Weather and planting seed

By Rennie Phillips

Sure been a wet spring up to now. I know every spring it rains here in Missouri but seems like this has been a really wet spring. I know we have never had ruts from using the four wheeler and the tractor like we have right now. When the weather finally breaks we will have to do some smoothing out ruts and seeding and putting down some straw.

I started putting down plastic mulch in our big garden but barely got started. I ran one row of plastic mulch from end to end and then it started raining again. We'll need several days of dry weather to start again. I usually plant around 80 or so early tomatoes in the big garden, but haven't been able to this year. I did till up the one tunnel and got it ready for tomatoes. Will probably start planting in there next week. The weather is supposed to get pretty cold the end of this week. Weather is forecasting measurable snow as well.

We are about three weeks to a month from being able to plant without much danger of frost so we can start most of our squash or cucumber plants. I normally start them indoors and then transplant after the frost danger is over. I normally plant the cucumbers in 48 cell packs and the squash in 18 to 24 cell packs. I have geared all of my planting towards using 1020 trays. The open trays and cell packs should be available locally or can be ordered on line. For most of my cucumbers and squash and such I have been using cell packs that are singles. The one I've been using last few days has 36 individual cells per flat.

I use a mixture of potting mix and plant starter but one can use just potting mix. I dampen the potting soil some before even putting it in the cells. Once in the cells I skim off the extra and maybe even a tad bit down into the cells. After that I plant my seeds like Suyo Long which is one of the new cucumbers I'm trying. I then dampen the seed to make sure it is wet before covering the seed with some starting mix. Once I cover the seed then I dampen the starting mix and they are good to go. I cover the 1020 tray with a clear dome and then put under one of my light sets.

Once the cucumber plants come up, I then water them with a high middle number fertilizer or one high in phosphate. My goal is to grow good roots which will support top growth later. I believe the one I use on seedlings is 9-56-8 or something close to this. The three numbers that you find on a bag of fertilizer are nitrogen first, phosphate second and potash last. I bought some 13-13-13 which I am using this year. In a 50-pound bag there is 13 percent nitrogen or 6.5 pounds, 13 percent phosphate or 6.5 pounds and 13 percent potash or 6.5 pounds. The remaining contents of the bag are just fillers.

You want to get your cucumber plants planted before they start to run or even fall over on the ground. They have a kind of upright habit until they are a couple weeks old. About then is when they kind of fall over and start on the ground. I'd plant while they are still upright. When you transplant, it's best to pick a day that's overcast. Seems like cucumbers tend to wilt.

Now is a great time to start your summer squash as well. I start my zucchini in small 2x3 cells which will give them plenty of space to form roots. Usually they come up almost overnight. Probably a couple days but it seems like overnight. Once they are up water them with the high middle number fertilizer. I think mine takes a tablespoon of fertilizer per two gallons of water. This will help them form good roots.

When I plant my cucumbers or squash or tomatoes, I make sure I water them in using the high middle number fertilizer. Seems like they do better if I do. Once they are planted, one will have to watch the weather to make sure temps stay above freezing. If there is freezing temps or frost is forecast, one will have to cover them. Plastic doesn't work very well. Sheets or painting cloths or canvas do a fine job. I have bought some special fabric that will protect my seedlings. The fabric protects for about 4 degrees.

If you haven't planted crops like cabbage or broccoli or other cole crops, I'd get them planted. They do better when the temps are cooler in the spring. If you are going to raise some spring turnips get them planted as well. Same with Chinese cabbage. Potatoes are another crop one needs to get planted. Beets as well.

One crop you can wait on is okra. Okra likes warmer temps so don't get in a hurry to plant it. Eggplant is another plant that seems to like warm weather. If you are wanting some winter squash to just eat one can start them any time. But if you are wanting some winter squash to store and use this winter you will need to wait till later this summer.

Don't get discouraged if something you do fails. Seems like I go from failure to failure or limited results to limited results. Keep planting and trying. I really like eating the results, but I also like to plant and watch it come up.