I am reminded every spring that its really hard to figure out why we live here in Ok. Dawn, I say we ditch this place and head to the islands, whatya say?

Nancy, If I were you I would! lol. Are y'all back for a while or just to spend time with the grandkids for a bit??? What is there to worry about in Hawaii? Hurricanes, tsumanis, volcanoes? I still think of you every single time a volcano is spewing out lava anywhere---it doesn't even have to be in the islands.

It is good to see you here and to know that you are home.

Dawn

We have been back for 8 years, and I have done a lot of babysitting grandkids, lots of family stuff and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Hawaii calls us everyday. We feel we are right at the razors edge of a decision to either stay here and do a final remodel of our Moore house, or our youngest would like to convert their 2 car garage into a condo for us. That would make it easy for us to just spend winters in Hawaii. John is finally retired and so now we can make a serious plan. I really have Tornado PTSD here in Moore, I kid you not. We told the kids lets see if this year a tornady takes down our house before we remodel. We also have a dog now and we adore her so she has to be part of our plans. Yes, volcano, hurricanes and earthquakes there!

I would have tornado PTSD if I lived in Moore too. I think Moore is a beautiful place to live and the people are amazing....but the severe weather just won't leave it alone. I hope for your sake that a tornado does not take down the house. Every area of the country has something, but in recent years I feel like OK really has been overachieving with all the tornadoes, crazy flooding, prolonged drought, wildfires, big hail...and then the earthquakes too. I guess this is never going to be a calm, quiet state, but I love it anyway.

I think Kim either got rain or is getting rain there in west Texas. The storms are firing up and some of them already are in OK and SW KS while others are moving towards us.

West Texas/Western OK Radar

Big storm! Looks to be headed right for ya. Everyone be careful. Maybe it'll peter out before it gets to us.

Dawn, I scrambled to get laundry on the line and done before the storms. while at the line I saw the sun was glowing overhead with clear skies and I the wind was just perfecto for drying times. I reached to pull a shirt down and it began to sprinkle. I looked up again. No clouds?? I looked further out. No storm clouds. ?? I turned around to look at the sky and saw the fire department was emptying their tanks and the wind blows in our direction. Always makes it rain on us. ROFL

It appears the worst of it is south of us. Since we are in this significant valley it usually skirts around the edge and we get the rain but not as much hail and high winds. I put my tall plants under this makeshift cover. Hope the lattice stays put.

hehehe....not garden related...but maybe? Some of my "extra" garden supplies (read that old LARGE pots, sprinklers, trays, etc.) are getting moved around in the "barn" as I peck. DH got a new truck this weekend!!! (well, new to us. 2014 3.5K miles) We don't have a carport yet......and he's determined to get that Truck inside! I've been trying to get him to get one installed......we need it for the SF!!! Something tells me we'll have one as soon as he can schedule someone to bring it out!

Congratulations!

Yay Paula. I am saving for a truck as well. Or to fix my sons 78 Ford. Would love to use it for market.

Bon, Why can't the FD make it rain for you in the summertime during drought when there is no rain falling? Surely they could come up with an excuse to empty out a tanker and spray a little rainfall towards your garden!

Kim, Some of those storms have been nasty and with big hail. I'm glad those are missing you but I hope you're getting good rainfall, and I hope your makeshift cover works if any hail comes your way.

Paula, Tell Ken congrats on the new truck. Congrats to you too! A truck can haul a lot of gardening supplies too. I saw a photo he posted on FB and it was a big, beautiful truck. I bet he is thrilled. Hooray for the future carport too. A gardener can drag a lot of stuff underneath a carport as a storm approaches. My fig tree (in a big container) is under our carport right now.

Kim, That would come in awfully handy. Our truck is getting old---it is a '97---but we'll try to repair it as needed and keep it running forever. Once a truck gets old and beat-up, you can haul anything in it and not have to worry about scratching up or hurting the truck. I like that.

Y'all, this is also not really gardening-related, except that we are humans and this accident involved humans. Reportedly three storm chasers have been killed in a motor vehicle accident near Spur, TX, in the Lubbock, TX, area this afternoon while chasing a tornado. They were in a tornado-warned area at the time. Reportedly one vehicle ran a stop sign and hit the other vehicle. This sort of reminds me of what happened in the OKC area a few years back when that big tornado near El Reno put down some sub-vortices and also sort of made a strange turn and caught a bunch of storm chasers who couldn't get out of the way. Y'all might remember that one because Tim Samaras, his son Paul, and meteorologist Carl Young passed away. Was that in 2013? I believe they may have been the first storm chasers to die during a storm. In that same event, Mike Bettes and his TWC team had their vehicle roll and some members of the team suffered injuries. So, tonight let's send positive thoughts and prayers to the families of the three deceased storm chasers. I've heard the names of at least two of them, but since they have not been officially confirmed or released, I'd rather not state them here out of respect for their loved ones. Those two chasers were terrific people and very good at what they did and highly esteemed in the chaser community, and were relatively high-profile storm chasers. My heart is absolutely broken for their families and the communities where they lived. Sometimes we fret and worry over hail storms beating up our plants....or our houses or cars or whatever, but all this is just stuff that's replaceable. I'm kind of in shock that we have lost storm chasers in a storm yet again.

