How "laying on the ground" are they? Are the leaves hugging to the exact contour of the ground like a piece of lettuce that's been left on the counter for a few days, or is the plant just limp? Brassicas are known to complain when you transplant them; if they're not too far gone, just keep giving them water and they'll perk back up.

Once plant that I've never been able to transplant is artichokes. I've lost several :P They go in the ground, and they just die, no matter what I do. However, watering my brassicas almost always brings them back.

Just in time for the rabbits to eat them ;)

Lilacs, the ideal transplanting weather is cool, overcast, and maybe even a light rain. Covers shouldn't usually be necessary for brassicas and certainly not during daytime when there is warmth and sunshine.

Hot caps of most any sort have very little air volume so their protected environment heats rapidly. There is a temperature modifying effect of the soil as a "floor" but young plants are tender and above that floor. The tenderness will be even more of an issue with your melons and squash.

Protection from direct sun and wind may be more important during the first few days than protection against cold especially if it isn't . . . cold, that is. Covering during hours of darkness is probably a good idea. And, your transplants need plenty of water.

Steve

It's cooled off, highs in the 60s and 70s, and it's been cloudy and even rainy. I watered the bed quite thoroughly after I planted them. I put the hot hats on to protect them from bugs and varmints and to keep them warmer at night, since we're going to have lows in the low 40s these next couple of nights.

Last year I direct sowed squash, and the only way to protect them from getting eaten was to put hot hats over them until they were bigger. I lost a whole packet's worth of seeds to varmints before I protected them with hot hats.

I'm hoping to have my raised beds ready so that I can plant the rest of the brassica this weekend, after spending a couple days hardening them off. How do I protect them other than with hot hats? I have Liquid Fence and Hot Pepper Wax.

The squirrels here are plain evil. And the bunnies are like something from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

I have some row covers. I could drape the fabric over the raised beds instead of using the hot hats, though I think the critters could probably get past that.

With a couple of the plants, the newer leaves still show some life and firmness, but the cauliflower and one of the broccolis are lying on the ground looking like they've been shot.

I agree with Steve, sounds like they have been parboiled.

I understand your feeling of need to protect them from eating pests, but it is just as deadly to cook them in the ground with the confined space of the hotcaps.

If you have to have something like that in your location, your row covers would be a lot better in my opinion, at least it would give them a chance.
Bill P.

Peat pots prevent the rapid generation of root systems into the surrounding soil. Something to think about.

Better than hot caps for new transplants are an upside down berry basket or peach basket with a brick on it. Something to give them shade and allow air to move through. But row covers are best of all - just lay them over the row and secure the edges with some dirt. Give the plants lots of slack. Cabbages and such don't need protection against cool temperatures - that's what they like. But keeping them hot is a recipe for disaster.
Peat pots are fine but be sure that no part of the pot is above soil level - it acts like a wick and draws all the moisture out from the contents. They should be planted when the peat is wet and, if necessary, turn down the edges so they are below ground.
Hot caps are used for tomatoes when frost is expected. They prefer warmth. Cabbages, and such prefer cool.

So sorry but I too have to agree that they have been cooked. Brassica are cole crops - they are meant to be planted much earlier than most other garden crops and thrive in cool weather. They will even tolerate light frosts and snow. But they are not at all tolerant of heat and the temps inside hot caps can easily exceed the outside air temp by as mush as 30 degrees. Squash is a hot weather crop so can't safely be compared when it comes to the need for weather protection.

Pest protection is best provided, as other have said, by row covers like Reemay or similar products (Walmart sells an inexpensive similar product) that allow plant exposure to air. Suggest you save the hot caps for protecting those heat loving plants that may get set out too soon or may be exposed to the random cool night.

But you can likely get a fall crop of brassica by starting some from seed indoors in mid July and then transplanting outside once the weather cools. Less pests then too. ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Brassicas in the Home Garden

Sob! :-( I'm a murderer!

I just checked. It's quite cool out right now, temps in the 40s. The Brussels sprout and one broccoli still have some leaves that look healthy, but the other broccoli and the cauliflower look like compost.

I feel upset about this. I really was just trying to protect them from the varmints and the bugs.

