Ma nature is certainly in a generous mood this 'winter' temperature wise but not so much on the precipitation here in Missouri so far. We have a decent chance of rain tonight though so fingers crossed.

It is 64 as I type this morning. We will be dipping down in to the upper 20s on Thursday and Friday morning and then nothing below 40 showing on the 15 day forecast with highs in the 60s and 70s.

I am planting potatoes this weekend and the Dixondale onions will also be planted. I started to harden off my own onion and leek starts last night and I will plant those a little at time in the evenings next week. I'll plant the first couple rows of radishes this weekend as well. I still have about 3 weeks before my broccoli, broccolini, and cauliflower will be ready to transplant.

The worrisome thing is, March will come in like a lamb, so it will go out like a lion. Since I was a child my mom would say that, so I always hoped for cold and rain on March first so we could be over winter. It impressed me more than ground hog day.

My bones are telling me we can expect a very late killing freeze. Easter is late this year, winter was very warm that usually spells "Late hard freeze". Hope I am wrong.

On Feb. 28 two years ago, I was inside watching it snow, so my journal says. Got a couple inches. Today it's currently 76 or so, overcast and pleasantly breezy. The seedlings are loving being outside. . . about time to take them in for the day, and myself, too. I'm mower mulching as I go on as-needed basis. Or whenever I see a nice big pile of leaves that looks easy. I love it when the congregate in certain places. In the back, I have to gather them with a tarp and drag them to where I want 'em, as it's too rocky to mulch them down there. Yes, I don't like it to be too warm too early, either, but at least can take advantage of getting some work done outside while it's like this.

I showed garden restraint........I sorted my screws today.

I worked outside the whole day long. The weather was glorious. Well, it was too warm. I think it was just under 70 degrees when I first went outside around 8 a.m., so it felt like an April morning....on the last day of February. So odd, but still a great day to get things done. I was extra careful to watch for snakes...and didn't see or hear a one.

I've always thought of the March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb being a reference more to wind than to rain or snow. Maybe that's because I grew up in Texas where snow after February (and, most winters, snow at all) was really rare. I know we have had sleet or snow at least twice in Easter week since moving here, but then, we also had temperatures in the 90s during Easter week so it is hard to say I see any consistent pattern relating to Easter. In 2007, we got a three-week long late spring cold spell with sleet and snow and persistent clouds/cold/rain. It wouldn't surprise me if that happened this year. It would be so typical to get something like that after a hot winter.

All sorts of things are happening in the garden. The onions are making new growth, the citrus trees in the greenhouse are blooming, and zinnia volunteers are popping up out of the ground. It is kinda early for them and they may not survive our cold nights later this week, but there's plenty more self-sown seed lying around in the ground to sprout if these freeze. Perennials are emerging, including purple coneflowers and more verbena bonariensis and malva sylvestris 'Zebrina'. The lilac is budding. The plums are in full bloom and the peaches are about halfway in bloom. Canna lilies and crinum lilies both have foliage up about 6" tall, as does the salvia farinacea. Almost everything seems too early, but in this oddest of weather years, it isn't unexpected either.

Bon, Did you not get around to sowing seeds in your wintersown jugs this year?

I agree with everyone who feels like we're due for a last frost (or snow or sleet). That is true. It often, though not always, happens when we get too warm too early. I don't care. That's why I have row cover. When the time feels right, and the soil temperatures are right, I'll plant what I want and then protect it later on if need be. After that long run in the 2000s of having a late freeze or frost on Mary 3rd or 4th for something like 7 or 8 years, I gave up on waiting for the weather to stabilize and now I just plant when it feels right. I am careful. Having to cover and uncover stuff gets old, so I still try to not plant too many things too early simply because I don't want to get tired of covering/uncovering whatever I have growing.

This year reminds me a bit of 2009 and a lot of 2012. Both years ended up being great garden years, and I believe I planted early both years.

I'm also watching the ENSO patterns, and wondering if the predictions of yet another El Nino in 2017 could prove to be true. That would be unusual, but it could happen---and if it happens, whenever it starts, we might see an uptick in rain. Maybe not in time for summer, but rain is welcome in OK just about any time. Well, hopefully not on potato planting day, but any other time.

Let's say goodbye to February, and what a strange trip it's been. Hopefully March is somewhat more normal or stable, but honestly, I think March is going to be just like the last 8 or 10 days of February---hot and cold weather cycling up and down like a roller coaster.

Dawn

Dawn, I'm still waiting for winter to show up. lolz In fact, I direct seeded a bunch of the flowers yesterday. I am considering potting up some of my seedlings into these after hardening them off a bit. Then, put a heavy blanket over them on cold nights? I'd really like to get some of these seedlings out of the house.

