John asks…
My father always told me not to plant before Memorial Day weekend. I noticed the newly published gardening zone changes though so I was wondering if it might be safe to plant a bit earlier then people used to? According to the new zoning, we are located on the borderline of zones 5a and 5b. I have peas, cucumber, zuchinni, summer squash, hot pepper, green bell pepper, and pumpkin seedlings growing in the sun porch. I am wondering when is the earliest it would be safe to transplant them into the garden which is getting rototilled today? I also want to buy some tomato and more pepper plants to put out there when the time comes too.
I live in zone 5.
I have had some garden plants in the ground since mid March (radishes, lettuce, potatoes, carrots etc.)
My tomatoes (still protected) have been in the ground since mid April.
Of course you can lose some plants to frost if you are not careful….. But if you wait until nearly June to plant tomatoes… It will be late July before you have any ripe tomatoes.
Planting by the calendar, in exactly the same way every year… Is silly. If you have night temperatures approaching 50 degrees consistently… You can plant tomatoes and peppers. You can plant things like lettuce and spinach much earlier…. They can get snowed on and still come out fine (they actually LIKE cold nights… And tolerate temps down into the upper 20’s if it only lasts a few hours).
Joseph asks…
I live in gardening zones either 5 or 6, it’s very dry here, gets hot in the summer and cold with lots of snow in the winter. What plant would be ideal for deterring wasps?
I don’t know of any plants. I hang glass wasp traps (or you can make your own but the glass ones are really pretty) I bait mine with fermented honey and water, but you can use jam or fruit juice. If you get the traps out early and keep them going all summer, you may be able to keep them from nesting too close to your house. Also, if you see them coming and going from holes in the ground, you can cut plastic 12-ounce water bottles in half and screw the halves into the ground over each hole. Your yard will look like a bubble garden but the wasps will all be gone in a few days. The glass tops from big Yankee candles are also good for this.
Donna asks…
I want to grow a Brunelsia pauciflora but would like to know more about the conditions needed. Thank you.
The Brunfelsia pauciflora originates in Brazil and Peru. This means that they flourish in a tropical climate.They can stand a temperature of 50 degrees F in the winter and survive at
41 degrees F for short periods.They like a moist atmosphere and being well watered in the summer but must be shaded from hot sun.In the winter they should be kept fairly dry. In Zone 10 the winter temperatures can go to 22 degrees F with the lowest recorded temperatur around 6 degrees F.
The zones 13, 15-17and 20-24 are suitable for Brunfelsias.
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