Hi Lynn,

Shows 36 for us. Hoping for cloudy skies and a little wind.

randy

Fost? That should be Frost. Wish you could edit these posts.....

Lynn

We're showing 38 for one night and 40 for another. Since I've had frost here at 38 (on a clear, windless night), I'll be covering everything up both nights. I HOPE this is the last time, but it wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't happen at least one more time....it just seems like that kind of spring.

I can't plant anymore tomatoes in the ground (even if it dries up, which is doubtful) because it will take every single pot and bucket I have to cover up the ones in the ground now.

Dawn

Mine says 39 34 39 . I am not putting anything in the ground till the 28'th.

The forecast that shows on my computer has Fri 38, Sat 33, Sun 36, Mon 37 then five days when it doesn't go below 50.

I have 5 small tomatoes in WOW, and 2 that aren't. This morning when I went out to take the pots off of them, I felt like I was planted in the garden I went down so deep in mud. I had mud over the top of my clogs and almost fell down. Glad I had on cheap plastic shoes. I guess I will lug my seedlings and container plantings back in again. Since my potatoes were already starting to come up maybe they will be OK and not rot in the ground. Even if the tops freeze, they will likely come back.

At what temp do you bring you seedlings inside. I am trying to decide if I need to just put them under cover of the shed or bring them inside the house. They are still quite small and it would be easy to put them in a sheltered area without heat and give them a little cover, but I am a little afraid to do that. What do all of you think?

Also, forgot to say that they have recorded 5 inches of rain here since Monday. Muddy, muddy, muddy!

I don't necessarily bring in my seedlings at one specific temperature, as the decision is based on a couple of things.

If the low temp is going below 40 AND it is a clear night AND there is no wind, they are on the screened-in porch. For the winter, the screening is covered with 6mm plastic, so it will stay about 5 degrees warmer....or about 45.

If the low temp is going below 40, and maybe as low as 38, but there is good cloud cover OR steady wind OR both, they can stay on the patio or front/side porch where they have a little protection including a roof over their head.

If the low is going below 38 but above 35, I make a judgement call based on the wind, the clouds, and whether the night is cooling rapidly or not. Maybe on the porch or patio, or maybe in the garage.

If the low is going below 35, they come back into the house.

Now, for the ones in the ground.....I cover them with buckets and pots if hail is forecast or if overnight lows are going to be 38 or 39 or lower. I don't let cloud cover or wind change my mind because the ones in the ground are in different locations....in our sloping garden, some are several feet lower than those at the highest part of the garden. So, I just cover them all.

It isn't as hard as it sounds....it is more of a "gut feeling" most of the time. I generally go outside and walk around the yard right before the 10 o'clock news comes on. I observe how cool the air feels at that time compared to how it felt at 5 or 6 o'clock. Is is cooling very rapidly? Cooling very slowly? Lots of clouds? No clouds? Steady wind? No wind? I crunch all those factoids through my head and make a decision. Usually I make the right one....because there is nothing worse the next day than discovering you made the WRONG decision! LOL

I just heard on KXII that we should expect temps down to 34 in southern OK.. ekkk!

I know.....the forecast keeps looking a little worse and a little worse every time I look at it, so I think I will just stop looking! : )

I'll just cover up the tomatoes and bring the big containers into the garage and the flats of seedlings up onto the back porch or possibly into the house on the coldest night.

We had a hard freeze here in Marietta on April 15th last year, so I've been expecting this. Even after this weekend's cold spell passes, I think we may have at least one more cold spell here in mid- to late-April because that just seems to be the weather pattern this year.

If we are going to be that cold this far south, I imagine frost warnings will be issued for the more northern parts of the state.

Dawn

I just looked out the window at work and noticed the big oak tree has started to leaf out. Isn't there something you're not supposed to plant until the oak leaves are as big as a mouse's ear? I just remembered that when I saw the tree but can't remember what it is you're supposed to plant.

I never plant tomatoes or any warm weather crop until it starts to get warm - mostly because I just can't keep up. I'm trying to get in cool weather stuff, rake, mulch and clean up until then. Last year I put my house plants out too early and had a real fiasco. I'm waiting until May 1 this year.

We're supposed to have a low of 32 Saturday night then 31 on Sunday night. Hopefully that will be the end of it.

Okprairie: It's corn. You're not supposed to plant sweet corn until the leaves on the white oaks are as large as a mouse's ear. I'm pretty sure that bit of folklore is in one of Louise Riotte's books--maybe "Sleeping With A Sunflower".

I plant more by the soil temperature than anything, because in order for the soil temperature to be at a certain level, the average daytime and nighttime temperatures also have to be staying at a decent level.

