Planting Kale - From Peat Pots To Bed - 04-06-2013

I try to plant the cold weather hardy plants sometime in April. It can still freeze and snow here but I like to push the envelope!

I prepare the bed sections as I need them. I don't prepare a whole bed and then plant.

Here is the kale. I sat them out a couple of days during the day to harden up.

I use 12-15 inch deep raised beds. I work the soil before covering it up.

I cover the soil with black plastic. Minimizes my weeding. More importantly, it helps the soil retain heat. I'm in a cold area so I take all the help keeping my plant roots warm.

I pull the plastic taught and anchor the ends with rocks, bricks, plant markers, anything I can find. I run a low budget operation.

I eyeball the hole and make it roughly the same size as my peat pots.

I take a peat pot and cut open the bottom to let the roots make contact with the bed soil.

I gently drop the pot into the hole. If the hole isn't deep enough, just take the pot out and make the hole deeper or wider.

After I place the pot in the hole, I move some soil to cover up the pot to bed soil interface.

I keep about 10 inches, give or take, distance, between plants. I don't use a ruler. I should to make it geometrically prefect but I don't. I just wing it with the big plants. I use good discipline with smaller plants (basil and cilantro).

At the end of the day, I cover up the plants with 4 mil plastic. The temperature at the time of the post is 33F.  When the sun comes out I uncover the plants.

Good luck !!!