I guess it's too late to try to plant more seeds indoors, isn't it?

Temps this weekend will be in the 70s with lows in the 50s. Not too hot to put the rest of the brassica in the ground, is it? I promise I'll try not to kill them.

At least I didn't put every single cole vegetable out under hot hats.

I did bury the whole peat pot, btw. Then I made sure to water them well. That and the rain and I think the peat pots are very damp.

Varmints and bugs are often real problems and tuff to deal with, Lilacs. Trying to protect the plants was part of the fight. And, sometimes the gardener can't drain the swamp when he or she is up to his or her brassicas in alligators. Or, something . . .

Best of luck with the survivors and the next batch. I'm goin' to plant a few more bok choy seeds in a week or so. Maybe we'll have a cool month of June. And, a family of owls just showed up in the barn next door!! Oh boy, am I hoping to see fewer rabbits!

Steve

Brassicas can take the cold - I never protect them. Hot caps are what did you in - they don't like that. Nights in the 40s are fine for most veggies. Not ideal for the heatlovers, but even they survive it okay. Brassicas can definitely take nights in the 40s - no need to do anything special.

Well, I guess I can just go back to direct sowing if I have to. I have plenty of seed left.

Temperatures are getting down into the 30s at night, and only up to the 50s during the day, so I feel okay leaving the hot hats on for the next day or so.

Maybe all of this water will perk them up.

Lilacs, you can wait a month and start a fall crop.

But if I start in late June, won't the scorching heat of July and August roast them more than the hot hats did?

I don't know where you are but for me in Buffalo, using a first frost date of October 2nd, I'd start Broccoli indoors (or outdoors in a protected area) 15 to 17 weeks before frost, or June 5th thru June 19th. It wouldn't get hardened off until July 24th and transplanted about August 1st.

If the plants are hardened off properly, they should have no problems growing in late summer. You can use a floating row cover or shade cloth to keep cabbage moths away, and the shade cloth can reduce summer temps too.

Hope this helps.

Mark

So I should start broccoli indoors in the next week or so for a fall crop? I can do that.

Here's a picture of my poor pitiful brassica patch. :-( The cauliflower in the upper left is even beyond compost. The others may have a ghost of a chance. Maybe.

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Here's the rest of my brassicas (plus some squash, cantelope, sunflowers, tomatoes) that I'm hardening off now. They'll go into a raised bed in the same area of the yard.

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It was hot today.

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Lilacs, do you have the right garden zone listed in your member page? Where are you located?

I'm in Colorado, Front Range, Denver area. According to the new hardiness zone map, I'm in Zone 5/6. I think the Denver-Boulder area is a Zone 6 microclimate. Urban areas are often warmer.

According to the weather, we got up to 77 today.

Do you know when your first fall frost comes? Find that date and start fall broccoli about 16-17 weeks before that date.

What kind of soil prep have you done? That spot looks pretty barren and not very nutritious to plants. Have you grown anything in that spot before?

To fight high temps, as well as harden plants off, I use that green plastic woven mesh shadecloth, it's around $15 for a piece around 6.5x13ft. I bought mine from leevalley.com. You may need to provide protection and water frequently to protect from wilting. Your hardened cole crops look ok, when you plant them, cover with the shade cloth (held up above the plants with sticks or something) and keep them covered during hot days and keep the soil moist. In the meantime, get practice with the hardened plants and start a fall crop 15-17 weeks before your first fall frost. Make sure your beds are well ammended with compost, good soil or composted manure, etc.

I did mix in Miracle-Gro soil, Earth-Gro, and some decomposed leaves from last fall, and I tilled the soil several inches deep.

I've lived in this house for a year, and I didn't even find that circular bed until I deweeded the area. I'm sure the previous owners grew something in it, but it was choked with weeds when I got it.

The raised beds will be of Miracle-Gro and Earth-Gro, plus some worm castings. That's where the potatoes and the rest of the brassica will go. This time, no hot hats.

Part of the problem was that the plants needed water. They perked up a little when I watered the bed fairly deeply.

Yeah, in a week or two it'll be time to start fall broccoli.