bwater-
I welcome you to this post, although not mine....
ELABORATION: For plants you want as a head start there are two methods.
One, plant in container and dig below bricks with 3-4" above soil....have blocks/bricks, terrace stone absorb heat from sun, thereby keeping roots warm.
Second...Choose the location of your plants. As with any plants it is important to choose a sunny location with rich soil and proper drainage.
To warm the spring soil (way after last frost), I set my bottles in the garden for a day or two prior to setting out the plants in their. Because you can easily change the position of the bottles, this is easy to do. You could also warm the soil by covering the area with black plastic for a few days.
Once the soil has warmed, move the bottles aside and transplant you plant into the soil, or place your container in optimum area....full sun. Dig a hole 6-8" inches in diameter and six inches deep. Add one gallon or 2 liter bottles...clear is best, although I've used soda bottles of different colors. Fill the hole with soil and pack firmly.
Arrange the two-liter bottles of water to form a circle around each individual plant or plant groupings. The bottles should be touching with no gaps in between....use duct or the blue painters tape! Make sure to leave enough room between the plant and the bottles for the plant to grow....my preference 3-5 gallon containers.
As soil warms up, hardening off your plants you can remove a few bottles...remove one and spread the rest out, leaving spaces between them. Repeat this for a few days and your plants will toughen up nicely! Viola`! I do that in mid/late April and keep an uber eye on low temps, changes in weather (freak hail/snow storm)
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