Hi Jessaka,

We are at the end of the period of time recommended for cool-season crops but haven't quite reached the OSU-recommended dates for planting warm-sesason crops. You can see the OSU-recommended planting dates on the documents linked below. They mostly are given as a range of dates, with the earliest date for southeastern OK and the latest date for northwestern OK, and with the rest of us planting somewhere in between the two.

I have almost all my cool-season plants in the ground, and some of them, like onions, have been in the ground for a month or more. I have not yet put any warm-season crops in the ground.

The OSU-recommended dates for planting tomatoes are April 10-30. Those dates are predicated on average soil and air temperatures as well as average last frost dates. Can you plant earlier than that? Sure you can, and I often do but only if I am confident I can protect or replace plants lost to a subsequent freeze or hard frost.

Tomatoes will survive in cool soils, but I don't put them into the ground until my soil temps are staying above 55 degrees at planting depth, and if you put them into soils that are colder than that the plants often will stall and stop growing. So, checking your soil temps with a thermometer (I use a meat thermometer with a metal probe, but you can buy a soil or compost thermometer if you prefer) would be a good place to start.

Also, look at your overnight low temperatures. While tomatoes will tolerate low temps in the 40s and even in the 30s (as long as they stay above freezing), they can stunt, stall and refuse to grow if exposed to a lot of cold temps in the 40s and lower.

So, it is sort of your choice whether to put those tomato plants in the ground this early or not.

There are advantages to planting now, including the fact that somewhat warmer than average air temperatures are occurring and some of us have warmer soil temps than usual. Plants put into the ground early may grow very well if not exposed to soil and air temps that are too cold and may flower early and set fruit early. This can allow for maximum productivity and fruitset before the air temperatures get too hot for them, which was remarkably early for many of us last year.

The disadvantages would include that the plants may just sit there and not grow until it is a bit warmer and there is the ever-present risk of frost damage or freeze injury, including plant death.

You just have to decide if you want to gamble with your plants. If you don't mind gambling with their lives, and your soil temps and air temps are in the right range, plant them. If replacing frozen tomato plants with new plants will not be a financial hardship, plant them.

For what it is worth, I have 4 plants growing in a very large outdoor container (a 200-gallon galvanized metal stock watering tank). Three of the four are about 15-18" tall and are as wide as they are tall, and the one that is smaller started out smaller and just hasn't grown much. These plants are blooming right now, and perhaps setting fruit. I imagine the small plant will eventually catch up with the larger ones. They are caged and I can throw a heavy quilt over the cages on cold nights, which I do. I have four others in containers small enough that I can carry them into the garage on a cold night and it is well-insulated enough that it protects them. The plants in the larlge container are the only ones I've been willing to risk losing on a cold night. Our coldest night since I put them in the ground has been 29 degrees and they were well-covered so no damage resulted. I planted them the morning after our overnight low unexpectedly went to 23 degrees, and am glad they were inside the house on that night!

Every day I want to put some of my tomato plants into the ground. I've been hardening them off for two weeks to ever-increasing doses of outdoor winds and temps, but just haven't felt like it is time to put them into the ground yet. Mostly I wanted to get through yesterday's high winds, and since rain is forecast for the next couple of days along with the arrival of a cold front, I likely will wait 2 or 3 more days before I put any in the ground.

If I put some of my tomato plants into the ground this weekend, I will do so with the full knowledge that I am putting them into the ground a full month ahead of the OSU-recommended planting dates, and with the full knowledge that there will be some nights, and maybe even some days, when I came to do a good job of covering them up to keep them from being damaged or killed by frost. It is not a huge risk for my plants because I raise all my own from seed and raise many more than I need, so I have back-up plants to use as replacements.

My soil temps are in the right range, and my overnight lows are warm for this time of year, but occasionally still pretty cool.

So, I am not saying don't plant them---just think about all the above and decide if your soil and air temps are warm enough to keep the plants happy.

Actually, I'm trying really hard not to say "oh, go ahead and plant them". In general, I'm a huge fan of early planting---but only after careful consideration of all the various factors that determine if they'll grow well and survive after they are put into the ground.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: OSU Garden Planning Guide

thanks dawn. the therometer idea sounds great.

You're welcome.

As a alternative to checking your own soil temperature, you can look at the Soil Temperature maps on the OK Mesonet website and get at least a rough idea of what the soil temps are like in your area. However, depending on your soil type and whether you are planting into raised beds, your own soil temps may differ from the soil temps at your mesonet station.