And, in weather news, nothing is near us or coming near us at all. If we're going to get rain, it sure is going to arrive here in our county later than the NWS said and later than our local TV mets said. I think these storms are just doing what they want....not what we think they are going to do.

Dawn

The Weather Channel has issued a statement confirming two of its contractors, Kelley Williamson (from Missouri) and Randy Yarnell were killed in this tragic accident. I don't believe I've seen the name of the third person who is deceased. RIP to Kelley and Randy and condolences to their loved ones. This is so awful.

I'm watching TWC and Dr. Forbes is incredibly busy, not just with tornadoes but bow echoes and gustfronts and what have you in both TX and OK. Now it really does feel like spring with the severe weather going nuts. It is easy to believe it is almost April because this weather is acting like April weather.

That is terrible and so close to home. I have friends in Spur. What a tragedy.

Oh how sad.

So terrible, sending prayers up for the families.

Nice rain here today. After work we had an inch. Last I talked to Judy in Leedey it was raining cats and dogs. Think it has covered a wide area. We had .6 last Thursday night while some got up to 2". So a good start to spring. I tilled the main garden lightly last night. I spread some cover crop seeds and will just till the areas where I'm going to plant crops. The rain should really soak in and do some good. Haven't heard of any severe weather today. Had quite a bit of hail last Thursday.

It looks like most of the areas affected by the fires have received a nice rain also.

Jay, I'm so glad y'all got good rainfall today, both there and in Leedey. Our rain arrived this morning and we got a little under an inch to go along with the 1.3" from the weekend, so we are nice and wet and muddy. I know it will dry up too quickly since we're in drought, but am happy to get it anyway. It is good that most of the areas affected by the fires got some nice rain. I hope it helps get plants growing again.

Dawn

Bon, Can you dig the potatoes that are under water and reset them higher in the soil or in a different place? It still is pretty early in the growing season so it might work. Why did that 8" of rain runoff settle there? Did you learn (the hard way, obviously) that it is a low spot? You also might be able to dig a trench and drain away the standing water. I did that in 2007 when we had a ton of rainfall in April, May and June. The water ran down the trenches and out of the garden and then the garden dried out much better after we got rid of the standing water.

Congrats on all the rain, even though it is causing problems. Rainfall was needed so badly that sometimes in those situations you do take a hit when some things get too wet, but then everything that isn't drowning is benefitting from the rain.

Just keep on keeping on. Weather throws a lot at us and sometimes the things we do to help in one kind of weather (like drought) do not help in a totally different kind of weather (like flooding rains). That's one of the issues with gardening here. We had tons of standing water this morning from both the early morning ran and Sunday's rain, but most of it, except for a few puddles in standard low spots, has soaked in now. I'm actually surprised how quickly it has soaked in, but the ground was really dry.

Dawn

Dawn, I planted holes in the clay. Literally. I was greedy and wanted to fill them in as they grew to get more potatoes. Still, when I think about it if I had trenched them normally, they'd still be under water. But your suggestion of runoff provides the answer. I need to trench them in the direction of the slope (like I did the first year).

I will dig them up (or fish them out? lol) and try to replant them. They were not yet above grade, only setting roots. Thanks!

bon

Asked my husband to look at the rain gauge. I forgot this morning as I was bustling around trying to take care of the animals and set out the tomatoes before work. We got a whooping 3.5 inches. That's a lot and we needed it. Sure wish we had that rain barrel attached. There's just not enough hours in the day or days in the week.

Dawn we got another .3 here last evening so have had 1.9 since last Thursday. Judy got just over 3" in Leedey. Some of hers came hard and fast. All of ours was slow to moderate with no hard rain. So will do a lot of good. Over the last 2 weekends I drove through some of the burn areas and there was a lot of green trying to come. So this should really boost it. Have heard in some areas where it was real sandy that a lot of the grass has blown out. So only time will tell on it.

Have some plants getting a little size. May try to put some out by the 10th of April. I have way more plants than I'll need so can take some risks.

