moogie 0 Report post Posted May 18, 2007 This weekend is Canada's Victoria Day weekend and a lot of gardeners wait until now to plant tender annuals outside. The rule of thumb is that the risk of frost has passed now and so it's safe to plant those annuals.Annuals are a great way to fill in those spots that need some color when the perennials aren't blooming yet.I took a chance and already planted some bedding annuals over the last two weeks, but I'll be planting the rest of them this weekend. The weather is going to be just perfect .. sunny and warm! We just had 2 days of rain, so Mother Nature already prepped the soil.I'll also be finishing off my hanging planters and deck box planters. Lots of bright colors really set the scene and make the deck a welcome place to sit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Misanthrope 0 Report post Posted May 18, 2007 I'm in the States, but quite close to Canada, and I can see a Canadian ski resort not far from my property. The old wive's tale here is, when the snow melts off that mountain it's safe to plant tender annuals like tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and such. There's still snow on that mountain. It's been warm but the forcast is for near freezing overnight temperatures this weekend. I tried transplanting out some watermelon I had started from seed inside, but all but one has died off. That'll teach me to challenge that time-honored wive's tale. I started some more watermelon inside again, and this time I'll wait till all chance of frost is gone before transplanting them out. The cooler weather annuals are all doing good though - go figure. I don't do much in the way of flowers since we're blessed with a lot of high altitude wild flowers, and they're attracting the hummingbirds already. One of those flowers is called, 'fireweed," and it's a brilliant orange-red hue that the little birds just love. I also hang out a hummingbird feeder with nectar, but I'm sure the flower nectar is better for them. I generally focus on planting veggies, but I wouldn't mind planting some nasturtium and/or other flowers to attract more hummers. I would buy some hanging baskets but they're so expensive. $20 for one plant, and that's at Walmart. Geez. One of these days I'll have to start growing and arranging my own hanging baskets. Deck box planters sound like a great idea too. I may move some of my indoor plants out on the deck for the summer. And maybe incorporate one of those cool waterfall features to attract amphibious friends. Alas - too many projects, not enough time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jlhaslip 4 Report post Posted May 19, 2007 The "old wives tale" i use is to plant things on the first Full Moon following this May 24 th weekend. It hasn't failed me yet... Potatoes are going in this weekend, though. And possibly Onions sets and Wax Beans from seed if I have time... *edit follows this line * Full Moon occurs on May 31st at 9:04 pm Eastern Daylight Time.Anytime this week is a good time to plant were I am in the Western Provinces of Canada. There was frost last week twice. Very light, but it would've been enough to kill small plants, so this will be the heavy gardening week. Onion sets, lettuce, beans, etc will all be planted this week. Happy gardening. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