Here is a link that might be useful: OK Mesonet Soil Temps: Bare Soil 4

Dawn,
The temptation is grower stronger everytime we have 80 degree days like Monday and Tuesday. Then reality sets in for a few days. Today will be the 50's with tomorrow in the high 30's. The lows will be low to upper 20's a few nights and then by the weekend and through next week another warm up. Most everything is 3-5 weeks ahead of last season. My Silver Maple is in the 5 week area. I will plant out onions this weekend. Soil temps went into the 50s this week. Sure they will drop a little the next few days. I ordered several feet of floating row cover that should be here Friday. I plan to get all the onions that are ready planted along with radishes and some sugar snaps. Then will work on getting the WOW's set up and warming up. I plan on putting tomato plants in the ground no later than April 1st. I will be putting some in 5 gallon buckets soon. I covered the lean to with some shade cloth I had on hand which really helped the temps in it. With a fan going and the door opened slightly temps have stayed fine even on the 80 degree days. But it is shading too much. I plan on ordering more maybe today. What percent are you using? I believe you said you were using the aluminet? Our soil temps have really jumped over the last week and expect it too continue after this cold spell. With daytime temps in the 70's and possibly the low 80's and lows in the mid 40's and higher they will rise fast. The main issue is being able to cover everything you put out when your get those 1-2 cold nights. I have to do something as I started everything 2-4 weeks earlier and my light shelves are full and over flowing and I have just started potting up. As soon as I get my onions out of the lean to tomato plants will be moving in. I started my onions in large plastic containers I bought at Wally World. I set my biggest onions in there Sunday. I opened the door Monday morning knowing it would be hot. When I got home that afternoon one tub was flattened. My 19 y/o black cat had found the door open and had napped in the container evidently all afternoon. I feel most will be ok. I will have to be careful how wide I open it in the future. Or put a screen over it. Jay

If I knew my spot I was going to plant in was ready to go, I would go and get transplants from home depot or something for the cool season crops, and go ahead and start my warm season right away.

Jay, I am using Aluminet 50% and I love it. I really wanted to go with 40% and might have liked it as much or more, but was thinking of those long hot days in the summer.....not that I am sure what I'll have in there, if anything, in the summer, but I wanted enough shade that it would at least be an option to start seedlings for the fall garden in the greenhouse. I have my shadecloth on the outside of the greenhouse for more or less permanent shade. Some people rig it up inside and use it more like a curtain or blind they can raise and lower or pull open or closed from side to side like a shower curtain so they can vary the amount of shade at different times of the year by maybe letting some degree of light into the greenhouse instead of shading all of it. I suppose you and I will figure it all out as we go along, won't we?

I am ready for this cold spell to get here, do its thing and then leave. It probably will be more annoying for you than for me. Is snow in your forecast? Ours is for rain, and the local TV met I trust says maybe 1 to 2" for the Texoma area (it is a big area, though). If we get that much rain, the ground will be too wet to work for a few days, but I have plenty of things on my to do list that do not involve being out in the garden, so I guess I can work my through that list if it rains a lot.

My plan is to start putting tomato plants in the ground as soon as the rainy spell passes as long as I don't see anything in the 10-day forecast that bothers me.

Before we put up the shade cloth, the greenhouse got up to at least 107 degrees in February (Tim said 113, but I don't remember it being that high) on a day when the high was only in the 60s. With the shade cloth and doors/vents open, we have been able to keep the greenhouse within 1 or 2 degrees of the outdoor air temperatures without even running a fan. (Mother Nature is supplying us with lots of moving air, so the fan sits idle.)

The wind has been blowing here hard all week, as is typical for March, and the greenhouse has been doing its job of protecting the seedlings from the brutal wind while they harden off. If I think they need more wind, I just open more vents or doors. It is working great.

I understand the temptation to plant early. We all know the risks, but sometimes taking those risks pays off. With all the cool-season stuff mostly planted (I have a second round of peas pre-sprouting now to go into the ground in about a week to ten days), I am just so ready to do something with some warm-season plants.

That darn cat! My cats all think the greenhouse is their cat spa and playground. One of them is sitting at the door waiting for me to open it when I come outside in the mornings. I have a couple of lawn chairs sitting in one corner of the greenhouse and there's always at least one cat curled up in a chair sleeping out of the wind. I hope your cat leaves the rest of your plants alone.

