DENVER — Even if your tomatoes managed to survive the cold snap at the beginning of the week, you're not out of the woods.
Temperatures that cold can stunt growth. It may be weeks or months before they recover. You might consider starting over from scratch, otherwise you might be scratching your heads in midsummer as to why your tomatoes aren't setting fruit.
Gardeners are frustrated by a rollercoaster weather pattern.
We're once again taking our plants outside after their time spent in garages and on kitchen counters. And yet, the soil is quite soggy and night temperatures remain a concern.
Take your plants outside to acclimate them to the sun, but prepare to haul them back inside or use a frost cover if night temperatures drop much below 50 degrees.
Definitely hold off on planting coleus, sweet potato vine, begonias, peppers and eggplant. Think twice about marigolds, salvias and zinnias. These Mexican flowers don't thrive in cool temperatures.
In the meantime, weed! It's just rude to let your weeds go to seed and infest your neighbors' gardens. The soil is soft and they pull easily. That's the only way to weed: pull.
Forget the dodgy advice you might see online about using corn starch, vinegar or — heaven forbid — salt to kill weeds.
The main culprits you likely face right now are wild oats, shepherd's purse and wild lettuce. They pull easily in moist soil.
One of the most-asked questions Jennifer and I get is, "How do I kill bindweed?" You can't.
You can't poison it, burn it, smother it or bomb it. If we had the magic answer, we'd tell you. We're not holding anything back. I have several areas where bindweed is persistent. I'm persistent too in getting after it and digging as much of the roots as I can, again and again. That's the only way to maintain some semblance of control.
Like cold snaps and unpredictable weather, it's just something we learn to live with.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Mile High Mornings