Soil temperature plays an important role in seed germination and plant growth. Many varieties of vegetables prefer a warmer germination temperature than that required for plant growth.
Vegetable gardeners achieve a warmer germination temperature for seeds by either:
- starting seeds indoors
- or warming the soil up by covering it with glass or plastic for a week or two before sowing, then keep the soil covered once seeds are sown
cloche
Plastic sheets will warm the soil, but different types of plastic does different things:
- Clear Plastic – encourages weed germination.
- Black Plastic - discourages weeds & is cheaper.
- IRT (Infa Red Transmitting) Plastic – discourages weeds & is more expensive.
cover-rolled-back
Measuring Soil Temperature
Any thermometer that will measure temperature at a specific depth can be used to measure soil temperature. Ordinary glass bulb thermometers are adequate, provided they are long enough to allow the temperature to be read whilst the bulb is in the ground at required depth. There are metal sleeves which can be placed round the thermometers to protect them from breaking.
Potatoes will not start to grow until the soil is 45 degrees. If they are planted before the soil has warmed up :
- they will not grow
- they may rot – particularly in wet soil
- they may get small potato disease & just produce tiny tubers
Folk law decrees that the time to plant potatoes is when the Daffodils and Dandelions bloom. These yellow flowers do not open up until the soil has warmed up!
Measuring soil temperature will help decide when to plant vegetables.
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as we seem to be approx 3 or 4 weeks behind, soil temperatures too are taking longer to warm up. Client of mine was advised by a local garden centre not to sow any seed outdoors, cut lawn or indeed feed turf… That makes sense as on average day temp here in Ireland is 8 degrees but we’re still getting a little frost a night but it is lovely and dry so we can’t complain too much…Covering soil is a fantastic idea to warm up an area quickly for sowing seed and has been practised for millenia
Comment by Ena Ronayne — March 27, 2010 @ 12:47 am
Ena
Our soil temperatures are about 2 weeks behind last year. It is still quite chilly although the sun has some heat in it when it does come out! Potatoes under plastic growing – winter leeks are still holding well, ther is a bonus!
TopVeg
Comment by TopVeg — March 27, 2010 @ 10:10 am
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