Dawn

Can I still get some cold-weather crops? I really want some spinach, mustard, and kale.

chickencoupe - I am still a noob, so take what I say with a grain of that...My spinach seedlings got ate in the wind, I have been battling the flu and could not get out there in time to shield them, but the soil temp is only 50 where I am at, so I am direct seeding them I have a short growing time variety. But if memory serves me, kale takes more time...I don't know about mustard. But do check the soil temp, that tells me a lot about when to plant.

I linked the mesonet below, I find it to be pretty accurate.

Here is a link that might be useful: click here...

Jessica, the only plants I have in the garden so far are the snap peas that I started 3 weeks ago, and some onion plants, chinese cabbage plants and regular cabbage plants that I bought. I have also planted the early seeds--lettuce, beets, carrots, mixed stir fry greens and spinach.

The tomato and broccoli plants are still in the greenhouse, inside the covered plant benches tonight. I won't risk putting them out for at least a couple more weeks. If you want to get a head start on tomatoes you might pot them into bigger plants. I've done that several years with good success.

thanks everyone. mulberry you have raised beds, right i can't imagine planing carrots in this soul and trying to get them out. maybe someday we will have raised beds, but clark also has to get a fence aroound the garden of what he plants will be eaten by our woodchucks.

Jessaka, I only have potatoes, onions and garlic in the ground. I have cabbage, kale, lettuce and broccoli ready, but I have not had time to build an electric fence yet and know the deer will eat it as soon as I plant it if I don't have a way to keep them out.

Larry

Bon, If you are thinking of starting kale, spinach and mustard from seed right now, it is getting pretty late for that in much of Oklahoma (might still be OK in zone 6 areas), but you can plant them in late summer or early fall for fall and winter harvest.

You will get your best-quality greens when they mature while daytime highs are still in the 70s and in Oklahoma that generally means planting them a month before your last hard frost is expected to occur. So, technically, by the calendar you could plant them now from seed if you do so in the next day or two, but more realistically based on the warmer-than-average temperatures that have dominated this winter, it is likely to get too hot too quickly for them to do very well. If you only want a few of each plant, you might still be able to find transplants on the shelves at local garden centers and, if you do, those transplants are likely to be at least 3-4 weeks old, so if you planted them, you ought to have time to get a good harvest from them.

Of the three, I think spinach direct-seeded now has the best chance because once the weather is hot the mustard and kale can bolt pretty quickly and their flavor becomes almost unbearably strong as they're preparing to bolt. If you carefully select a quick-maturing Spinach variety, you can be harvesting spinach 4 to 5 weeks after it germinated. Others can take two months or longer, so this late in the cool-season planting season, look for one with a DTM of 30-45 days. If you have an area with partial shade, especially with morning sun and afternoon shade, you can keep the spinach growing longer in that area because it will be a little cooler once the warmer weather arrives.

I have kale, cabbage, and mustard plants in the ground that are almost six weeks old now, and spinach is popping up out of the ground after being seeded about two weeks ago. I'm worried the spinach may be too late if the weather heats up early (my forecast has some high temps of 79 degrees next week), but if we start persistently having very warm days in March and April, I'll just harvest them as baby greens before the heat can affect their flavor too much.

In the ground, I have potatoes, onions, sugar snap peas, mustard, broccoli, spinach, cabbage, kale, beets, radishes and carrots. As companion plants to attract beneficial insects, I have sweet alyssum, chamomile (now in bloom) and catnip (it mostly attracts cats until it blooms, then it attracts beneficial insects). I have flats of nasturtiums and hollyhocks that can go into the ground either next week or the week after depending on what the temperatures are doing at that point.

The tomato plants are still in the greenhouse, except for the early ones in large pots, and the peppers are outside during the day and in the greenhouse at night, but I bring the peppers back inside the house on any night that the temps will drop below about 45 degrees. Once this rainy weekend is over, I may put some tomato plants in the ground. It is early, but my soil temps are in the right range and I have frost blanket row covers to use to cover them up. My soil temps are too cold for beans and corn, but they are getting closer to the right range every single day.

Today, if it rains, I will be inside seeding warm-season veggies, herbs and flowers into flats. If it doesn't rain, I'll be out in the garden weeding and mulching.

Our garden fence is tall and does a great job of keeping deer out of the garden, but I really have to watch carefully for rabbits finding spots to crawl underneath the fence. It doesn't happen often, but when it does they can take out a whole row of peas in no time.

It feels more like spring every day. Our redbud trees are already in bloom, all the fruit trees are through blooming and the petals are falling, the trumpet creeper vine is leafing out, and the fig trees have new leaves and tiny fruit.

