I'd say they might be better off just getting in the ground. I tested my soil temperatures and they are 56 degrees without the mulch and anything over 40 degrees is right for most spring crops including peas. The weather is supposed to be hot from Wednesday on and whatever snow we get will melt.

I would think holding pea seed that have already sprouted until Wednesday might be difficult to do.

Ok! I'll get them in!

Now...what to do about all my lovely blooming daffodils :(

Suzabanana, your lovely blooming daffodils will have to just stand there and take it... just like my blooming crocus. Mother Nature can be very evil in March.

Ugh :( I planted 600 bulbs this fall and these are my first daffs to bloom! I'll cry if they all get smashed to bits!

Suzabanana - I also have a lot of daffs up and ready to bloom and I'm planning on covering them with overturned pots, or cardboard boxes, or anything I can find, just to give them some protection. I'm not worried about the cold, but if we get 12 inches of heavy snow, that will flatten them. I think they may be okay if we can keep the weight of the snow off them. I also have milk crates that I can put over the larger areas, and put some agribon over that.

Sounds like you have a lot more than me though. You are going to be busy Sunday night!

Suzabanana, I agree on the peas since IME once sprouted they will hold well in the ground until growing conditions are favorable. In addition to covering flowers with containers, you could also cut a few to bring inside. I am not usually someone who brings flowers in, but I do before inclement weather.

Are these forecasts driving anyone else nutty? Huge snow, no snow, snow metro west, snow southeast, more than a foot, less than a few inches.

In terms of the peas definitely plant them. Our tradition has always been plant on St Patrick's day which has meant bright sun some years and a nasty freely sleet more often than I like to remember! The peas always seem to do ok.

Suzabanana how did your bulbs come through?

It looks like we have about 5 inches of snow out there and it's already melting. Here are the daffodils hiding under milk crates and agribon row covers and the Crocus that was on it's own. I hope that is the end of snow!

Maisie - they seem to have weather the snow just fine. Sulking a bit, but the snow is nearly melted and I hope they'll perk up even more...

The peas were tucked in over the weekend and I hope to see sprouts soon

Well, they are sprouting but temps are supposed to get into the mid 20s and snow tomorrow! Are they a lost cause?

Suzabanana - I think if you attempt to cover them with something - an old sheet, some agribon, a turned upside down plastic pot - that will be the best chance they'll have.

The forecast is for 20s and teens for 3 nights in a row. I just checked my temperature on the back porch and it is 21 degrees out there. I've resigned myself to some losses this spring. My daffs had just opened and were looking good, just in time for this cold snap. We covered as much as we could and as Babs suggested, we cut some of our daffs to bring in the house. I left some daffs uncovered before the snow as an experiment, and the flowers were not frozen, but the stems of the flowers all bent and they looked awful, so I cut all but two of those to bring in the house and I left two of them just as an experiment to see how they will fair with the low overnights coming up.

I haven't planted my peas yet. I did put some bok choy, cabbage, lettuce and onion seedlings in the garden covered with agribon, and I will be surprised if they make it unscathed. I'm preparing for them to be goners and have already started another batch of seedlings. I had winter sown containers in the yard, but we brought them in the house last night.

Last year, was the first time I noticed my mindset has shifted, so that I was more focused on the summer than the spring. Spring usually is my favorite season, but this kind of roller coaster weather takes a lot of the fun out of it. The early warmth that starts everything growing only to be followed by snow and cold, is something I could do without. I'd rather it stayed cold until everything could start growing without these challenges.

So, sunflowers, zinnias, roses, butterfly bushes, tomatoes, peppers etc. is the way I've shifted my attention. I've also decided to make a point of purchasing more late daffodils and spring bulbs. I started buying more about 4 years ago, and I'd like to add a lot more this fall. Some of mine have buds right now and it will be interesting to see if the cold damages them. If so, I may forget about putting in even late daffodils.

Good luck with your peas!

Such frustrating weather! I am actually hoping for a little snow cover to buffer the super low temps, but it doesn't look good. :(

Maisie - I think you were right - snow was exactly what we needed to tolerate those low temps. The snow is melting today but I haven't gone out to check how everything faired yet. I did check and it was 18 degrees on my back porch this morning. By 11am it was up to 40 degrees with the sun. Hope that's the last of those teen temperatures.

Surprisingly, my daffodils are ok. A bit bent over, but ok otherwise. The peas are still under snow-cover :(