Had good germination on the old tomato seeds. Germination has been slow on the old chile seeds. Hopefully I can get enough to germinate so I can save some fresh seeds. Jay

1.75 as of early this morning. My rain gauge is 1.75 and then it runs over lol. As soon as it slowed down I ran to check the garden. It all looks great and spinach is coming up nicely. I hope to get a nice salad mix for market out of all my little bits of this and that seed. Most of my plantings are 50' to 65' rows.

Finally RAIN!!!!!! We got 3.5" here in SW OKC. I am sure some ran off but we were so dry that a lot of it still soaked in. Yeah, yeah yeah. Sorry for any bad weather anyone got. It broke my heart when I heard about the lives lost, they were trying to keep us safe. Why is the good always balanced with tragedy here in Oklahoma?

still hoping for a little water again this weekend

I'm glad some of you who really needed that rain got it. It nearly missed us; we finally got rain in the early morning hours, only about .3-.4". But over the past 6-8 days, we've had good precipitation. Everything is GREEN.

I'm excited for everyone who got rain, whether large amounts or small. If you look at the 7-day forecast, it seems like most parts of the region have more rain chances. Maybe April Showers will fall and bring us May flowers....and veggies, and fruits and herbs.

Bon, You're welcome. I think you can save those taters from drowning!

Jay, I'm glad your rain came slow so it could soak in and I hope enough of Judy's rain soaked in to make a nice difference. Maybe the chile's are just slow since they're old and eventually will sprout. I hope the fire did not wipe out the grass completely. I know some wildfires can burn so hot that they literally sterilize the soil and then recovery takes forever, but here where I live, if it is a wild-driven wildfire, it usually moves too fast to hurt the soil too much. I hope they discover the same thing was true up there, but I'm worried about hot hot those flames might have been since everything there was so dry and since the amount of organic matter in the soil likely was pretty low in the first place.

Hazel, That's an awesome amount of rain! Who hoo!

Kim, Maybe you need one of those 5" rain gauges.

Stockergal, It does seem like we cannot get rain without someone paying a terrible price for it, doesn't it? No one knows that better than you do after all you have been through with the tornado and the tornado recovery. I'm glad y'all got so much rain. I bet you really needed it. Didn't we all? I just wish we could get rain, pure rain, without everything else that goes with it.

The DFW area had tons of damage, including some from two small tornadoes, and straight-line wind damage. The saddest thing, though, was that two brothers, one 11 years old and the other 12 years old, were electrocuted yesterday afternoon by a downed power line in a park in east Fort Worth. There is so much about this that my mind cannot grasp. If the power line came down in the storm, why hadn't Oncor cut the power to that pole? Was it not a priority to de-energize a downed line in a city park? They'd had all day long to do it before school let out and kids might be playing in the park. Shouldn't de-energizing lines on the ground be more important than almost anything else after a storm since they are so dangerous? Aren't kids taught in school to avoid power lines on the ground? They were when I was a kid. Tim thinks maybe the line wasn't down all day, but maybe had a tree or limbs fall on it and bring it down shortly before the kids encountered it. That theory makes some sense because the line was arcing and started a grass fire and first responders had to call and wait for Oncor to come cut the power to that line before they could even get to the kids to help them (sadly it was too late) and before they could spray water on the grass fire. It is just such an unspeakable tragedy. I wish it could have been avoided. I just shouldn't even watch the news after bad weather because so much of it is just so sad.

Today is supposed to be cool but nice, so I am going to venture into the garden and do what I can. I walked through it very late yesterday and a lot of the puddles themselves are gone, so I'm hopeful I can work in the raised beds at least. Friday is supposed to be almost hot---at least in the lower 80s, and our weekend down here has a good chance of being really rainy again. I'm thinking I might indulge in garden rain therapy, which means going plant shopping if it is going to be too wet to work in the garden. I have managed to look at plants here and there while at the stores for other things, but haven't yet made a dedicated shopping trip to my favorite nurseries in the DFW area to solely garden-shop. This weekend might be the time to do that.

We are greening up very, very rapidly here, although Chris saw a huge smoke plume out west a couple of days ago. I bet it was someone burning brush piles or something. We haven't had many grass fires at all this week, so I'm hoping the rapid greenup means our fire season is drawing to a close here. I haven't looked at the relative greenness map lately, but last week I think we were at 46% and if this week the percentage isn't higher than that, then surely next week it will be.

Dawn

Dawn from what I've heard and also from my past experience the grass was ok after the fire. But in the real sandy areas and with the winds we had after the fires for several days the sand will blow out around the roots and also the blowing sand cuts the roots off. Many times a person will feel the damage is worse than it is. After the rains we will know more in 3-4 weeks.

