Garden Outlook - Bring On The Green
Snowflakes last week and nights in the 20s. Not exactly the type of weather to get you in the gardening spirit. Just going by a visual inspection and based off years of living here, it looks like most plants/migrations are running about 2 weeks behind schedule.
But the daffodils were shining brightly on Nantucket (and elsewhere) for Daffy Day this past weekend and trees are showing signs of life. Spring is coming slowly and steadily and on tap there are some opportunities to start getting your hands dirty in the yard.
Much of the Northeast has seen precipitation running 2-6" below average since the start of the year. Pretty amazing considering how much snow fell! Source: Northeast Regional Climate Center
As a setup, let's talk about the state of the earth below us. We all know the snow story - there was plenty to go around in this record winter. But the fast and furious 6-week snow blitz has in general been the only game in town over the first four months of the year. January was bone dry before the snow started on January 24th, and April showers have been few and far between. We've only seen about 2" of rainfall for the month locally with little to no more coming through the start of May. This is mainly good news for gardeners. It's allowed all the snow to melt without a ton of standing water, and the ground is drying out quickly considering the amount of melting that had to take place. There have been no big rain storms to soak the region - and we may actually get to a point in the next week or two where we start hoping for a good soaking rain! I'm looking at you, guy/gal trying to seed your lawn.
From Terry O'Neill in North Attleborough - "Vegetable garden is already dry. Need spring showers. I had 7 feet of snow there about a month ago."
Then there's the issue of frost, which is something professional and novice gardeners alike are vigilant of in late April/May. We had some very cold nights last week, but this week doesn't look to offer air quite as chilly. In general it looks like a lot of mid 30s to low 40s for overnight lows through the start of the weekend. With several nights dipping into the 30s, there's always the chance that some frosty spots could develop based on the timing of cloud cover and wind speeds. A little clearing and calming winds can drop temps those crucial few degrees. So we're still in a bit of a holding pattern. In weather like this - plants like pansies, daffodils, crocus, lettuce, broccoli, and brussels sprouts are all fine. Your cold crop veggies and first flowers of spring don't mind temps around the freezing mark.
If you want to start getting a little more aggressive with your planting and work with annuals, dig with caution. Although the threat of frost is on the low side this week, climatology tells us we're not out of the woods. By the start of May, we've passed our average 'final frost date' in the immediate Boston area, as well as the Outer Cape, South Coast, and Islands. It would take an unusual setup to bring frost to these areas after this weekend, although it's certainly not impossible. The aforementioned cold crop vegetables and flowers are still most recommended, and hanging baskets that can be easily brought in on cold nights without too much trouble.
By May 10th, Metro West and the rest of SE Mass joins in the 'safer zone.' These locations can start putting in the annuals with the caveat that a night or two may require covering for protection. Vegetables/fruits like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, melons, and pumpkins are still not typically recommended, as they really don't thrive until nights are warm. You can always throw them in the ground and protect them on cold nights, but they usually just sit there and stare at you until we're routinely bottoming out around 50F or warmer. And for central MA/New Hampshire, Memorial Day is the more typical 'go for it!' date when anything can go in the ground.
The longer range forecast finally brings some true warmth back into the region. It looks like a ridge could build over the Northeast by early next week and give us at least a few days of 60s and 70s in a row. That's the push a lot of the trees really need to start waking up (so tired of stick season). Believe it or not, Boston has yet to hit 70F all year long. The last time it happened was on October 29th. There's an outside shot, if everything goes perfectly, that the city could finally do it on Sunday. If not, there's a better chance on Monday. For argument's sake, let's say Logan reaches that 70F point on Monday. It would be the 8th longest wait for a 70-degree day in a calendar year for the city, with records dating back to 1871. Its the longest we've waited in 20 years, and we'll enter the Top 5 if it doesn't happen until after May 10th. A 181+ day wait that hopefully ends soon!
