Gardening: did I plant too early?

Self-tutoring about gardening: the tutor reflects.

We had some very fine weather in late April, I seem to recall. I did some planting then, hoping to catch that wave. Last year, I think I planted too late, perhaps in late May. The cucumbers, especially, ran out of time. The pumpkins were still flowering, as well, right up to frost.

I don’t start plants in the house. Instead, my hope was that planting earlier would give the cukes and pumpkins a longer season. Moreover, I was quite sure that, by the end of April, they would be safe from frost, which I think turned out to be correct.

Yet, it seems May didn’t develop into the sunfest that late April might have suggested. Some plants have come up, but aren’t growing very quickly. They are being predated, their slow growth making it hard to replace their losses.

We have a long growing season here, and often a dry, sunny summer. However, the sun doesn’t seem as powerful here as it was, for instance, in the Annapolis Valley. It makes sense: we’re five degrees further north here. One might hope to compensate by planting earlier, which the longer growing season here allows, but perhaps the month of May isn’t always warm enough for some outdoor plants to grow quickly. They might survive, but with little progress, especially given how vulnerable young plants are to pests.

I am considering re-planting the pumpkins and cucumbers, hoping the warmer temperatures will be more welcoming to them. I might try a little fertilizer as well.