Katy,

I've scheduled myself to plant spring peas and lettuce on Feb. 1, mainly because I want to put tomatoes and beans in when they're finished, and the longer I wait, the longer it'll take to get the main crops in.

I don't know if you've seen it, but you can get great planting information from the link below. Put in your zip code, and to see the current soil temperature, in the next window click on Yesterday's Conditions. For our area, our soil temperature is just under 40 degrees. Actually 38.5 at 2", 38.7 at 4", and 40.1 at 8".

But it has all kinds of great information in the other links, too.

40 degree soil temps for peas and lettuce are recommended, so you might be able to plant them even sooner if your temps stay stable. I'm a little nervous about ambient temps, even if the soil temps are good, so I have some row cover waiting in case I need it.

Have fun! I don't know how you can manage a new baby and a garden, too. You must be awfully organized and can rest any time!

Here is a link that might be useful: Georgia Weather

Great link -- wonder it there is anything like that for Alabama?

Judy

Here is a link that might be useful: Ft2Garden.com

Judy

Try the link below and see if you can find some of the data. There may be other weather/soil information sites, but I don't know how to find them. It looks like there aren't many analysis stations to choose from in Alabama, most in the northern part of the state, and after you choose one, you STILL have to find your way through the links.

For instance, if, on the map, you click on Tuskegee and in the next window, click on Data Reports/Generate Report, you'll get information on soil moisture and temperature. But the temps are given in Centigrade, not Fahrenheit. I hope you know how to convert them!

Actually it looks like the Soil Climate Analysis Network has analysis stations in most states, though not all.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alabama Scan Sites

I'm in zone 7, though about as far away from Athens Georgia as you can get and still be in the United States. I'm not going to get dirt for my beds until around Valentines Day and then plant soon thereafter but not much until April 1, which is our safety frost free date.

Best of luck and let us know how it works. Maybe that far south you don't get the frost this time of year, but I'd hate to lose my work to a bad cold night.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden in progress...

I just checked and there are not any scan sites for South Alabama :-( But thanks for the link though. That is really neat to be able to see soil temps like that.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ft2Garden.com

All of these are pretty frost proof so barring a hard freeze, you should be fine. I plant English peas and potatoes by February 14. in the ground. Start lettuce in cold frame to get a jump start, but like to transplant around March 1. Our average last frost is April 15. (Augusta)Athens is very little colder.

So, I'm in Maryland, zone 6b-7a. My plans are very similar to katy_bug. But usually my seeds packets just say sow when ground is "workable". I'm not even sure what that means? The ground here is rarely frozen for most of the year and I'd consider it workable maybe in early March. Is that when I should sow my spring veggie seeds? Also to complicate matters further, I am doing mostly container gardening. Any ideas?

I almost made my goal . . . but I have an excuse! My now 11 week old baby slows me down but I was determined to put seeds out so I would have something to MAKE me go out side each day.
We spent last weekend preparing the beds. Usually I compost my leaves in the fall and use the compost to fill my raised bed in the spring, but this past fall I was too pregnant to get up the leaves. We raked leaves last Saturday and layered them in the bed with green manure - lasagna gardening style. Today - I topped off the bed with 1/2 of topsoil and direct sowed ~1/3 of my seeds because I am going to plant groups in succession.
This is what I ended up planting because I waited to long to order and had to go with what was at Lowe's.

Beets - detroit supreme
Carrots - sweet treat hybrid
Lettuce - green ice
Sugar Snap Peas - super sugar snap
and a microgreen mix

wild_forager

Unless you can find information on soil temps, it's hard to give any worthwhile advice about planting similar crops. A lot of people test their own, either with a soil thermometer or one of those meat probe cooking thermometers -- you just poke them into the soil, wait about 30 seconds and see what shows up!

As for containers, their temperature is pretty dependent on ambient temps unless they're huge. You can measure the soil temps in them the same way. I don't usually plnat things in containers quite as soon as in the earth, though if you can move your containers to an inside spot if the temps are going to fall below freezing, you might be able to plant things relatively early since they warm up rapidly during the day. I have nine self-watering containers ready to go, sitting out on the deck waiting for warmer weather where I'll plant carrots in a couple of them. Also green onions after they sprout in their inside flat.

You do know, don't you, all of you Southerners, that you're just KILLING us up here in the great white, frozen North!

I'm hoping to get everything all planted by the 4th of July, so I can have it all ripped out before the snow flies the week after Labor Day!

Just kidding. I can start planting in early April, and it doesn't actually snow here until November. Last frost, on average is around May 15th, first fall frost, on average about October 8th. We're not quite as cold in Michigan as, say, Fairbanks. However, I have seen snow turn the ground white in mid May, and I've seen snowflakes flying through the air on September 12th. A few years back, Northern Michigan, around Traverse City, near where my sister lives, had a couple inches of wet, slushy snow fall on the Wednesday before Labor day, on August 28th. We had cold rain and 44 degrees for a high that day. Pretty amazing. A week later, it was 92.

Green with Envy!

Well I hate to brag but . . . . this past Saturday it was a balmy 72 degrees and sunny while I was planting my garden. The 2" soil temp is up to 52F and my beds are warmer than that since I planted in active compost.
:)

I'm going to have to break out the meat thermometer and check my soil. Is there a place that tells you what temp to plant what in? I was going to go from others' experience and hope for the best but it would be good to have more info.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's gardening adventure

sinfonian

For germination temperatures, I refer to the site at the bottom more than others because it has more details, so I'll post it there.

But here are two more:

Alabama Cooperative Extension Seed Germination Chart

Heirloom Seeds Site Germination Chart

They don't conflict TOO much with each other.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vegetable Germination Temperatures

This is an interesting link too . .

Here is a link that might be useful: germination table

Hi, Anney! Thanks for the tip about the meat thermometer! Though there's no point me getting it out yet, since half of the row cover is still frozen to the ground.

Katy, thank you for the germination table. I've bookmarked it for future reference.

Even though I can't plant anything out for a couple of months, I have already winter sown quite a few cool season veggies and some herbs. Plus, I peeked under the end of the row cover that wasn't frozen to the ground, and my fall planted lettuce and spinach are still alive. I am amazed that they survived the below zero temps with just a light row cover! If I keep the row cover on until it's ready to harvest, maybe the leaf miners won't ruin all of it this year.

Bonnie