Yesterday seemed like the perfect day to put out my first tomato transplants of the spring. The soil in my raised beds was still cool and moist from the recent rains, and the forecast for the week is for mostly cloudy days in the low 70s and moderate nights in the mid 60s. More rain is a good possibility later in the week as well.
I also transplanted some foxgloves, summer savory, greek basil, and thai basil from the greenhouse. All of the seedlings in the greenhouse are doing extremely well this year. I have snapdragons, pansies, mealy sage, greek oregano, cilantro, foxgloves, tomatoes, sweet alyssum, licorice mint, greek basil, thai basil, and blue flax ready to transplant now, and I started my next set of warm weather plants yesterday. The next crop will feature several types of heirloom tomatoes, tomatillos (purple and green), several types of sweet and hot peppers, zinnias, vincas, cosmos, and petunias, poppies, and perennial lupines.
The plants in the yards and garden beds are also doing very well this year. The mild winter, coupled with some decent rainfall, has gotten this spring off to a wonderful start. I’m loving the early onset of DST this year, it is great having time to get out to the garden for a couple of hours after work every day.
I will take some pictures of everything I decribed above in the next couple of days.
Happy spring everyone!
3 Comments To "Put Out My First Tomatoes of the Season"
#1 Comment By Annie in Austin On March 22, 2007 @ 10:37 pm
Our tomatoes are planted and a little rain got them growing. Our pecan buds are ready to pop so we figure we’re probably safe now. Do you use that oldtimer’s signal for the end of frost danger, too?
Annie
#2 Comment By carol On March 23, 2007 @ 7:41 am
Hi Annie,
In looking at your blog I would say that you are about a week ahead of us in your seasonal change. Not surprising since we are a bit higher in altitude, and our land sits fairly low in a large valley (facing south luckily). I don’t have any pecan trees here, so I judge spring’s onset mainly by paying close attention to the weather and the long and short term forecasts from several different weather sources. I also rely on my native wildflowers (anemones & bluebonnets), shrubs (possumhaws & persimmons, and trees (anacacho orchid, red buckeye & redbud) to help me. However, frost danger here due to our land being low-lying (our temperatures often mimic Bergstrom’s temps) will continue for the next few weeks, so I use row covers to protect my tender veggies on particularly cold nights until well into April usually.
Your garden looks great BTW. I haven’t had much time to visit your blog lately, but I hope to change that trend soon. Did your Mexican mint marigolds ever emerge? All of mine seem to have made it, even the very young ones.
Thanks for stopping by.
Carol
#3 Comment By Annie in Austin On March 23, 2007 @ 2:16 pm
It sounds like you are definitely in the Hill Country, Carol! My neighborhood has a different soil, less rock, lots of clay. There are large Magnolias and Pecan trees on nearby streets, although the harvest apparently belongs to the squirrels.
All two of my Mexican Mint Marigolds have resprouted, too.
Annie