Around here we don't plant until Mem. Day, though I have been tempted this week. My dad grew up farming this land with his dad and grandpa, I guess 100 yrs of experience counts for something (unless global warming has changed things). I don't know specifically about cool-weather crops though. If they're not dying from the hot weather followed by the freeze we (you?) had the past couple of weeks I'd still hold out hope.

I'd say totally NOT normal...although mine are slow-going, too. I didn't WS any of them this time, but I have lettuce, radish, spinach & chard, and turnips out there. They're consistently growing, but not very fast.
I had to reseed everything but the lettuce in late March/early April after the monsoons. If that counts for anything.
The warm stuff (squash/cukes/zucs/beans) are going out this week or weekend.
I wouldn't sweat it...if those things you mentioned 'fail' completely, you're certainly in time for the rest of the garden.

...btw, how are your tomatoes doing? I had to redo THOSE, too, after the frost 2 weeks ago. Are you having any luck? I *SO* don't want to have to buy them at the stores!

mmq, when I put tomatoes out early, I have used walls of water and they've done very well with those.

Some of mine in jugs got hit by the frost. I couldn't believe it! I thought for sure the jugs would protect them. First, I must say that the toms weren't in milk jugs, but were in 20 oz. plastic water containers. I did that so it would be eaiser to sow just a few seeds of each variety. The week before the freeze was hot and I had just been doing 'top on/top off' stuff to regulate temp, but then I decided maybe slits would help. All the tom containers got slits. The night of the freeze (we had only one night) all the toms under the slits got hit, but the other toms in the containers lived. So, I lost many seedlings, but I still have many left. Only a few are getting their true leaves. I also planted out a milk jug of toms way back in march just to see what would happen and those, also, are still in their root leaf phase. Many of those didn't live. And, actually, I think I lost them based on variety. Some varieties have lived, others have been all wiped out. Again, I say I *think*. I had some funky soil in a few jugs and I'm not sure if the toms dying was because of that soil or something else. My first guess is the soil.

So, still waiting on true leaves. It's just so warm out and I'm having a difficult time figuring out New England timing for my first gardening spring up here. It feels like things should up and running, but I know I keep hearing that it's still early. Lots to learn!

I have some extra tom seedlings from a few tom varieties. I'll bring those to the swap for you and you can have them. I had 19 varieties to sow. Duh. Naturally I have extra.

So, just to clarify...this year is a slower growth year for your cold weather plants? They're growing, but not as much?

I also wonder if I'm watering enough. I don't water every day.

deanna, those are very interesting observations. I love experiments. I wouldn't have thought that the small slits would make that much difference, but I guess it lets the heat out that builds up during the day.

Oh, this is your first spring in the garden! I was going to ask if you normally get frosts late but I guess you don't really know. [g] Are you in zone 5? Most years, here in zone 6, I manage to get the warm season vegetables in the ground by about May 15th. May 30th I really want to get them in by at the latest. In years that I want to push the envelope, [this year would have been the year to do it for me] I may try to get them in the ground with the protection of Walls of Water, by May 1st. I have raised beds and my soil warms up a little faster. When I'm really trying I have laid down black plastic to warm the soil for a couple of weeks before I want to put them in.

If you had tomato varieties that survived the frost, that will be very useful information. I would save seeds from those tomatoes and start them yourself for next year.

I didn't put a spring vegetable garden in this year. I just added a few things in the last couple of weeks. Bok Choy and Swiss Chard. Late. Not doing anything at all yet.

I don't water every day either. If it's really hot and it hasn't rained in awhile, I might do that, but you can overdo it with the watering too.

Seedlings sprouting, at last! Lettuce, kale, spinach, cucumber, zucchini, borage (for the pretty blue flowers). RI should seem warmer than NH but actually near the ocean it is cooler in summer. So cool-weather veggies do OK, until end of July. --oh, almost forgot: pea plants have blossoms. All this around 24 tomato plants.

Carol

Hi Deanna. I'm trying to use the moon planting chart on the Almanac website. You can put in your zip code to customize it.
http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/NH/Concord

My first bed was planted with Sugar Ann Sugar Snap peas, spinach and a lettuce mix. I'm not at home to check my dates but I think I sowed on April 10. I covered the bed with Agribon 19 fabric. If anything, it would prevent the deer from nibbling. I took the fabric off May 14 when I wanted to pick some spinach for a salad. It's still short but harvestable since it grows in a bunch. The peas are about 8" tall. This is a short variety. The lettuce didn't make it. It was old seed. I think I also had black plastic down for a couple of weeks just to warm the soil in the bed.

I seeded three short beds with a tall variety of sugar snap, more spinach, parsnips, beets etc. maybe May 9. The peas are up about 4". The rest are just at the tiny seedling stage.

In the past I haven't done a good job of watering things but this year I'm trying to do better. We haven't had much rain. After seeding, the beds get a good watering. I planted beans May 16 before going away for a week and made sure everything got well watered. I also made a plastic tunnel along the south foundation of the house for cucumbers. I thought they might germinate faster. Seeded May 16. Last year I lost some things to a late frost. Tomato and pepper plants have been sitting in my garden cart so my husband can wheel them into the garage if a night was going to be cold. I get heirloom varieties from Robin Sweetser in Hillsboro. You have to pre-order and pick up on a specific date. Last week she had an add in the NH Farmer's Market Bulletin that this was last call too get seedlings. Her plants are very healthy and she lets you buy just one of each variety. She will email the list to people. I think she then sells the leftover plants at a farmers market.
My beds are slightly raised but not edged with wood. They were started as lasagna beds. This year and for the past 2 I was able to get some great composted horse manure that I found on Craigslist. I added a couple of inches to the beds. Right now the bed where I'll plant the tomatoes has been covered with black plastic for at least a month or more.

Regarding possibly funky soil. I usually buy a bale of Pro Mix each year to fill planters. It may be different from the mix sold at Murray Farms in Penacook but they told me not to use last year's leftover mix because the fertilizer in it would have broken down and would burn plants. So, from now on I'm going to use up the soil and not save a partial bag until next year.

Our veggie beds are on old lawn area but close to a field. There's plenty of earth worms which I think is the result of the lasagna method. Another field in a different location was soil test. Nothing has been planted there for years but the soil is depleted. The farmer who plans to use it says he'll plant cover crops and till them in for the next 2-3 years. I bought buckwheat to use as a cover crop last year and didn't plant it. I thought this year I would plant it in my squash bed but leave empty circles for the squash plants. Maybe somebody has ideas about how to use green manures. According to the Lasagna Method book, you can plant right away. I've extended the length on a couple of beds by making a lasagna pile topped with composted horse manure. I'll plant summer squash in the ends of those beds. The seed is large so it should work. If the seed was fine, they might wash down into the layers.

I noticed that volunteer calendula seed is just starting up. One plant which is growing between the bricks in my walkway right against a granite step is about 4" tall. Obviously, the extra warm is helping it grow faster than the siblings in the proper garden. When I went on a garden tour of the Tamworth NH area, some of the raised beds were edged with stones to help warm the beds. The gardeners said they are about 20 days behind Nashua.

I bought one of Eliot Coleman's books about year round gardening but except for the Agribon, I haven't done much for season extending. I think warmth and water might be what your garden needs.