Dawn

Jessica, I have a very few raised beds, but the carrots are in the open garden next to where the tomatoes will go. I don't raise very good carrots, but I keep trying because the granddaughters like to dig them.

Bon, I agree with Dawn that kale and mustard will do better in the fall. In fact in a mild winter, kale overwinters. I have a lovely little patch that survived unprotected this past winter. It's really better now than it was last fall. I also have spinach that overwintered but it was protected for part of the winter. Not the last 12 degree night though because I forgot to cover the bed. In years past I have had spinach come through 0 degrees with only a leaf mulch and produce well in March.

I brought a few little garlic plants home from the Fling last year and tried to plant them, but they just never recovered and eventually I planted something else there. This year 3 or 4 of them are coming up. Maybe they were there last year and were covered up by something else.

I had a plant of cutting celery last year, just so I could see what it really was since I had never grown it before. It didn't completely die out over winter and is growing, along with several more around it. I wasn't impressed with the herb, but it sure is tough.

I had parsley survive the winter as well. All of this was in the ground with no care or protection at all.

I still have a few greens in a tub that made it through the winter, but it was in a much more protected area.

At the end of the season when the first freeze was coming last Fall, I cut a lot of basil and brought it inside to use. I just stuck it in a jar in the kitchen window and used a lot of it. One day when I started to change the water, I noticed that it had roots. I had nothing to lose, so I potted it up. Four plants lived all winter in my kitchen window and continued to make new leaves. It didn't get much taller, but just got more leaves. I hope I remember to plant some in a container just for over-wintering in the future.

I have found that lettuce, spinach, Chinese cabbage, corn salad, and mustard, will last a long time after cold weather arrives. If life will just slow down a little, I hope to plant some of those really tough plants in the Fall. I may even plant kale and collards although they aren't necessarily my favorites.

I was in Lowe's the other day and took a walk through the garden center. They had a plant called Mediterranean Heather. It looked a lot like Mexican Heather, but these had more blooms and it was a rather stocky, dense plant. It was covered with honey bees. I think I am going to go back and get me one to put at the edge of my vegetable garden just for the bee activity.

In the garden now, I have Italian Flatleaf Parsley (I sowed last fall), green Cabbage, Broccoli, and a big bed of Beets I sowed in February.

There are two Red Sails lettuce that are volunteers from last year's crop. I let a clump go to seed last fall. They have "sailed" through all the cold and even snow. Made a note of that in my gardening journal.

I still have snow peas to plant, four more purple cabbages and 8 or more broccoli plants yet to set out. The Green onion plants and red onion sets will go in this week too.

I have very sandy loam and live where zones 6b and 7a exactly meet. I live on a South-facing hillside, so it is kind of iffy with frosts, but I still have time to get out cool crops. The worst thing is the late frosts that get my peaches and apricots. So far so good!

As for tomatoes and warm weather crops, I start mine in the greenhouse in January (a make-shift greenhouse we made by adding south-facing windows to the old lawnmower tractor shed). Tomatoes, peppers, and flowers. Then I wait until April when I start seeing tomato volunteers coming up in the compost. That way I know my little plants will be okay.

In my locale, when everyone's tomatoes have given up the ghost and die, mine are still producing fruit and continue to do so all summer even through the heat.

I also transplant my little tomatoes into big pots, so they continue to grow until I set them out. Often they are already blooming when they go into the garden, and I get an early crop that way without taking the chance of late frost (and avoid all the extra work it takes to cover and uncover them every morning and every evening - ugh.)

Soil, geographical location and night temps play a big part in whether to plant or not.

~Annie

Thanks Dawn and Ezzirah

Most of my cold weather crops are in seedling stage and are doing well (remember, I've put them on the porch). I have butt loads of broccoli seedlings, too. Indeed, Dawn, I do have the raised beds ont he front side of the house I've been building specifically for some lettuces and cold-weather crops that have only morning sun and from sitting outside sifting the bed dirt I can honestly say as soon as that area is shaded by the house I'm ready to work in the sunny back yard. I guess I'll just plant the suckers and see how they do. By now, I'm realizing just planting things gets me a good indication of what they all do. Yet, I get excited about some fresh veggies when, in reality, I may be too late. All my efforts and time is being spent on the beds. Though I may not get plants in time it'll be good and ready to go this fall and next year and my "victims" will tell me whether they like the soil or not. lol

For some reason I seeded a whole bunch of endive. Dunno if it's too late or not but they're going in. hahaha

My tomato seedlings are doing stupendous since I changed the lighting scenario. They're spending all day outside now. I guess they're two weeks old now. We should have the T trellises up this week for those and the trellises for the pole beans.

