatoes deep in the soil.  Their stems have the ability to grow roots when they're buried, making the plants stronger, which is important if you've chosen indeterminate varieties that grow tall.  There are two good ways to plant tomatoes: by digging a deeper hole, or by laying them on their side.

Pull off the leaves at the bottom.

If you choose to dig a deeper hole, just make sure part of the tomato plant is still above ground.  Pull off the leaves on the part of the stem that you'll be burying, leaving the leaves on top intact.  Pop the pot off (unless it's in a plantable pot) and place in the hole, bury with the soil and water in!

Laying the tomato plant on its side is pretty easy too.  The trench needs to be big enough for the root ball on one side, and long enough to fit the tomato, again leaving part of the tomato plant above ground.  Just turn the tomato plant up at the end and hold it while you fill in with soil, the stems are fairly flexible.  Planting a tomato on its side gives it a lot of support as well, and the roots will be able to absorb a lot of water and nutrients with the added root surface area.

Planting a tomato in a trench.

Add cages or other means of support to your tomatoes right after planting them so you don't disturb their roots or break off stems after they've matured.  You can see in the pictures that my husband constructed some interesting 'tomato troughs' from some 1x4 unfinished pieces of wood.  They've worked really well!  Other support structures include the popular tomato cage, or bamboo stakes. 

Next week, we'll get your tomatoes on a regular watering schedule! 

Sara Laning
Mickman Brothers Marketing (and Gardener)