Wall-o-Waters

Oh boy, gardening season has really started! I had a thought as I was walking through the neighborhood today: "After the winter, even the weeds are welcome!" Though I know I'll be singing another tune in just a few short weeks!

Wall-o-Waters (or WW)-see the photo above- were all the rage about five years ago. These season extenders allow you to plant heat-loving vegetables before the average last frost date in your region.  Well, I bought a pack of three, and then never used them. So I have set them up today, March 26, to plant tomatoes in less than a week. You're supposed to set these up at least 3-4 days in advance of planting, to allow them to warm up. You take the empty WW, open them up, put them in position, insert stakes to hold them up, and slowly fill them until all the cells are filled with water. It takes between 1.5 and 2 gallons of water to fill each WW.

Unfortunately, I think my tomato seedlings are just too small to begin to harden off to plant into the WW's.  I do have extra tomato seedlings, as is typical for me (I start more than I need, in the event of seed failure), so I might just put a few into the WW's to see if they survive. If not, then I will be looking for hardened off, mature tomato seedlings a bit earlier than they are typically available in my area.  I am a bit skeptical as to whether these will really advance the season or not.

I will keep you posted!