On a whim earlier this month, I decided I wanted to try growing some vegetables this summer—that was before several days of very hot weather arrived. I found some lovely starter plants at a regional garden center, and because that heat was in the forecast, I decided to stick them all in the ground right away. Usually it’s not wise to plant anything frost sensitive until after May 15 around here (and even then it can be risky).
Lettuce may have not been my best choice considering the extended forecast. Lettuce tends to bolt in extreme heat. But I planted the seedlings in partial shade where I knew they’d have protection from the hottest part of the day, and after several days of record-breaking high temperatures they were still thriving.
My other cool-season plants are snap peas. They bleached out a little in the hot sun, but otherwise continue to look healthy. I had to put little “cat scat” plastic around their base to deter the chipmunks from uprooting them.
The other plants are heat-loving and didn’t mind the weather at all. I purchased some pole bean plants and some cucumbers. I decided to plant the cukes in a barrel. I haven’t had much luck doing that in the past, but if at first you don’t succeed…
But the most exciting plants were the tomatoes. This garden center was selling some very-far-along plants. They were pricey, but my friend offered to buy me 2 as an early birthday present. Before I could even argue she was wheeling them off to the checkout counter while I looked for some herbs. She wanted to get a head start on wrangling them into her car.
One plant is a determinate slicer and the other is an indeterminate with cherry tomatoes. That one even had fruit on it already! The determinate is loaded with flowers, and I fully expected those flowers and fruits to abort the second I planted the tomatoes in my flowerbeds—transplant stress and all.
My friend said that at the checkout counter everyone was oooing and ahhhing over those tomato plants. They asked her where she found them, and when she told people they were a birthday present, they told her she was “the best friend ever.” One of the employees exclaimed, “She’s going to have BLTs before anyone!”
Again, because of that crazy-hot forecast, I bucked regular gardening advice and my husband helped me wrangle both big tomato plants into the ground without incident. I also planted 2 other tomatoes that I purchased that day—they were started much later and each only 6 inches tall.
All four plants grew considerably in the hot weather and not a single blossom or fruit aborted. And the critters haven’t even pulled off any fruits yet (although they tend to wait until they’re ripe)!
I’ll still believe it when I see it considering my past luck with growing my own tomatoes, but at this rate I may indeed enjoy BLTs before anyone else on the block!