We were very excited that the soil temperature had been hovering over 60 for a week, so we got beans and corns in the ground last week. So far so good, then this week has been cool and cloudy, and yesterday we had a full day of, cold, soaking rain, and then a cold wind all night long.
Back down to 55°. Too cold for corn or beans to germinate. On the bright side, they got a good soaking, and if the temperature can warm back up again in the next few days, they might all burst to life. Or, if the temperature doesn’t come up, they can all mold and die.
Western Washington is just like that. It gets warm-ish very early, but not really warm for quite some time.last year, I don’t think we got corn in the ground until after annual training, but it’s still managed to come in by mid August. If this crop doesn’t sprout by early June, we will just replant after annual training.
Next year, maybe we will try a row cover to heat the soil, but without the sunshine, I’m not optimistic that it will make that much of a difference.
Little Farm in the Big City 