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Great Lakes Gardening

is it too cold to plant warm weather veggies?

kawaiineko_gardener

14 years ago

I live in Boyne City. This is in the northern part of the lower peninsula.

Now I haven't lived here in a very long time, not since I was a kid. I know it becomes cooler here sooner because it's in the northern portion of the United States and where I live is in the northern part of the lower peninsula.

Even so, the weather for this time of year seems very awkward and unusual. It's cold and windy for July; it doesn't even feel like it's summer, rather it feels like it's fall.

I was planning on planting some bush green beans and cucumbers but my question is, due to the weather right now is it too cold to plant them now? If I were to plant them it would be from seed. I don't want to plant them only to have them die because it's too cold for them to germinate and thrive. I know green beans and cucumbers are warm weather vegetables, that's why I'm asking.

My other concern is regarding cool weather veggies. Cool weather veggies I want to plant are lettuce, spinach,

carrots, and turnips. Now I know that if the weather

is warm and/or hot they'll have a difficult time growing

and germinating.

However I know they still need a certain temperature range

to germinate. My question is, if I plant my cool weather veggies now, will they have a difficult time germinating and/or not germinate because the weather is too cold? Would it be okay if I plant them now? If I do so now, is it going to be too cool for them and will they not germinate?

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Comments (2)

rawb
14 years ago
Hi kaw
I'm pretty new to all this too. But I think if germination is a concern Why not start them indoors? A lil further north than me. But it does seem to be a cool summer this year. But any real concerns an answers specifically for your area. Give your county extention office a call and or look and see if the have a website. If they do they probably might have a FAQ section... oh well just a thought or two.. sure some smart people will come along soon enough.

But then again this greatlake forum don't get a whole lot of action... to bad!
msaunt
14 years ago
Both of those plants grow quickly, but you may want to see if your garden center has any cuke plants left, and just start with those. I ended up planting some cuke plants and seed simultaneously, and the from seed plants are almost caught up to the nursery plants. But at this stage, I wouldn't chance it. Beans, I would start. They're fast, and last year I grew them in a box on my balcony. I kept them covered with row cover into the fall and they lasted well. Row cover has become my new best friend, especially on the balcony.
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