I don't know which part of the state you're in, but in my part of the Bay Area, it looks like next week should be in the 70's. Fingers crossed! I don't like gardening when the mercury hits 85+, but anything 70 and up without these crazy winds, and I'm happy.

I'm in northern Oregon and this weather is driving me up the wall. Bitterly cold, unceasing rain, wind, darkness, hail. Give me a break already. I already had to restart quite a few plants, now I may have to again. It might turn into a 'cabbage year' but I didn't plant any cabbage. Squashes hanging on for dear life. Tomatoes turning pale green/yellow. Pole beans withering on the vine. Screw this crap.
It's like January, February, March, March, March, March...
In twenty years here I doubt I've ever seen an April or May that was as warm as the "average" claimed by the local weather forecasters.

Thanks guys... Its 90F here right now with a dew point of 71F making real feel 96F... I'm sticking to the couch and was sitting in my little kiddie pool. Tomatoes look awesome, the bananas are leafing out... Been 70F+ for about 10 days now. March/April have been some of the warmest on record... :) Keep that trough out west and the ridging over the upper midwest!

We just keep getting winds, seems like it's gusting 30+ mph every other day, just killing my allergies and my biking, as well as ruthlessly stripping all the moisture from my topsoil. Our brief drizzle was just enough to infect all my tomatoes with a raging case of septoria, but didn't recharge the soils at all. I'm ready for warmth.

I think you could still enjoy the fun of gardening even when the weather is not fine. There are many kinds of indoor growing equipment to help you achieve that. You could garden inside when it's cold and raining, then garden outside when it's sunny. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Equipment

Blame it on El Nino.
It is strange that in WI, zone 5, it is 90F and in CA, OR, zones 9 and 8 are looking forward to 70F.

Here in AT/GA, zone 8, we have been having lots of 80F anf higher days since mid April.
I am about a week away from harvesting eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers and beans.
Thankx to El Nino. lol

cyrus

it snowed/hailed here for a moment yesterday :(
booooo

Last June, we set a record w. 23 consecutive days w. measurable precipitation here in the northeast. Suffice to say, no one had great results w. their gardens. Tomato blight was everywhere. In fact, we didnt get our first back-to-back 75° days last year until mid July.

I sympathize w. you all

Finally had to plant my seedlings they were getting root bound waiting for warm weather. I hear it's going to be in the 70's all week with chance of rain, this time last year it was in the 90's, it's crazy (the weather). I grow a winter garden and it's still doing great and the warm weather stuff is just sitting there.

It's been below freezing most nights this month, but at least we are getting sunshine.

All my berries are happy, but still in pots. Their fence isn't finished. The wind has been blowing too hard to set the posts needed for the fence.

The veggie starts, under grow lights, are taking over my house. I think I should start some more. The ones I've got are getting awfully big and I suspect that they won't be tough enough to make the transition outdoors.

Hard to support the global warming idea this cold spring, so now I guess we have "weather change" which means it is getting hotter, colder, wetter, drier. I think that covers all the bases so that we can claim that any weather on any day of the year will support our fund-raising.

I feel your pain midsummer, i also live in norcal, petaluma area.. this crazy weather is drivin me nuts.. I started 40 black krim tomato plants from last years harvested seeds about 2 months ago.. was trying to harden them off and a heat spell hit... cooked all of them.. started over,, more black krim, cherokee purple, and tigerella.. tryin to harden them off. cold spell hit and killed all but 6.. finally broke down and bought a bunch, including 4 nice big 1 gallon plants, pineapple, black krim, cherokee purple. put them in my ripoff topsy turvy((5gallon bucket) planters.. had them on the patio, finally moved them to the garden which is more exposed and the dang windstorm hit.. killed 50% of the leaves. now i sit and watch it rain.. gaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!

My maters are holding their own, growing slowly, but I also started them from seed for the first time, so they're small, then started them a week late. They seem to be healthy, though.
Robert, so sorry for your loss! I had purple cheroke last year and LOVED them! Didn't have room this year=(
Interesting that you are in Petaluma and zone 10 (usually LA or Florida areas, very hot), and I'm just south of Rohnert Park and I'm in zone 8. Mayyyyyyybe 8.5.
I'll see if I can find the USDA zone chart. NT

I posted about this last week in the tomato forum, after running around covering all of my tomato seedlings to protect them from the cold and rain. I waited until the second week of May to plant my warm weather vegetables, not wanting to repeat last year's experience. Last April there were a couple of weeks of cold rainy weather, that my vegetables never really recovered from. Just a lackluster year. (Pasadena area)

A lot of posters said that it was no big deal and a little rain never hurt a plant.
I don't know about that.

I am up in the Bay Area right now, and it is cold and rainy. Really weird for this time of the year.