Here in Oklahoma, it is hard to plant "by the calendar" since our weather ignores calendars, almanacs and the like, and just does whatever it wants.

Tmelrose, Y'all are going to be COLD. We're only expecting a low of 40 Saturday night and 38 Sunday night in Marietta. In our home's low-lying microclimate by the Red River, though, we often go 8 to 10 degrees below the forecast low, so I am expecting the lower 30s. In my case, I am only expecting frost damage, but I guess some of you may be cold enough that you could have freeze damage and frost damage. : (

I hope this is the end of it too.

Dawn

Supposed to go down to 28 up here tonight. But like Dawn I have a micro-climate thing going on. My garden is on a well protected south facing slope and I can generally get my frost sensitive vegetables in a good two weeks before my neighbor who is only 200 feet away (but down in a slight hollow facing north).

This IS the last frost - because I am putting the hex on winter right now!

Y'all join in with me!

Jeff,

I hope that the hex on winter works, because the cold air just keeps coming back over and over again...just when we think it is gone for good.

Hey, I am in a slight hollow facing north! That, you see, is the problem. On the other hand, down here in our little hollow, we have a little wind protection.

This had better be the last cold weekend or I'm liable to start getting cranky.

Dawn

This is it Sis!

We got the hex on it now!

Won't freeze here this morning. It was 38 when I went out to check @ 5:00am. Probably have a light frost though.

Guess Jeff got er done.

randy

It was 42 here in OKC this morning. However, tonight and tomorrow night it's iffy freeze warnings. I have several flats of plants I have purchased out front. I am going to just throw a sheet over the top of them. With ground temps pretty warm, they should be fine. Elevated surfaces, I'd worry more about.

Grrrr - I'm ready to plant, and it's either too wet or too cold.

Anyone seeing butterflies in their location?

Susan

I'm starting to see some assorted butterflies, a black swallowtail, and one lone monarch this past week in western OK Susan.

The weather prediction for me is 36 tonight and 34 tomorrow night. I almost always get colder than predicted. I hope it does not get the fruit. All of my wall-o-waters are is service along with assorted buckets and one rug.

I'm so ready to plant annuals. I bought some yesterday but have them tucked into the greenhouse until next week. Due to the predicted cold, my weekend will consist of weeding, mulching and adding compost.

Lynn

35 up here at 5 this morning. Called for 28. The wind is just miserable though. NW at about 30. Been blowing hard for three days. Calling for 28 again tonight. It might make it if this wind keeps up.

After that, it's all good!

The hex is working so far.

But then again, remember this time April last year. Surprise! It's 6 degrees and all your plants are dead, AND you don't have enough wood.

Well, I have enough wood this year.

That means IT IS OVER!

No more cold!

Randy,

Y'all were cold! When I checked the temp. here shortly before 5 a.m. it was 46 degrees, so I was thrilled, and went back to sleep for a few more hours.

Susan,

I've been seeing a lot of butterflies, including monarchs (new and faded), swallowtails and lots of others. We've had lots of hummers too.

I have flats and flats ready to plant, and just want this weather to pass to I can get on with it before the next round of rain showers hits. It's not quite as bad as last year, but it is still frustrating.

Lynn,

I hope the weather doesn't get the fruit too. I know you're itching to get planting. Do you think it will be safe for you to plant after this weekend's cold spell passes?

I'm going to be adding compost, weeding and mulching today too. (I'd rather be planting.)

Jeff,

The NWS has issued a freeze warning for us and you know how far south we are...practically in Texast

The wind has been blowing here for several days too. Except for the storms that came through with winds in the 50 to 60 m.p.h. range, though, the winds have mostly been in the 20s to 30s with only occasional gusts into the 40s.

This morning the Red River is running so fast with runoff from the various storms that is has little whitecaps. Since the Red is usually a rather shallow, placid river here, it is unusual to see it running so high and fast.

I hope your cold weather hex works and that this is really and truly the last cold spell.

Dawn

I remember Randy saying he was situated in a valley, which always gets colder than the predicted temps. I hope everything does well for you, Randy.

I am just gonna cover my outdoor plants with a big sheet (the babies I just purchased) and hope for the best.

Dawn, your faded Monarchs are probably those that have made the journey all the way from the fir forests in Mexico! Hurrah! Be sure to see if they have tags (little white circle with a number). If so, if you'll let me know so I can report them to Monarch Watch it would be much appreciated.

Susan

Susan,

I gave up worrying too much about stuff in the yard. It makes it ok or it doesn't. With the floods from last summer to the ice storm last December it's hard to get too excited about my yard.

The important stuff is still in the greenhouse right now. :-)

Looking over seedlings this morning and found this little guy. Based on size and color, must have just hatched.

{{gwi:1091922}}

randy