My bell pepper plants are doing well, too, though I'd prefer to have more than just two plants. My pepper plants always do well in those regular clay pots with a mulch atop. I've even forgotten them outside over night. They're alive, anyway.

My vermicomposting box is exploding with new life and I'm able to harvest a lot more worm castings. I'm brewing that into a compost tea with a touch of molasses. The seedlings seem to really respond well. The tomatoes seems to jump in size when I began using it.

grandmom, you've got a swell garden via permaculture growing. Congratulations! I noticed some parsley in a pot sitting outside that made it through the winter even though I couldn't do anything with it last year. I read second gen parsley is tough. We'll see. Still, I love voluntary rebounds. It means the environment is good for the plants which is what I hope for. I know, in Oklahoma that's usually laughable. lol

Carol, speaking of bee plants, I let my Broccoli go to seed, and it is huge and in full flower right now. The honeybees are having field days with it! Glad I didn't dump the buckets a couple of weeks ago.

Most of my tomatos and one of my hot peppers is up after just planting them last Sunday. I thought peppers were slower than tomatos to germinate?

Susan

Susan, There are a few gardens in my neighborhood, mostly small ones, and my neighbor left something in hers to go to seed. I haven't been close enough to see what it is, but it looks like a big bouquet of yellow flowers and it is very pretty. I didn't make it back to pick up the heather, so I hope they still have some this week.

I jumped on the Tomato bandwagon early this year. I covered them up for this cold front. We got down to 38 and we had a high of 40 for a couple of days. . I tucked the plants in good, I am just tired of the early heat burning them out before they had a chancre yo bear.

I had a great winter garden. GOBs of greens. The broccoli rab is bearing and bearing . The chard is huge and perfect. My snap peas are 4'tall and just beginning to bloom. Everything id looking good.And the string beans are pushing out of the ground. I planted all my melons and I am waiting on them to break ground.Potatoes are breaking ground. If only things remain this good. I am eating huge salads and greens.

Have you gotten more moisture in your area of Texas, Mara? I'm worrying about the Monarch migration which is starting this week. Probably will reach you by end of March. Don't know if you follow it or not, but concerns are being raised about whether there will be food for them as they move North.

Susan

P.S. - glad you are in veggie heaven right now!

Mara, I'm so happy to hear you're having a great garden year so far and I sure hope it continues. After last year's horrific heat and drought, everyone in Texas deserves a break this year.

How are your wildflowers doing? Did all those rosettes that sprouted last fall make it through the winter? It is still early here, but looking like we'll have a great spring wildflower season. Everything has been blooming a month early, so we've had some wildflowers in bloom all winter which was great for the bees and the butterflies.

I've only had tomatoes in containers, but starting today, if I can walk in the wet pathways between the raised beds, I'll begin putting tomatoes in the ground. It is early, but the plants are ready, the beds are ready and the soil temps are good, and the weather is great. I do have Agribon row cover to cover them up if I have to. I usually only have to cover them up a couple of times after I plant them in an average year. Last year I got the heaviest production from the plants that went in earliest, so am trying to get all of them in early this year.

The weather this year is so pleasant compared to last year. The only thing that worries me is that in the years we've lived here (this is our 14th spring here), it seems like the drought years usually are followed by flooding years. I don't really want a flooding year....just a nice, average, middle-of-the-road year.

Dawn

Take this with a grain of salt, but Gary England said on the 10pm news last night that you're safe to plant ;) I have held off in spite of this tempting weather and a spring break trip will prevent me from doing too much, but boy am I ever ready!

Gary England probably called Dawn to see if it was OK to say that. LOL

Okielizabeth, Well, if Gary England says it, it must be so. It's a good thing he said it is OK to plant, because I've been planting warm-season crops all week long trying to get as much done as possible before the big rain system hits next week.

I'm way down here in southern OK and one of our local TV weather guys is an avid gardener himself. Usually at this time of year he's cautioning people every day not to jump the gun and plant their tomatoes too soon. I haven't heard him say that this year, but am not sure if that's because he hasn't said it, or if it is because I keep missing the news because I'm outside planting. : )

Carol, You know what, I'd hate to stick my neck out and say "go ahead and plant" if I was a TV met. I'd still have to make qualifying statements like "if you feel like it is safe to plant, then go ahead". lol I don't want to be responsible for anyone else planting early. It is hard enough being responsible just for what I do in my garden.

