Good morning, this past Sunday a strong cold front clobbered Far west Texas. I knew it was coming and I made proper preparations in the garden. All of NOAA's forecasts up until the event was in motion predicted the temps in the Alpine area to be in the low thirties. A very light freeze.
As I was making final preparations on Sunday evening, I felt a distinct chill to the air. I was feeling at that time that if we only had a 27 degree morning that would be warm.
Mondays low was 24, Tuesdays 21 and Wednesday 30. As always, I get a bit antsy how things made it through the chill. Days prior to the freeze I had sown germinated summer squash, germinated beans and germinated cucumbers.
Prior to the chill down were several days in the upper 70's and low 80's. This put some welcome warmth into the ground. Unlike the first freeze last fall that was preceded with a very cool rain which very effectively chilled the ground and thus there was very little reserve warmth for the 17 degree morning. Fabric conserves what ever temperature is in the ground and there was no reserve warmth to help plants get through the chill and thus there was plant loss. I digress. Just the opposite happened with this freeze and there was bountiful warmth for all plants to use.
My cucumbers were under one layer of 70 and came through with flying colors. Summer squash was under 2 layers of 19. The seedlings that had emerged had dark colored rocks placed by them. All plants that did not have rocks by them may have expired. A few days of warmth will determine their fate. Whereas the rocked plants have superficial burns and look like they will be fine. On to the beans. a large part of the bed had 4 layers of 19 while a smaller portion had 2. The 4 layer section had no burn while there does look like the double layer part has some "has been's". There were no rocks used in the bean bed. As for all the other plants, they are cool season plants and did very well. My pea plants are fine, it is the flowers that took a hit, once again.
I mentioned that I sowed germinated seeds. There is a reason for this. let us take a look at a Johnny's Selected Seed catalog. In the catalog it has germination graphs for all the seeds in the catalog. Cucumbers have a range of 61 to 95 with the quickest germination at 86. All seeds have their preset temp at which they will germinate. For seeds to germinate they need moisture and temperature. Proper temperature and no water, the seeds set. improper temperature and moisture, the seeds rot.
These are genetics and is a safeguard so that it insures that it can propagate. As with all organisms, reproducing itself is the sole purpose. By germinating the seeds it unlocks the temperature switch. Once the switch is off, MOST germinated seeds will grow in less favorable temps. There are three plants that WILL NOT force. They are okra, watermelon, and sweet potato. These plants WILL NOT grow in cooler soils. I do not even try to, that is anymore. Soooo a thermometer that I had stuck in the ground showed the soil temp at 50. Cool but not a game changer. As noted above, the main purpose of plants is to reproduce itself. Once the temperature switch is off they will grow. In the open very slowly, but with fabric, they will flourish. This time of year, daytime temps are perfect growing weather it is just the night time temps that shut everything down. Fabric allows for the conservation of this daytime heating and makes available for the tender seedlings at night.
I like to force summer veggies. I find seeds to be the very best value these days. Especially when you think what bounty ONE seed can add to your table. Forcing, . aka. season extension, is a gamble I am willing to take. With the use of fabric this "gamble" is nearly 100% in your favor and that things will work out in your favor. I did say nearly! But, It needs to be said, you need to ask yourself "am I willing to lose everything and forced to start over?" If you can ask this question and answer without hesitation "yes" , then season extension is a good match for you. It is always a goal to try and have a high summer garden by end of May or early June. This has happened and what joy it is.
Lucky for me the chill down happened at the end of my growth week. harvests are made on Wednesday. The harvest was the best since things got nuked back last fall. This week I did harvest Asian greens, spinach, boc choi, lettuce, green onions, chard, some kale (there appears to be either a rodent or a cut worm nailing plants, leaning towards cutworm), and carrots. There still are sweet potatoes in storage. Please place your orders and I will do my best to fill them.
