Testing Soil Temperature

[kathyd]

So... what would you class as 'hardy'? Broadies I guess? Brassicas? Peas? Not potatoes? And does 'get growing' mean sowing in pots indoors, or planting out small plants even if frosty nights are forecast? I must admit I'm winging it at the moment - I've got a soil thermometer on its way, but I still won't know whether to plant out my little plants if the soil is warm enough but the night time temps are minus 2 or 3... My mother always said I was quite intelligent but had no common sense, so god help my poor little plantlings...

[gingerbilly]

So... what would you class as 'hardy'?

I would class something as hardy that could withstand minus 5 temps and not be affected while it was frosted and also once it was thawed out........uk weeds and poa annua grass and their seeds can do that every single day easy no problem......but how many uk veg plants and their seeds can get through an unprotected 5 degree frost like last night??

not many......

[bearded bloke]

And after sorting out the ground temperature,what about air temperature or are they relative

[Hazel at the Hill]

So... what would you class as 'hardy'? Broadies I guess? Brassicas? Peas? Not potatoes? And does 'get growing' mean sowing in pots indoors, or planting out small plants even if frosty nights are forecast? I must admit I'm winging it at the moment - I've got a soil thermometer on its way, but I still won't know whether to plant out my little plants if the soil is warm enough but the night time temps are minus 2 or 3... My mother always said I was quite intelligent but had no common sense, so god help my poor little plantlings...

Norty GB and BB - not helpful for Kathy!

I would sow nothing outside until the weed seeds get going - follow Nicos advice there.

You should be ok to sow fairly hardy things in pots in cold greehouse/coldframe. I'd say that brassica seeds, broad beans, peas, leeks, lettuce fall into that category.

Less hardy seeds would include french and runner beans, any squash/courgette/cucumbers - which I wouldn't sow even in a frame until the end of April, and that's if it's feeling Spring like - these won't tolerate cold (i.e. single digit) temps day or night - they will sulk at best, die at worst.

Greenhouse plants (i.e. those which need to be warmer than our summer can provide ) like tomatoes/aubergine I would sow indoors about now, but those will need keeping on a sunny windowsill for the time being and not in an unheated greenhouse.

And potatoes (which is where we came in a long time ago!) can be planted 'when the soil warms up' which I would say round here would be sometime in the middle of the month, and then plant them deep and cover with a mulch/fleece/earth up when they are showing their leaves if frost is forecast.

[Bigmallly]

What confuses me is when I was preparing what was last years spud bed a few weeks ago, why was I digging up really good tatties that I had missed from last year............

[zazen999]

Why, because you missed them last year...

[kathyd]

Thanks Hazel, lol . I think the problem is that you get so many conditions all mixed up together which confuse things - eg we have loads of weeds happily poking their heads up, and many of them flowering; I have 3 (the rest didn't like the cold ) broadies screaming to go outside, and a box of peas in pots also looking quite enthusiastic; the sun's shining on and off (well, more off than on if I'm honest, but I'm being optimistic), and I even took my coat off yesterday and was ONLY wearing a long sleeved thermal vest, a long sleeved T-shirt, a big woolly jumper and some thermal winter padded gardening gloves whilst shifting mulch! BUT night time temps are still often zero or below, and the weather forecasts are a waste of time - they seem to be just looking out the window and saying 'oh it's rainy today', and changing the forecasts on an hourly basis... one minute the week ahead is full of rain, snow and thunderstorms, the next it's full of sunshiney pictures. So the weeds say 'go for it', the days say 'go on, take a risk', and the nights say 'rofl, gotcha!'. Think I'll stick to the tunnel and porch for now then, and buy some bigger pots! Thx for the advice

[Bigmallly]

Why, because you missed them last year...

I know that silly............if we are to protect our seeds prior to planting, why didn't these rot. I think they are harder than we give them credit.

[Aberdeenplotter]

It's not that spuds are harder or hardier than we think. They are incredibly susceptible to damage by frost because of their high water content. What we frequently underestimate is the insulation properties of soil. Even 4" down, spuds are well protected and the deeper they are the safer they are.

[Bigmallly]

Cheers AP, that's the answer I was looking for.............

[Aberdeenplotter]

what I can never understand is how I sometimes manage to leave large spuds in the ground. I could swear they must disguise themselves

[Bigmallly]

what I can never understand is how I sometimes manage to leave large spuds in the ground. I could swear they must disguise themselves

Is there a variety called Chameleon?...........

[alldigging]

Probe thermometer found this afternoon after back from plot.
Played about with IR one earlier and got mix of temps - with my plot in the sun being 15'C ish in places.

[BUFFS]

I'm not to sure why some amongst us would sooner strip down to their under crackers and test the soil with their bare bottoms....especially those with plots/gardens full of raised beds were they would have to stand at a great height to be able to do that.......so in that case it's not like it's a private thing......

I think people who use that naked posterior option have insecurities.....

and cold wet bottoms...

[RedThorn]

And I hope they've cleared the test section properly