Dawn

Dawn, have you planted beans? I have a cattle panel ready for them, plus I think I will make a small bed of bush beans so I can have some early ones. My soil temps are not much lower than yours and I don't see any night lower than 42 for 10 days out.

Please don't say, "if you feel like it is safe to plant, then go ahead". LOL

I remember one year when I planted peas and beans in the same week (which is nuts) and they both did OK, but it was one of those crazy years when the peas didn't have long to produce because of the warm temps. Everyday that I work outside, it just makes me feel like it is time to plant more. I have saved room for cucumbers, squash, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, okra, and pole beans. I have another trellis that I sometimes save for long beans, but that is still open. Some of the above will be going into containers also.

My tomato plants are held off simply because they are small.
I am not overly fond of WOWs, but since I have more than enough tomato plants, I may stick a couple out in WOWs. I could afford to lose a few, and the WOWs have been stored for several years now.

Most of my transplants are small this year because Spring just kind of came up on me too fast. That doesn't appear to be a problem though and they all seem to be thriving. I am outside the heavy rain map we looked at yesterday, but I have chances of thunderstorms starting tonight. I hope they don't come until tomorrow night though.

Carol, OK, fine, I won't say it. What I'll say is that I feel like it is OK to plant, so that's what I have been doing.

I do have beans planted. I am not risking a whole lot, having planted only 40 seeds each of these 4 varieties: Tanya Pink Pod, Purpiat Romano, Speedy (really is Speedy, was first to emerge) and Capitano. I think it is warm enough for them and will stay that way, but I planted only a limited quantity so that if they freeze out, I have plenty more seeds of each variety to plant. So far, a few Speedy plants have emerged, and a couple of Capitano. It has been only a few days since I planted them, so they seem to be germinating pretty quickly. It has been in the low 80s during the day and mid- to upper-60s at night and my 3-day ave. soil temps are great, especially for mid-March.

I hope next week's rain misses my house and hits yours. You are low on moisture so far this year and we have had plenty.

I think I will have all day to work in the garden tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Wish I could take a big Shop-Vac out there and suck the moisture up out of the soil. After tomorrow, all bets are off. We have at least a slim chance of rain almost daily, but I think for us the big deal will be Monday or Tuesday.

I'll be starting warm-season seeds like cukes, okra, and squash indoors next week while it is raining.

I have planted the early corn, Early Sunglow, as well, and about two dozen growing tips have emerged from the soil so far. Fred often plants around this time (though in sandy soil) so I figured the only thing I was risking was a packet of seed. I don't go to casinos and gamble and I don't buy lottery tickets. I do my gambling in the garden.

I feel the same way about planting "more" that you do. It seems a shame not to take advantage of the great temperatures and (at least at my house) very abundant moisture.

My planting is about to come to a screeching halt. I checked the soil in the lower end of the garden this afternoon and it is too wet to walk on that soil. Green mold, moss or algae is growing on the soil surface, and even when Casper the Cat walked on the soil (he's less than a year old and not very heavy)surface, he left paw prints about an inch deep. When I stuck a trowel into that soil, it had that mucky, sour smell of soil that has been too wet too long. We have had pretty abundant moisture on a regular basis since last September, and I am not sure the soil in the lower end of the garden has totally dried out since that rain started falling months ago. By the end of tomorrow, virtually all the higher ground will be planted. If we get heavy rain next weekend, I likely won't be able to plant into the lower end of the garden for another 2 to 3 weeks at best.

We will have a couple of nights at our house next week with lows in the 40s if the forecast doesn't change, but I am not terribly worried about them. All the beans should be up by then. They might not like the cold, but they'll survive it.

Dawn

Thanks Dawn. My soil under the leaves has been just great, but today I planted a few things in an area that didn't get many leaves and about the top inch of soil was dry.

My neighbor came to visit across the fence just as I finished a task and I actually got too hot standing there talking to her. This is March, I wonder what summer will be like?

I finally got three kinds of flowers planted tonight, just Marigold, Zinnia, and Nasturtium, but at least that is a beginning. I have more to start, but my energy is gone. I had 'loads' of seed for all of those, so I just kind of dumped them in three flats. Some was getting a little old anyway, so may not germinate very well. One of my neighbors had mentioned wanting some Marigold and Zinnia. I told Al if they all germinated, we could plant the neighborhood.

Guess I had better go select some beans to plant tomorrow. I know I am going to plant Blue Lake for the bush type because I have a bag I bought at the feed store that is sitting on my desk. I have lots of choices for pole, so will have to make a decision. It may be that greasy one from Macmex. I really do like that one.