Nancy Fryhover-----your comment cracked me up!!!

I'm so over it all this year, seriously. I thought I was ready for winter and I wasn't when we got super cold for a little bit. Then I thought I wanted a warmer winter and turns out I didn't want that either, lol. Geeze, I think I'm just as wishy washy as this weather has been. I am honestly behind with my plantings with all the indoor projects going on. I HAVE to finish painting before it gets too warm outside. That and before my mil decides she's coming for the weekend and my living room still looks like camo threw up in there. After 15 paint swatches, we have decided on a color. Now to get it finished. After the other 4 rooms that is.

I have a planter outside that I think I am going to go ahead and throw some lettuce seeds in. If they make it great, fantastic, yippeee.....if they don't then I'll just plant something else in there. I really have to get my bulbs in the ground, I think. I know I have through March, but I feel like I'm so far behind.

Nancy Fryhover's comment cracked ME up, too. Well, don't know about you, Nancy, but sorting screws is something I put for 2,3,4 years, so if the mood comes upon one, one MUST just sort the screws.

Kim. . . winter showed up here. I'm still nursing a grudge against the hard freezes in my neighborhood in December that did in my rosemary. I'm a little bitter. LOL! I know I know, maybe it'll come back. From all signs, nah, not coming back. Hence, my order for 3 new Arps that will be coming, to be planted in 3 different areas in the yard.

And what's with the tornado warnings in our neighborhood tonight? Radar shows an unlikely happening here. . . WHAT? Don't care so much about most stuff, but really worry about the raised beds we just worked so hard on. LOL

Looks like it is going to be a bumpy ride here in a little while.

I hope everyone is okay. We had some wicked winds for a while, but that is all.

We got some pretty strong storms with some large hail here in the KC area last evening. Enough to completely cover the ground with the largest at my house being about 1".

I shined my car headlights on my garlic beds when I left for work this morning and it was still upright but looked like there was some leaf damage. They should rebound and be fine. Nothing else in the garden yet for the hail to destroy.

I was thinking about you yesterday afternoon as well as last night, Jack, as I was watching the reports of all the severe weather roll in, and was hoping the hail would be kind to your neighborhood and that the tornadoes would miss you altogether.

If you've got to have hail hit the garden, now's the time---before there's too much growing out there for the hail to destroy. I'm glad y'all didn't get larger hail than that 1" hail

This sure is weird with weather with tornadoes happening in places fairly far north much earlier in the year than usual. The loss of lives and property damage associated with yesterday's/today's tornado outbreak is so tragic. We had an EF-4 tornado hit a county next to us in February a few years back, which was fairly shocking for winter time, but also not unheard of this far south. To me it is really shocking that in 2017 we've seen so much severe weather in so many places further north this year already. It must feel odd to folks who've been having severe thunderstorms and tornadoes rather than snow and ice.

Thanks Dawn! Some areas definitely had worse hail than my neighborhood. I heard reports of baseballs falling from the sky further north. Thunderstorms in February here are fairly common but this is the first hail that I can remember at my house. Sleet is much more common in February. This weather certainly has been strange this early in the 'spring' in much of the country.

The only other thing I have planted are snow peas but I don't think they are sprouted yet although I didn't check them yesterday. It's only been 11 days since sowing. They are covered by some 1/4" hardware cloth to keep the chickens out and keep the squirrels from digging up the seeds in search of acorns so that should have somewhat protected them from the hail if they had sprouted.

Jack, I have been through a storm with baseball to softball sized hail twice in my life and it was thoroughly terrifying both times---once I was in my car on the highway and the second time I was inside a restaurant. I hope never to experience such a thing again.

I do what I can to protect plants from hail, but you know, we cannot cover up every row of plants in the garden for the entire storm season. Still, most years, the worst hail we see here is nickle to quarter sized. The worst garden-destroying storm we've had since moving here had hail about the size of golf balls. It decimated my garden, destroying all the tomato fruit and peppers. I cut everything back pretty much to the ground because all of it was too shredded to leave, but most of it (not corn and onions, obviously) and we eventually had a very good, albeit late, harvest that year.

If you have to have hail hit your garden, I'd rather it be early like it was for you, and not later on when the garden is fully planted and the plants are much further along.

The photos coming out of many places, including Perryville, are horrifying. So much damage...and unfortunately some deaths as well.

I hope this early start to the severe thunderstorm/tornado season isn't a bad omen.

Dawn

We got nothing last night, except for a cold front that moved in quickly and wind for a while. . . good to hear your garden looked relatively okay to you, Jack. . .