AWESOME! Go you. Keep it up and don't get unmotivated!

Sweet! =) My peas and some early root crops are going in this week, the ground is finally drying out! Isn't it wonderful?

I'll join you, as I too struggled with the "as soon as ground can be worked, on Friday the very middle of the one of the raised beds had a small frozen patch but by Sunday gone :-) I put in radish, lettuce, carrots, beets, turnip, onions, kale, cabbage and spinach, peas will be in a couple of days... as I have a cunning plan, (I hope!) it's just last year, I soaked a few peas approx 10, and germinated inside, in a bag, just to show my children what happens, anyway the day I planted my peas all soaked for a hour or so, I realised that I still had some space after planting, so I thought, why not! what have I got to lose, I'll throw them in as well, well they where the only ones not eaten and emerged! I can only guess it changed the smell? who knows? but I am trying again this year, with a few just soaked as a control.
I can't believe how much happier I am this week to last, it's just a few seeds, what did I do before last year when I started gardening?
really pleased for everyone in 5 and 6, 4 you soon :-)

WOW! What a weird Winter. I'm in 7A (W. North Carolina) and the top three inches of ground has just thawed the last 3 days. Under that is another 4 inches of frozen ground! I don't think that falls under the catogory of "as soon as can be worked"! Today is the 81st day with some snow still on my property in patches...utterly unheard of in NC! So, you're planting in Z5, New Hampshire and we're barely thawing in North Carolina...go figure! Maybe I can get some things in by weeks end.
Congratulations! Hope you have a great season!

We hit the 60's today. Over the weekend was able to get 72 seedlings in the ground, spinach, chard, arugula, broccoli, lettuce of every kind. Took down the hoop house's over some of my raised beds, have had plants in there since 19th of Feb. Peas are are sprouting under the trellis and beets and carrots went in today!!! Happy Spring and Happy Gardening to all!!!

This is my plot from last year. I reversed it this year, so the cool crops are now going to be where the black plastic is in this pic. DH tilled up the whole thing, added lots of compost last fall, and I re-built the beds on this end, slightly smaller, and in a diff't direction. The rest of the garden on that far side is still flat, and will be tilled once more before I plant in it.

So for what that's worth, these beds aren't frozen, but "ground" is still.

{{gwi:31810}}

And here's a mock-up of the 'plan' for this year. Some slight changes already made to placement and choices (no beets, added parsnips, moved lettuce to top left...stuff like that):

{{gwi:31812}}

I'm glad I did a whole lot of ditching in the garden last fall. Not only is it thawed now, but it's not a swamp either.

Dan

Boy, are you guys lucky! I look outside and still see mostly snow and the few spots where there isn't snow, it is all muck, because of all the melting snow. I think it is safe for me to say that my ground is not quite workable yet :) I am just glad to finally see the sun the past few days. I have not seen it in awhile. Makes me feel like spring may actually be coming. I can be patient, because I have plenty of seeds to start, and things started already inside to keep me busy for now.

Seems a bit early to me to plant in zone 5. Granted, all this week the temps are going to be in the lower 50's and the overnight temperatures won't get below freezing, but there still is another 7 weeks until the average last frost date.

I didn't think you were to put out things like lettuce and broccoli until 2 weeks before the last frost date.

Here is a link that might be useful: BsnTech Gardening Blog

Myself, I will not be planting outside for another month yet. The ground has still been freezing here every night (not to mention that there is still snow on the ground), and just because the temps are suppose to be in the 50's for a few days does not mean they will stay that way. We could still get snow here anytime for the rest of the month and I would not find that unusual. The only place that I would think about planting at, this early is possibly the cold frame or in my hoop house (will be soon), but not directly in the ground. When I get to plant not only depends on the temps but also when I am able to till the gardens. They are just too mucky to do so when it is early.

I really wonder if the usual "last frost date" is going to show up anywhere near what we think it might. Usually ours is the end of March or beginning of April, and I wouldn't be surprised if it actually ended up being the middle of April. I just can't imagine it any earlier, given the cold weather we've had, though if the forecasts say it'll be on time, I'll run with that.

I prepared many of my containers on the deck yesterday for planting and had to wait until afternoon for the soil to thaw -- I'd put new soil in the containers last week but now it's raked and smoothed and ready for planting.

I decided to start five lettuce varieties inside as well as spinach, too nervous to plant them in soil that could freeze unexpectedly if this erratic pattern holds. Hopefully, this will give me a jump-start on the spinach and lettuce anyway.

Such totally bizarre weather this year! Here in Westchester, NY, the ground is still a complete mess...we have lot of snow left, and what's not snowy is mostly mucky wet horror except in a few places (which are normally dry hillsides at the perimeter of the property). Regardless, I'm determined to get my brand new raised beds into place this weekend and FILLED!! I have plenty of little starts just waiting for their new homes and many, many unopened seed packets burning a hole in my pocket ;)