I decided to "roll with it" - went out and planted a lot more Bibb lettuce. Look on the bright side - the cabbages were stupendous! Managed to get 8 pints of sauerkraut and lots and lots of slaw with a few more "biggies" just waiting out there.

Ya - the toms don't look too hot - squash same, cukes same - baa.

I'm down San Diego way - coastal with "real blustery" ocean inflence. Bring on the lettuce

Bejay

Yes, lettuce! This year we did very well with the cauliflowers, favas, peas, lettuces, radicchio....runner beans are flowering now and most of our tomatoes are also flowering. Most of the tomatoes look great actually, even though they are slower developing than in warmer years. The eggplants are another story, they don't look too good. I am holding off from planting okra and cow peas until after it warms up a bit.

I'm just starting to transplant the warm-weather stuff. I start them in my unheated greenhouse and it's just been too cold at night for them to grow very fast.

Ugh I agree. Poor little plants are just not growing in this cold! Looks like it will warm up just in time for memorial day though, so at least there's that!

Up here in lil' California (Washington State) we have been in the doom and gloom too. We have been like 10 degrees below normal during the day. Yup cool weather crops are lovin it. Heat loving crops are SOL for now. Boy what I wouldn't do for a couple of 75* days in a row.

THIS so hard! I can't plant the cukes (way root bound!) or they will freeze. Tomatoes aren't root bound YET. Ugh!! The corn, watermelon, pumpkins, jalapenos, herbs, are just done in. All this cold is making the sweet peas finally slow down and not even the sunflowers are happy. :(

Maybe the heat this weekend will make everyone perk up.

I've repotted my veggie starts, most of them more than once.

I know they won't make it if I put them out, so they are living as house plants.

Plenty of room under the lights for 4 inch pots, not so much room for the gallons that many of them are now living in.

Yayyyy, more heavy rain..my poor melon plants are drowning.
nancyjane, I used the zone finder by zipcode, 94952 and it told my it was zone 10. not that I would know. well, the rain is really helping with all the seeds i direct sowed. all the weeds are lovin it too. will be weeding for a week straight.. Supposed to be sunny for the next week, bring on the sunshine and watch em grow.

Really ready for the wind to stop. In central valley it's cold enough to stunt growth but not kill but wind is shredding everything.

Robert. The USDA DOES list you as zone 10 and me as zone 8! CRAZY! I know we have many microclimates in Sonoma County and people are talking about global warming, but 2 zones 10 miles apart with very similar weather????? In fact I think Petaluma is a little cooler than us with the Liberty Valley fog.
We had .91" of rain today! That's NUTS!!!!!!
I'm done with it! Nancy

The description fits though. We do get a lot of fog and wind comin down the valley from bodega bay.. heavy coastal influence. Rohnert park and Santa Rosa are much warmer climates.. Any how.. Yayyyyy, the sun is out and is supposed to be nice for a few days..

We're shrouded in gray right now on the SF Bay peninsula. Doesn't matter. I'm still going to go out and get some things planted, and by this afternoon, things should warm up a bit into the high 60's. Good enough for me.

Here in Orange County where I am we have gotten maybe a total of one inch of rain in the last two and a half months. Its another drought year down here, except for all the rain we had in February. It has been cool and cloudy though, so although I have hundreds of green tomatoes only four have ripened so far.

Robert/Nancy, I'm in Rohnert Park by Sonoma State and have always thought my zone was 9!! LOL What site are you using to get your zone? Around here, those little maps are so hard to read. The chart often runs straight through Sonoma County and it's practically down to what side of the freeway you're on!

And if I can add my complaints to the others--I've been waiting 15 years to have a vegetable garden again, worked all summer last year clearing out a side yard, installing raised beds and irrigation, setting down rock in the paths. I put in a winter garden last fall that did beautifully, got my excitement up for the "real" crop this spring....and all I've been doing is fighting the elements. So far, I know I'll have a good crop of peas and parsley. Everything else is still out with the jury. Whaaaa!

Loribee, I used the zone finder thing on this site. it said 10.. I live out bodega highway on the way out of town.. dont give up , remember all the rain that we had gave them plants a good amount of time to develop a great root zone.. keep feeding and watering as needed and you will see a great amount of growth in the next 2 weeks. supposed to be sunny for a while.. my snow peas, peppers and tomatoes all have a lot of new growth just in the last 2 days.. good luck..

Thanks, Robert! I didn't realize there was a zone finder on this site. I typed in the zip codes for both Rohnert Park and Cotati (since I border both towns) and both came up Zone 10. Sonofagun! Now I'll have to go find out what that means, LOL

And thanks for the reassuring words. My squash and tomatoes are suffering from chlorosis and because my at-home soil tests come up okay but my water meter runs off the charts about 5" down, I'm guessing it's water. I'm really hoping that once things dry out, they'll start bursting like I remember them doing last time I had a garden.

So fun to talk to people from around my area!