Shannon,

The last of the month (May 31) is supposedly our "safe" no-frost date here in Manchester (just West of Augusta). I'm going to take a chance and set some zinnia plants out tomorrow. They are getting too gangly here in the house, anyway.

It is a statistical average kind of thing, and a gamble either way. There is no guarantee that it can't frost after the "safe" date. But our 10-day forecast for Manchester looks pretty safe at this time.

MM

You can plant now! You can get your cold weather plants in the ground. I've planted peas, spinach, leeks, shallots, turnip, Swiss chard, carrots, beets, lettuces, cabbage and broccoli. I'll get cauliflower in today or tomorrow and keep it under cover at night for a week or so. It's not quite as hardy as other brassicas.

A customer came to buy seedlings Friday. I couldn't talk him out of planting tomatoes Friday. He swears there won't be another frost. I know better but he really made me want to get my tomatoes planted outside.

It depends on what you want to plant.

I planted my carrots and onion seedlings last month. As well as lettuce transplants and seeds. Like Robin says, you can get all of your cool-weather crops in now or even weeks ago.

But tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, etc. will need to wait. I am nearly 100% certain we will not get another frost where I live. We haven't in 10 years had a frost past April (although some list our last frost date as May 15 or beyond). But that is not the entire issue. Plants can be protected from a freak frost by covering with blankets at night, etc. But what tomatoes, etc. don't like is the generally too-cold growing conditions. Sure days in the 60s are fine, but with the nights dipping into the 40s they are not happy campers. They will live, but they will not grow and can even be set back. In my garden, their leaves turn a purply color when they've been planted and it's still too cold. They just sit there and sulk until the temps are consistently in the 70s + during the day and not below 50 at night, preferably not below 60.

Well, I am wayyy impatient and I am up in Caratunk - about 40 minutes from the Canadian border...4a zone I think..So I am never really safe until the first week of June ...Peas, onions, etc are all in but those sensitive plants...

One thing you can do - that I have done as I get impatient and am about to do this weekend (tomorrow!) is plant your tomatoes but cover them with a milk jug with the bottom cut off and the top screwed off. It makes a mini-greenhouse, allows for transporation, and protects them from frost. Just be sure they are stuck in the ground a little so they don't blow off...Putting on your tomato cages and then covering them with a trash bag at night works too. So does a 5-gallon bucket. Peppers do OK with this, but eggplant get really insulted, so be really nice to them and keep them inside for a few days...

Hello, This is my first post. I am waiting to plant my veggies too. I am 14 mile from the border up in Moose River and we often get a frost past the safe planting date. As a former southern MA garderner, I find this growing season extremely short. I agree with manfarr1974 using the plastic gallon milk containers for protection. It works for the end of the season as well. One thing that worked for me last year was to take a few small spruce tree branches and surround my little tomato plants when a frost was likely. The braches seemed to protect the plant inside. The nice thing was I could keep the brances in the ground until the danger of frost was over.

I think it is still a little cool at night. I have a green house full i want to put in the ground. I have put the cool weather crops in tho cukes, pepers, tom holding off another week