I checked your profile to see where you are gardening. I’m in S. Utah (despite my Ohio flag; that’s where I’m from orig.) So being in NM, you’re in the same boat we are, here. Much cooler than normal. (Thanks Al Gore!)
One thing you can do (especially if the plants are still small) is get yourself some rolls of black plastic, or if your garden is small, black trash bags work, too.
Make a square of 3’x3’ black plastic; cut an X in the center. Slip that over your plants, with the plant poking through the X. You can trim that part away. Pin the plastic down with soil, rocks, or landscape fabric pins, or it will blow away. The heat will be attracted to the black plastic and it will warm up your soil much faster. Leave it on all season; it will save weeding later on! You can do this with any of your heat lovers, including melons, cucumbers, beans, etc.
I was trained as an OSU Master Gardener
” I was trained as an OSU Master Gardener “
Wow — certainly a case of “Monday Morning Serendipity” that I stumbled across the right person to ask, on a thread only vaguely related to my problem....
Thank you so much for the tip, and I’ll be out there sacrificing black bags as soon as the sun comes up... ;)