Gabriola ‘last frost’ date?
Ok, Gabriola gardeners, here’s a question for you. When’s our ‘last frost’ date in a typical year? Have any of you been keeping track of this?
Some of my seed packages say plant after last frost, while others say things like sow indoors two weeks before last frost date or some such. So that’s why I’m wondering, you see.
We had frost last night, by the way. (I know these things now that I get up at stupid o’clock every morning for the time-eating project.)
Filed in Gabriola Island,gardening,weather 3 Comments so far
3 Responses to “Gabriola ‘last frost’ date?”
cheryl on 22 Feb 2010 at 10:48 pm #
For as long as my mother or my self have ever gardened the rule of thumb was.. Never plant outdoors until after Mothers’ Day. Now that said. There are some things that like cool weather to germinate like peas, but I have planted peas some years before May and they rotted in the soil and other years they were just fine. As for the last frost it’s never the same from year to year. The farmers’ Almanac is a good place to start.
Andrea on 23 Feb 2010 at 8:38 am #
Veseys says it is April 28 for your area http://www.veseys.com/ca/en/learn/reference/frost/canada
That would be based on the Environment Canada data and I think they take a 30-year average, which would imply that in 15 years it’s earlier and in 15 years it’s later. Just to complicate things even further, the frost date on your own property probably varies from the location where they measure it in Nanaimo, usually there are some microclimate variations where you might be more or less sheltered, in a valley, south facing or whatever. And with “climate change”, we are not necessarily facing global warming, but greater weather variability from year to year.
Oh dear, have I totally messed you up with this yet?
Anyway, I would say that you’re pretty safe to plant those later-season seeds sometime between May 1 and Mother’s Day as Cheryl suggested. Keep an eye on the weather forecast and make your decision based on what is happening. If there is a stretch of cold wet weather, plant towards mid-May to avoid having seeds rot in the soil. Also, when it’s cold, you’re not really getting any kind of head start by earlier planting because germination will take longer. If the soil has warmed up nicely, you should be ok for the beginning of May. Another trick you can use to get a bit of a head start for seeds to be sown outside is pre-germinating the seeds in damp paper towels in the house (…but don’t keep them too long because they get moldy, ask me how I know).
For the ones you’ll be starting in the house, assume May 1 is the day. If the weather is cold and you have to keep them inside a bit longer it’s not the end of the world. You’ll want to take a few days to ease them into life outdoors before planting them out anyway.
I have a friend who is a far better gardener than I will likely ever be because he is much more meticulous (has waaay too much time on his hands) and he goes by measuring the soil temperature to make his decisions about planting. If you want to go that route, I think you can find information about optimal soil temperatures online, or let me know and I will track them down for you. It actually does cut down on wasting seeds and optimizing germination as you can imagine. I am more prone to just throw them in when I can manage it, as long it is approximately the right time of year, and more often than not it works out. If they are valuable or hard to get seeds you might want to hold some back in case something happens to your early planting.
specialk on 23 Feb 2010 at 9:49 pm #
From the 2010 West Coast Seed catalogue:
“The last frost in spring is around mid-April and the first fall frost is around the first week in November.” – from DAYS TO MATURITY, page 6
All though one would have to consider their own micro climate as well. I’m using a soil thermometer bought from Art Knapp, $12. I’m new to this and if the seed catalogue says they want 10 degrees or they rot… well then I will make sure it is 10 degrees!