Start Veggies Early With Black Plastic

Normally I would deter people from rolling out black plastic in the garden for any reason. But the truth is, black plastic sure comes in handy when you want to get heat-loving crops in the ground a little early. You can plant tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, and eggplants about three weeks to a month early when you warm the ground with black plastic sheeting.

Before you put plastic down, lay down some soaker hoses or drip irrigation lines, since overhead water won’t penetrate the material. Roll out and stretch the plastic before securing it with stakes or with a few shovelfuls of soil all along the edges. Use your fingers to poke holes for your plants. After the seedlings are in place, spread some soil over the plastic at each plant’s base to keep the plastic from ballooning up over the stems and leaves.

As the weather warms up, the plastic will retain the day’s heat and help keep the soil warm on cool spring nights. Remove the plastic once temps have warmed up so you won’t damage plant roots with high heat.