April 22, 2018
My melons, zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes have outgrown the plastic dome on the starter tray so I had to remove it. This is the time to start acclimating your starts to the sunlight. The ultraviolet light, that can't pass through the plastic, can burn the plant leaves if they are suddenly exposed to it all day long. Traditionally this is accomplished by giving the plants morning sun and moving them into the shade in the afternoon. After five days of doing this the plants can survive the entire day in direct sunlight..
I don't have to shade my starts because we have a glass topped patio table. I put them under it in the afternoon and they get full sun minus the UV. It's amazing how sunlight brings us both life and death..
April 23, 2018
These sunny days in the seventies are making gardening a delight. Just as our new plants need sun acclimation so does our skin. More than twenty minutes of direct exposure is not recommended. Sun screen is not optional. The back of your hands and the back of your neck are mandatory. The heat is making some of my Cole crops wilt, even though they've been in the ground for a month..
This might be because of my watering every other day. The roots never had to explore for water and now are coming up short. I covered them with partial shade and watered them so they should perk back up by tomorrow. The heat is also making the weeds grow exceptionally fast. I've got patches of three foot tall weeds in some places so I may have to break out the machete..
April 24, 2018
The temperature is climbing into the 80's and I find myself ducking into the shade every chance I get. I've been waiting six months for the warm sunshine and now I'm a shade seeker. I think I forgot how to sweat. The wilted Cole crops did not perk up overnight like I had hoped. I put the sprinkler on the whole patch because maybe the moisture at their roots was being wicked away by the drier soil a foot away..
If they are not up tomorrow I might conclude they are just top heavy. There is no indication of stem damage at the ground level from either slugs or sow bugs. The leaves are broad and heavy so the afternoon wind could topple them. I don't know why the tops would grow faster than the roots but the roots are still thin and weak looking..
