As the weather begins to warm and become nice, gardeners start to prepare their pots, beds, and fields for planting.

If this is your first year gardening, do not let mother nature trick you into planting too early. We will probably still have a few frosty mornings and cool days ahead, so be wary. Timing is everything.

I often visit the website planthardiness.ars.usda.gov to view maps of grow zones (in Pennsylvania, we have five zones) and to note the projected last day of frost for the area. This year, the site gives the week of May 1st as the last week for frost. The first frost of 2021 is projected to be the week of October 11th. To find the frost dates for your area, you can refer to the website and enter your zip code.

Watching my grandfather and father plant their gardens year after year has taught me that the truly safe time to plant is around Memorial Day.

While you wait to plant, you can buy or begin growing your plants early. While I wait, I like to take my plants outside each day and bring them in at night to give them exposure to direct sunlight. If you choose to take them in and out, remember to pay attention to the weather. Early spring storms can hurt your tender plants, and you may encounter days that are too cold.

After you finally get your plants in their final growing space, they may be hit with a light frost, but don’t worry, most plants should make it through just fine.

If your plants are exposed to frost, you can water them. Frost will pull water out of the tender plants, so giving them a drink may help them survive.

Put down the pruners and walk away! Cutting plants after a frost is a death sentence for the plants.

Do not feed them! Fertilizing the plants after a frost may cause the plant to grow new shoots before it has time to rebound from the frost.

A few weeks back, I talked about different ways you can cover plants to protect them from frost. You can use an old cloth sheet, empty, clean buckets, or even a plastic drop cloth. Just remember to remove the cover in the morning to prevent damage to the plant.

If you have gardening questions, ask a neighbor if you see them tending to their garden. I know I really enjoy it when people stop to talk with me about my garden.