When the thermometer shows 28°C(82.4°F) there’s no more reason to keep the seedlings away from the garden. The last frost date is May 15th, so there’s no more danger of sudden temperatures drop. This is why this week, while my hubby is working on the new steps, I decided to transplant seedlings. 

The first thing I’ve transplanted are the bell peppers. There were supposed to be two pepper beds, but since I’ve planted a part of peppers in the new veggie garden, I needed only one bed for all my peppers.

As I said before the temperatures are pretty high, above average for this time of the year, and since we’re in the stormy period of the year, the chances of a hail or wind storm are much higher than usual. This is why I decided to try and protect my seedlings just to be on the safe side. We will buy an anti-hail net, but until we do I still want to protect my seedlings. This is why I’ll build a net out of agrotextile and some old anti deer nets I have at home.

I’ve placed agrotextile above the peppers with a couple of tomato poles. The old agrotextile has some holes, but it will be great for protection. Also, it will provide a much-needed shade for the seedlings, especially since the temperatures are so high. If things continue like this we could easily have 30+°C in June, and that could kill the peppers. The garden is in the sun during the whole afternoon, and a bit of shade will be very beneficial.

After I’ve finished with the peppers I’ve transplanted the tomatoes. This year I’ve planted them differently. Usually, I’d use poles for each plant, but this year I decided to make a tomato mesh. 

I’ve asked my hubby to place a couple of strong poles which will hold the tomato strings and planted the tomatoes between the poles tying them with a rope. When tomatoes grow enough I will tie them again. 

The tomatoes are looking pretty sad. Most of them are completely yellow. The temperature has been too high lately, and morning temperatures were too low to transplant earlier, so the tomatoes grew too big and started turning yellow. But I’m sure they will recuperate very fast, especially with the very warm weather we’re having. I’ve also planted a bunch of Marigolds around the tomatoes to help them grow better.

 

There are two beds with tomatoes divided into 4 rows. The 4th row is still empty and waiting for the tomatoes sown on March 15th. The rest of the tomatoes have been planted and tied. 

I still need to plant cucumbers and brassicas and clean most of the beds. Right now I spend 2-3 hours every evening in the main garden, and the new veggie garden is a bit abandoned. I will clean the small garden as soon as I finish with the transplanting in the main garden. I will also need to trim the grass once again since it has been growing like mad. Weeds are all over the place, and I clean them as fast as I can. The only good thing about the weeds is that now Srećko has a small mountain to climb. He has been obsessed with the hawthorn. He keeps climbing the small tree, looking inside, and I have no idea what’s so interesting about it. There are no animals or nests on the tree. At least now he doesn’t have the need to roll around the veggie plants. 

The seedling transplanting should be done by the end of the week, and then I will have some time to relax. We have had a very busy couple of weeks, and I really need a day or two to just sit and enjoy the spring.