Oh no, it may be a moot point since they just raised our rain chance to 50%. Oh well, I'll plant them next chance.

Liberal hit 90 today. Not sure what that means for this summer. We were a few degrees lower. Had to open the greenhouse door wide. After tomorrow they are saying 4-5 days 60-70 before it warms back up. One night next week in the 30's according to the NWS. Then lows back in the mid 40's to low 50s. I checked soil temp tonight at sundown at 4" depth. It was 63 degrees. Got the trench ready for the potatoes. Will finish onions as soon as the ones left size up a little more. Then will try to set up my WOW's this weekend and start dropping plants in them in 7-10 days. I will also be moving several to the cold frames soon. I'm starting to fill up all of my room. I could put in the cool soil tolerant sweet corn now. But think I'll wait at least another week. The early beans, cukes, squash,ect will go in around April 1st. Jay

We have had warm windy weather but the ground is still too wet. I was hoping to till the south garden today, but it to is too wet. Rain is forecasted for tomorrow, and then heavy rains for early next week. I have mowed the rye down very low and may use the rope and lawn method to just cut a farrow across the garden and try to smother the rye after I plant something. I don't know why I am going to so much trouble because it is often after the first of May before I can plant any warm season crops because of wet ground and late frost.

My plants are small this year, partly from a late start and neglect. My potatoes are just starting to break through the soil surface. The Yukon Gold seem to be a little slower than the Pontiac potatoes.

Larry

Carol, Summer will be hot. : ) How hot? Probably hotter than we like. I find it hard to imagine it will be as bad as last year, and think that unlikely. However the early heat bothers me. You know, it is nice when your high temps are 20 degrees above average in March, but we wouldn't think it was quite so nice if our June, July or August temps also run 20 degrees above average.

Jay, I cannot believe all the early record temps, especially in the upper midwest. Dr. Masters has been writing about the early heat quite a lot on his blog at Weather Underground and it is astonishing how high the temps are getting this early up north. Some of those places are warmer up there than we are down here.

I guess the front approaching from the west coast will push us all back down close to normal temps next week, and I am hoping it doesn't last too long.

We have 2 or 3 nights when our forecast lows are expected to be in the 40s, but the plants and I can tolerate that. I am just waiting for the traditional Easter freeze to get here and depart so I can relax a bit more and not worry about cold nights returning.

Larry, I am looking at the lower end of my garden and thinking I need to get busy building raised beds down there. The soil in them is in horrible shape and not likely to improve soon thanks to all the rain in the forecast.

I had thought I might start building some more raised beds today, but we were called out to a fire during the night, and I am sleep-deprived and am having a hard time getting my body in gear. It wants to just sit here.

Dawn

Dawn,

I have transplanted tomatoes at different times in the last few weeks. Most of them seems to be doing ok. But I see couple of the plants transplanted recently, 3-days ago, shows white patches on their leaves. is that because of the heavy rains? or transplant shock? I also added quarter cup of garden tone to each pit before to planting. here is pic of the affected plants;

2-3 weeks ago transplants started blooming, i can see tiny flower beds in early girl.

-Chandra

Are those the Dixondale onions in the background of your second pic? They look so much better than mine! Have you been feeding them anything?

bira Those white spots look exactly like those on most of my tomato plants. They are now light brown in color and there seems to be no further damage. So far, they're holding up okay. In another post Dawn suggested environmental or chemical (or both) damage. It perplexed me. I assumed I put them back into the sun too quickly. Mine are about half the size of yours. How curious.

Chandra, Did the tomato plants go right from the greenhouse to the garden? If so, they suffered from sunscald because the outdoor light is more intense than what they had in the greenhouse. Do you have any shadecloth up in or on your greenhouse? My tomato and pepper plants are grown under 50% shadecloth in the greenhouse, so I have to harden them off to sunlight just as if I was raising them inside the house under lights....at the rate of an hour a day the first day, two hours the second day, etc. As long as the damage is patchy, the plants will recover. The damaged leaves will eventually drop off after there's enough healthy new growth to sustain the plants. Don't cut them off. Let new foliage come out on its own and then the damaged leaves will gradually yellow and fall off.

I don't see any wind damage on your plants. It would show up as darkened, wilted leaf margins.

The tomato tone wouldn't have left those white patches. They are almost always caused by light that is too intense compared to what the plants have had recently, and are most common when your plants have had several cloudy, cool, rainy days followed by days with hot temps and bright, intense sun. Sound familiar? If plants are in the ground and have been for a week or two when the cloudy, rainy cycle is followed by a hot, sunny period, they generally are fine. They might wilt and look a little sad on the first couple of hot, sunny days but they snap out of it. However, if they just were transplanted into the ground during the rainy cycle, or were moved from indoors/a greenhouse/other sheltered area just when the sunny days hit, their foliage can burn and you get whitish to tan patches.

