Warmer weather doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right time to get started on the garden

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – If you’re a green thumb and the warm weather has you anxious to get planting, don’t get carried away.

A gardening expert says we shouldn’t let this sunny stretch fool us into thinking it’s time for all of those warm-weather plants and veggies.

Those tomatoes and pepper plants you’ve been looking forward to growing out on your balcony or in your yard? Not the best idea, unless you have a greenhouse, says Miles Hunter with Hunters Garden Centre.

“Putting them outside in the colder, wet temperatures that we’re having at night would certainly kill the plants. So, you wouldn’t want to do that right now,” he says.

“There are lots of things you can start outside in the garden like your kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower — things like that can handle cooler temperatures. But not the warm stuff like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, etcetera.”

When it comes to flowers, Hunter says, “we’re starting to get some early-season bedding plants in right now and annuals that you can plant in your garden.”

“Now’s still a great time for pansies and primula — they’ve got lots of colour and they’re going to provide you with colour for months to come, but hold off on some the things that need warmer temperatures.”

If you want to re-seed or fertilize your lawn, now is a great time to do it.

Hunter adds if your yard has been a victim of destruction from birds or skunks trying to get to chafer beetles, you can over-seed it to fill in the spaces left over.

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