The past winter was the mildest we have had in years and, as a result, spring seems to be coming early.  The leaves are coming out on the trees about a month in advance.  Grass is no longer dormant and is beginning to grow weeks ahead of schedule.  However, even with all these signs of spring, we need to remember that we should still follow the same planting schedules as we always have.

When we are getting seventy and even eighty degree days in the middle of March, the temptation to start planting annuals or seeding our vegetable gardens can be too much.  But, even though we are seeing signs of an early spring, it still doesn’t mean that cold weather can’t make a comeback.  In April of 1997, we had a snowstorm that shut down most local businesses and schools.  Nature rarely looks at the calendar when it comes to growing plants, but we should.  Recent warm weather gave way to extreme cold nights and any plantings that are not able to withstand a frost will still wither and can even die prematurely regardless of how warm it was during the day.  History has almost always shown that no matter what the daily weather is like, you should still follow your normal planting schedules.

In spite of the warm days, our nights have recently been in the thirties and even twenties.  Flowers and vegetables, especially those raised in a greenhouse, simply can’t withstand that kind of cold.  Typically, New England’s weather has been historically OK for planting between the second and third week of May.  Even though we’ve been blessed with a mild winter and a seemingly early spring, you should still wait to plant your flowers and vegetables… for their sake.