In years when we have a hot, windy, dry spell in March or April, really young tomato plants will show large amounts of environmental stress that shows up as irregular patches all over the leaves. It always seems worse if the plants were kept a little on the dry side at the same time it was warm and windy. That's generally how environmental stress shows up even on plants that have been outside for a while. When larger white or tan patches show up on newly transplanted plants, it generally is because they were not hardened off. You might get away with not hardening off plants in cool, cloudy weather but eventually the sun comes out and the plants burn.

Dawn

Chandra I would say your damage is for sure wind or sun or a combination. I did the same thing to a tray today. Been setting some that I have under the lights out some of a morning and evening. This morning I set them out and didn't get back to set them inside soon enough and sunburned them a little. It was nice and cool this morning but guess the sun was more intense than I realized. I had them on the east side of my utility room under the eves and a few still burned pretty good. They will be fine in a few weeks. If a plant can survive a hail they can survive a little sun and rain. Jay

Dawn,

Thanks for the review, from your explanation, it conform those spots were due to sun burn. Yes planted those affected tomato plants right from the greenhouse to the garden, that to during the cloudy/rainy days, then got bight sunlight following day. Yesterday I looked at them, it seems only older leaves affected and I see fresh growth with no damage. GH is covered 50% shade cloth, plants bit leggy this year as compared to last year. Last year I did not cover GH with shade cloth until May, seedling were very stocky and well harden-off and so no sunburn damage to them.

Jay, some of our seedling keep outside the green house also got that burn. then i moved them to shady spot. Yes, they did survive the hail last time and I hope they are just fine and in good health when I back in 10days.

Miraje, they are not Dixondale onions, they are bunching onions planted last spring and rest are garlic. I planted tomatoes in garlic beds. Dixondale onions just put new growth with couple of new leaves, seems to be going very slow as compared to last year.

-Chandra

I have had mine sitting out for several days, but just day before yesterday they started getting sunscald. I think also that the sun just suddenly got really intense, add the heat and there you go.....sunscald. It has never done this before that I can recall and I've been growing plants for a few years. Is that possible, Dawn, that the sun changes just enough to become more intense? Of course, I've never put out plants this early before either.

Probably a stupid question, but it sure seemed like it did.

I got my Okra (Lee, 1 yo seed, Little Lucy 2 yo seed, so don't know if they are still good) started in 20 oz styrofoam cups, along with cukes and 4 o'clocks. Today I do squash and beans. I have 2 kinds of pattypan, 2 zukes, 2 yellow types, Blue Lake pole and Romano. I seem to be getting things done this year that I couldn't last year. But I didn't get any cool weather stuff done, except some lettuce.

Susan

I wonder how much of this has to do with the increase in solar storm activity.

Nah. I don't think the sun's intensity would suddenly surge and scald plants that way. However, with Mother Nature, you never know. If large solar storms were going on, maybe that could happen.

I just think that we all have plants out earlier than normal because it is warmer than normal. It could be the plants are burning easier because they are younger, or it could be they are burning from the combination of sun exposure at an earlier age than usual and higher than average heat Wind plays a factor too. If the plants get too dry, it seems like they scorch more easily. Really, though, except for a few windy days when we had wind gusting into the 40s, 50s or 60s, this has seemed like a fairly calm March.

I can't get anything much done this week in or near the garden because we have fire training scheduled for 6 hours almost every day, and when I'm not there, I will be in the kitchen cooking something to take to the training exercises. It is killing me that I cannot be out in the garden all day every day in this gorgeous weather. At least my soil will be drier (I hope!) by the time I get back to it.

Today is my "average last frost" date! Woo hoo! Those of you who visit this forum a lot know that means very little to me in reality because for the last 4 years my low-lying microclimate has experienced a frost or freeze during the first week of May. Perhaps this year will break that cycle. Regardless, I already have corn, beans and 65 tomato plants in the ground along with all the cool-season plants. The snap peas are not enjoying high temps in the 80-83 degree range, and if they don't perk up soon, I'll replace them with something else.

Susan, If I was going to be home long enough to sow seeds of cukes, melons, okra and such into paper cups, I'd be doing it. Maybe I can get it done one morning while something is baking in the oven for that day's class.

Dawn