No, I've barely been able to get a steady set of days in the 50's. I have started indoor plants, 36 so far... and another 36 in one or two weeks, but nothing planted yet. It's far too wet at the moment :(

The peas, arugala, spinach and lettuce that were direct sowed have all sprouted. Temps are still cool in the PNW zone 8 area. The plants and herbs indoors are waiting for April before they go outside.

I think you should leave them out for a couple of nights let them get used to the evening temps and then plant them. If you're in Austin, Texas, you're probably safe for the most part.....especially if the 10 day forecast is good.

I would really get a soil thermometer so you can see what's really going on out there. Don't spend alot of money. A cheap one will work. I leave mine in the ground the whole growing season. Moisture really affects soil temp and after a few years, I've been able to tell if I need to water by how much the temps have varied.

I both direct seeded and transplanted some lettuces, spinach and peas a little over a week ago. None of the seeds have sprouted yet but they are all older seed so I'm not expecting much. The transplants all look good and we've had some overnight freeze warnings but no actual freezing temperatures since I set them out. Day temperatures get up to the high 60s, low 70s.

thanks to all. shebear that's an excellent idea to leave the thermometer in the ground all season. I will look for one today. I will also try leaving them out overnight. It's expected to be in the 80's here this week low overnight in the 50's. Also, after much debate I put down the dreaded black plastic weed barrier yesterday to help warm the soil temperature in my garden. Hopefully this will help keep the temp. a little warmer over night.
thanks to everyone for their imput!

I've already planted everything. Cool season crops should have been planted a month ago.

I've found it's best to start early in Texas. I take the the recommended planting dates and move them up by a week or more. When we do get cold weather it usually only lasts a day or two and is really only cold for a few hours in the early a.m. hours. Sustained days of cold with temps in the 30's or 40's can cause plants to become stunted or damaged though. In the case of cold that lasts only a few hours, a blanket or row cover placed over plants at sunset will protect most things into the upper or even mid 30's. Also don't let plastic directly touch your plants, because it can damage leaves.

Except for peppers and tomatoes, I plant most of my stuff from seed in the ground. One trick I tried this year was to cover the ground with clear plastic after I planted my seeds so it would be warm enough for the seeds to germinate. When we had days with highs in the upper 60's or warmer I took the plastic off. Planted about two weeks ago, my beans and squash are up and growing nicely. Hopefully, I can get some squash before the borers arrive and some beans before the temps rise.
A little gambling can pay off.

Pete

Check this out

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.backyardgardener.com/Gardening_Month/zonemar01.html

I started planting in my raised bed in Jan and Feb. Everything has come up except for cucumbers and basil. I think I planted the cucumber seed too early and will need to replant them. Tomatoes have been in the ground a month already. Radishes will be ready to harvest soon. Cilantro, spinach, peas, and carrots are all growing. Kohlrabi seed was planted over a month ago but it didn't sprout. It sprouted last year, but didn't get very big. I think it was not meant to grow here.

Not all Zone 8s are equal.
The number 8 basically means 8 months from the last spring frost to the first fall frost.
Give you an example: here in GA, my zoning is almost 8. Seattle WA and Portland OR are also zone 8. But they are not the same. Here in GA, we have much shorter springs and much longer/warmer summers. So we have to hurry with cool season crops and not worry with warm season ones.I figure Zone 8 in TX, is similar to this part of GA, with even shorter springs and hotter summers. SO better hurry up with the cool crops.

Well for Texas it's a La Nina year so it'll be a warm and dry spring.....which it has been except for the Super Bowl week. Usually we have very wet and cold springs and it would just start getting nice about now. We're expecting 80 today. Does that give you any idea what the summer will be like.

This week I have also been putting in all my veggies. They're still predicting a cold 40 degree night around the 22nd but a bit of cover should protect the really sensitive plants.

I don't do plastic in the garden if I can help it. I've found if you have a really sunny spot to garden in then the seeds will sprout on their own. If you don't then you'll do best with transplants or waiting for natural warmth. I only really wrap tomatoes because they take so long to get big and I really treat my seedlings like Mother Nature would. They spend quite a bit of time outside getting wind whipped and sunbeat and rain soaked. By the time they are put in the ground that are more than ready.

We've had our cool season crops (peas, collards, cabbage, lettuce, etc.) in the ground for a while

They're all frost-tolerant, so I'm not worried
But it looks like it'll be getting hot fast this year, so we may not have time for some of them to fully mature
-ExNJer

I have my snap peas, sweet peas, onions, lettuce, broccoli, beets, and carrots in now, and will finish with some Pak Choi and cabbage,this weekend. Quite mild here, now.

I am in NC and while we have had days in the 70's our nights are in the lower 40's so I have not set any heat loving plants out.

I'm in Zone 8B.

Planted out on St. Patrick's Day (Mar 17).

Cuostralee:

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Goose Creek:

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Trialing a pair of Brandyine x NAR vs. Marianna's Peace x NAR:

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Snow Peas have done well over the Winter:

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Looking forward to a nice 2011 garden this year.

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Raybo

I have the spring garden in, and I'm just starting to sow the seeds for summer transplants. I know many people itch to get tomatoes etc. in ASAP, but I love the spring veggies too, and find I have plenty of time for the summer stuff. Like seysonn, I'm pretty much on the cusp of zone 8.

I live near Fort Hood. Put mine in about 3 weeks ago. Had to cover it one night but its been uncovered ever since. Only problem is my carrot seeds all blew into the corner, lol. Don't know how I'm going to fix that. Its a solid little patch of green coming up. I figured the collards and spinach will be ready to pick in time to give the tomatoes more room and have some seeds started for things to replace the lettuce spinach and collards.
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Yes I started putting out my summer garden like 1 month ago (But sadly i had a few things die to a frost on 3/10ish)

Well, I got the squash, beans, peas, cucumbers all in the ground on the 16th. Went ahead and even planted my tomatoes, peppers, basil and corn since it's so hot here already. I can already see new growth so I'm excited! Hopefully everything will be fine. Also planted some geraniums, borage, sunflowers, and nasturtiums in and around. Has anyone had luck with this as pest control? I will definitelys still check for bugs after reading the horror stories of squash bugs cucumber beetles in the forums.

I'm in zone 8 and it's still too cold for the peas to grow. *8^(

Oops! I meant marigolds not geraniums

Started with sugar snaps first week of March. Onions much earlier and now have all in (corn,cucumbers.cantalope, watermelon, tomatoe, pole beans, beets(these went in earlier with onions,cabbage and brocoli). All doing great now due to warm weather. Using drip irrigation and coverering with chipped wood mulch when tall enough. Tomatoes(indeterminate)cantaloupe,cucumbers,watermelons and pole beans on trellises.