Gardening through difficult weather

This has been a kind of weird spring here in Southeast Missouri. Up to just this past week, it has really been cool. Days have been in the 50s and 60s and nights in the 40s. Some plants like the cooler weather, but some really don't. I drove through where we usually have a good stand of grass that we bale for the steers, and it was thin and short. Too cool of weather and too dry. Both affect the grass but also the gardens.

Cool-season crops such as cabbage or broccoli and such really like the cool days and nights. We got our cabbage and broccoli planted during the cooler weather, so it's doing pretty good. We have high tunnels but the cool crops we plant outdoors so they are affected by the weather. We did plant some of our Chinese cabbage and kohlrabi in a high tunnel but it has done exceptionally well. With the weather being cool both day and nights the tunnels haven't heated up like normal. We also got some of our kohlrabi planted outdoors, so it's doing well.

Back about the first part of April we planted some tomatoes in one of the high tunnels, matter of fact about 75 tomato plants. Probably 25 or so were Stupice. All of these tomatoes have bloomed and put on tomatoes with some of them ready to turn red, which I've been expecting. Since they were in the high tunnels they have been considerably warmer than tomatoes planted outdoors. They have had a temperature range of from 55 to 80 degrees. Perfect growing conditions for tomatoes.

Those who planted tomatoes outdoors have had their tomatoes go from low 40s at night up to 75 or so in the day. Good conditions for the tomato to root and grow and develop, but not so good for putting on fruit. Tomatoes will blossom up and get flowers at most temperatures, but if the night time temps get down to 55 or below they will drop the blossoms. Disappointing, but that's the way tomatoes work. Looking at the 10-day forecast, we have hot days coming and warm nights. Perfect to get your tomatoes blossomed up and growing tomatoes.

With the change in the weather from warm 65 degree days to close to 90 degree days, I'd watch your garden crops. Tomatoes and peppers will be affected. Over the past weekend, we had some tomatoes curl their leaves where it switched off hot like it did. Check the ground, and if dry than water, but if wet from the rain hold off on more water. They may go into a kind of shock.

We had been dry for a spell, but recently we got a week or so of rain. If this rain continues, one may need to add some calcium to fight off blossom end rot. I use calcium nitrate. The added rainfall will leach the calcium from the soil, leaving a deficiency. I read a piece or article that said they put a tum's in each hole under the tomato to fight off blossom end rot.

We were slow getting our soil prepared for planting, so just put in our potatoes and planted our corn. Planted bodacious sweet corn. We enjoy it. Planted a few Yukon Gold, some Kennebec, some Pontiac and one other kind that skips my mind. Your mind do that skip a memory or two? Mine does. We also planted a bag of those little potatoes Marge bought. They were sprouting, so why not. All we'll lose is $3.00.

Just a thought on next year's garden. Last fall we had some zucchini planted in one high tunnel, and it was putting on zucchini, but they weren't ready. So we took some of those 4-foot metal electric fence posts and drove them in the ground making two rows 5 feet apart with the posts being spaced every 3 feet. We then took a ½-inch pvc pipe, cut it about 7 to 8 feet long, stuck each end on opposite posts and made a hoop. Covered it with plastic -- instant hoop house.