The harder rains were beneficial for her. Down there they like a few hard rains to put water in the ponds. Two years ago she started restocking them with fish. Had one dry up last spring before it started raining and lost the fish in it. But fortunately the other two have retained enough water to keep the fish alive and growing. Last fall one of those two got a good rain but the other one didn't. This time I think they all did. And I was going to start another thread but tonight we both have another good chance of more moisture. I think it maybe tomorrow afternoon for her. I'll be headed down tonight. May drive the pu. The high winds last weekend sure made driving the car an adventure.

I imagine the seeds being old is part of it. I did put them on a heating mat for several days but maybe not long enough. I've seen pepper seeds come up for over 3 weeks. So hopefully a few more will come up.

Oh, good, I hope the grass is okay and bounces back quickly. With so much work to be done to recover (I am tying to picture in my brain just simple things like all the fencing that needs repair or replacement), it would be great if the grasses could rebound on their own and everyone had just one thing less to worry about.

Our good chance of rain comes later than yours, but I'm looking forward to hearing those raindrops pounding down on the roof sometime between Saturday afternoon and Sunday night. It seems like rain always arrives here later than they say anymore so I have had to learn to be patient and just wait for it to get here.

Tim rototilled the back garden for me last weekend, or at least the sandy-silty parts of it. About 1/3 of it is clay, and there is some shockingly dense clay at one end, despite the organic matter I've added at that end, which has gotten more amending than the rest of the back garden so far, and it was too hard to rototill. He and I are hoping that this week's rain softened up the clay just enough that he can rototill it tomorrow before the rain comes. I hope it isn't too muddy to break up that ground. The soil back there vexes me, but likely only because that is a newer garden area and I just haven't got the soil improved enough yet. It seems hard to keep that area at a happy point---it either is way too wet or way too dry and can't stay at the perfect in-between for long at all. Still, even in the hardest clay back there, we get some good corn crops, so I guess the barely-improved clay still is fertile even though it is hard to work.

I have faith those pepper plants will keep sprouting.

Hope y'all have a wonderful rainy weekend, and nothing severe weatherwise!

Dawn

Jay I am seeing the same thing with some of my pepper seeds. Some I gave up on but did not dump are coming up now over 4 weeks later.

It is so terrible about those kids. I can not imagine that poor family.

I think we got some rain last night but it may be heavy dew, we usually never have that. And a 5" rain gauge well our rain gauges here measure drops so I would have to get one in Denton in ...2 WEEKS

Two weeks isn't that far away. Is that the wedding weekend?

Hopefully your rainy season won't end before you get to buy and use a new 5" gauge!

Yes the wedding is sneaking up fast. So much to do I can not even focus. We might get rain again tomorrow

Kim, I hope you get nice, gentle rain and not a mean, heavy downpour.

Try to relax and enjoy both the planting season and the whirlwind of last-minute wedding preparations. April is such a perfect month for both gardens and weddings. I'd say 'just focus and get through the next two weeks and then you can relax' and that would be true for most moms with a child getting married. Except.....your kids have conspired to make 2017 the Year of the Wedding, so I doubt you get to relax much in between weddings this year.

Dawn

Well #3has backed off on their ideas for this year. Whew. I think that's a great idea. So April and august and then a breather till next April or whenever. They also have changed my plans for my little house. I don't have time right now anyways to deal with it so I will let them do their talking. When I get ready then I will jump in

Well good, I am glad you are going to get a breather. That should help a lot.

Had another .8 in the gauge from the weekend moisture when I got home last evening. Brings the total up to 2.8 here. And had .5 down there for a 3.6 total. And we have a great chance of heavy rain tonght through tomorrow and then Tuesday night will be around 30-31. So no planting yet.

Rain again! Our nearest mesonet station registered over 5" the last go around and that does look exceptionally accurate with all the water in my yard. Now there's a massive storm overhead.

It's a drag, but YAY! A buffer from drought. I just wish this round would come in June or so.

Jay, I'm so glad y'all are getting rain. The cold interfering in planting is unfortunate. Hopefully it will be the last really cold night.

Bon, That's a lot of rain at once after y'all went without good rain for so long. I hope the ground doesn't stay too wet for too long. Ours is still just mud, mud, mud but I think that today's high temperature in the lower 80s with strong winds means we'll see some drying.

They've dropped our chances of rain today and tonight down to 20% and I'm hoping the rain misses us so we can dry out a bit more.

It is too bad we can't save this rain for June, July or August.

Dawn

Dawn it rained off and on last night. Not sure how much yet but would figure around and inch if not more. I scattered some more ground cover seed last evening and tilled it in shallow. Raked some in. They are saying snow possible this afternoon but little if any accumulation.