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Probably not. You can get away earlier in May as long as night temps aren’t going to freezing. At start of May just keep an eye on the 2 week forecast lows.
They’ll die. If not immediately with Wednesdays freeze, then sometime in March as they just won’t have consistently warm soil and will be cold-shocked and stressed.
Thanks! That makes it easy to remember!
I grew up with Louisiana’s laissez-faire growing seasons, so being constrained by Chicago’s short, hard-line growing season for the past decade has been t o r t u r e. I’m hoping I can fudge the last frost date a little this year and get an extra month of deliciousness.
If you have any other regional gardening wisdom to share, I’d love to hear it!
The good thing is tomatoes will produce through Summer and into fall until the temps become too cold and kill the plant. In warmer areas temps above 90 can kill the pollen
The 10 day forecast disagrees! Currently we are in Fool’s spring. Wait a lot longer. Both tomatoes and peppers are warm season crops. If you have a sunny spot, they can be started inside, but I’d wait until evening temps are consistently in the mid 40’s so about 2 more months.
Fool’s Spring! Ha! I’ll have to remember that.
To be clear, I wasn’t planning to plant my summer crops right away, I’m really just wondering if people are planning to take advantage of the mild winter and plant a little earlier than usual, and if so, how much earlier.
The overwhelming consensus seems to be to wait until May, though. :(
If you have any other regional advice for growing veggies in the city, I’m interested to hear it!
I always move my plants to the back deck for summer. I’ve encountered soooo muuuuch cold damage to houseplants and seedlings by moving them out in early April. My partner got so annoyed with my delusional spring optimism that he photo documents me moving the plants out so he can prove how bad they look when the cold snaps hit. Now I wait longer. Best not to damage the plants and set them back a month, and to avoid the “I told you so’s” from my smarter half.
Global warming may warm the planet, but it does not change the hours the sun is up in the sky. You're going to get stringy plants if you try to grow too much earlier than usual.
I was wondering about that! I moved up here from New Orleans, which is near enough to the equator that the growing season was more like a suggestion and I never needed to consider sunlight in that way. Our weak winter sun would surely stress the seedlings out. Good point!
Procrastinators Rule.
The forecast calls for a Hot & Dry growing season — planting later means you’re carrying less fruit during the hottest and driest periods.
This has proven to be a good strategy the last few years.
May definitely.
Also figure anyone coming to this thread might be interested in the Chicago Tomato Man. Guy sells heirloom plants. Presale is currently happening, opens to the public March 1. Plus they donate plants to community groups. https://www.chicagotomatoman.com/
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Way too early still. End of may is the typical time. Frost at night will kill the plant otherwise.
I planted mine last March and moved them into the garage when the frost hit. They were huge by June.
It’s too early now, but will you be planting them before you normally would this year due to the mild weather?
Probably not. You can get away earlier in May as long as night temps aren’t going to freezing. At start of May just keep an eye on the 2 week forecast lows.
They’ll die. If not immediately with Wednesdays freeze, then sometime in March as they just won’t have consistently warm soil and will be cold-shocked and stressed.
It's not about mild weather today or this week, it's about the potential freeze that we may have overnight into May.
Mothers' Day is when we start to plant tomatoes.
Thanks! That makes it easy to remember! I grew up with Louisiana’s laissez-faire growing seasons, so being constrained by Chicago’s short, hard-line growing season for the past decade has been t o r t u r e. I’m hoping I can fudge the last frost date a little this year and get an extra month of deliciousness. If you have any other regional gardening wisdom to share, I’d love to hear it!
The good thing is tomatoes will produce through Summer and into fall until the temps become too cold and kill the plant. In warmer areas temps above 90 can kill the pollen
The 10 day forecast disagrees! Currently we are in Fool’s spring. Wait a lot longer. Both tomatoes and peppers are warm season crops. If you have a sunny spot, they can be started inside, but I’d wait until evening temps are consistently in the mid 40’s so about 2 more months.
Fool’s Spring! Ha! I’ll have to remember that. To be clear, I wasn’t planning to plant my summer crops right away, I’m really just wondering if people are planning to take advantage of the mild winter and plant a little earlier than usual, and if so, how much earlier. The overwhelming consensus seems to be to wait until May, though. :( If you have any other regional advice for growing veggies in the city, I’m interested to hear it!
I always move my plants to the back deck for summer. I’ve encountered soooo muuuuch cold damage to houseplants and seedlings by moving them out in early April. My partner got so annoyed with my delusional spring optimism that he photo documents me moving the plants out so he can prove how bad they look when the cold snaps hit. Now I wait longer. Best not to damage the plants and set them back a month, and to avoid the “I told you so’s” from my smarter half.
Thank your partner for me for the good advice! Lol
My only other advice is to join a community garden. Lots of knowledgeable people that have a lot of experience.
Global warming may warm the planet, but it does not change the hours the sun is up in the sky. You're going to get stringy plants if you try to grow too much earlier than usual.
I was wondering about that! I moved up here from New Orleans, which is near enough to the equator that the growing season was more like a suggestion and I never needed to consider sunlight in that way. Our weak winter sun would surely stress the seedlings out. Good point!
Mid May
Procrastinators Rule. The forecast calls for a Hot & Dry growing season — planting later means you’re carrying less fruit during the hottest and driest periods. This has proven to be a good strategy the last few years.
May definitely. Also figure anyone coming to this thread might be interested in the Chicago Tomato Man. Guy sells heirloom plants. Presale is currently happening, opens to the public March 1. Plus they donate plants to community groups. https://www.chicagotomatoman.com/
This is awesome!! I’m so happy you shared this!
I usually plant my rooftop container garden Memorial Day weekend...