Peat makes an excellent preservative. The modern horticultural practice of using a sterile medium like peat is in order to create a hydroponic environment, that can force-feed plants into rapid production. I've found a few nurseries who grow in-pot organically, and they avoid peat. I don't see large chunks of pine bark in their soil medium, either. Some use rainwater to irrigate, most are wholesale and at least one is open to the public. Transplanting and establishment ease have been outstanding with these trees grown organically with a comost-based medium. Some use pots that are designed to eliminate circling roots. This is a far superior product, that establishes and plants easier, than any tree grown in peat, or in a plastic pot. It's really a leap were speaking of, for a root to make the transition from an extremely acidic, sterile medium to a nearly neutral, live mineal soil. It ain't natural, and creates unnecessary stress on the plant when it needs it least-- during root establishment. But we grow potted plants in peat, anyways. Modern horticularal practices do not serve the grower so well, Most of the potted trees and plants you'll find in a retail nursery, have been force fed to grow lots of pretty foliage, in a poor soil medium, with underdeveloped and potbound roots. I know peat is good at preserving cave people and tubulars. But as a potting medium, it's used becasuse it is thought to be cheap, and that's the bottom line. There are conflicts of interest between the grower and the hulticulturalist who pushes peat as a pot medium. A lot of the carp they teach in hort school (and ag school, and other fields), has a bias towards perceived economic benefits, and can ignore for years, better, sounder science. M This post was edited by Mackel-in-DFW on Fri, Apr 25, 14 at 23:01

Brenda, it is nice when even family members are enablers, eh? LOL!! I actually keep telling my husband "There's this garden in Western NY that someday we have to go visit!" I would love to see your beautiful garden some day. The different areas you have planted and the variety is amazing. I've been lusting for some more photos from you. Would love to see what you have on file for your veggie garden from last year if you have any time to post some. Goodness! I finally cracked open the catalog for my local nursery who I really like to support. She's a true plantswoman who I so enjoy chatting with, etc. I just sent an email over to her with my "list" (is was a long one) of plants to put aside for me for pickup when they open. It's a terrible habit I have of giving her a list each year for pickup. But my birthday is always right around when she opens, so it's a birthday present, right?!?! LOL!

My world looks pretty much like that of UNBIDDEN. There was some melting today, as the temps were in the high 40s and we had a big all-day rainstorm yesterday. Just enough to give a spring-like smell to the air and tantalize. Already the radio weatherman says to prepare for a lot colder weather starting Monday, and possible MORE snow Wedneday. Argh! It's not fair. I've had to plan errands with care. Every errand depended on whether I thought I could get a parking space upon my return, as every other place to park a car was piled high with snow and at the same time competing with the thoughtless students at a nearby college, who think it's fine to leave 3 or 4 feet between their car and the next car fore and aft. So people who own residences can't even park in front of their own home! Having to park 2 and 3 blocks away from my own home, especially when carrying heavy packages, is not fun, especially when it's icy. The students couldn't care less.

Ilene, Cabbage is one of the most cold-tolerant crucifers and can handle more cold than most other cold-season crops. However, I think that only you can decide if the timing is right in your area to set out your baby cabbages. I can tell you what factors I would use to arrive at that decision: SOIL TEMPERATURE: If you were starting from seed (and I know you're not) instead of transplants, you'd want to wait until your 3-day average soil temperature at 5cm was at least 50 degrees. Cabbage seed sprouts slowly and erratically at soil temps less than 50 degrees. I doubt your soil's 3-day-ave soil temp is at 50 yet....I am not even sure ours is that warm here yet. But, you're starting with transplants, so...... ARE THE TRANSPLANTS HARDENED OFF? If your transplants have been exposed to very cool temperatures (in the lower 20s) as they have hardened off, they should be conditioned to the cold and should be fine. Cabbage transplants that have been hardened off in pretty cool temperatures can handle occasional nighttime lows in the lower 20s with little, if any, damage. However, transplants that have hardened off in a very warm location like a sunny, concrete slab or a cold frame may lack that cold-conditioning and are likely to suffer damage if nighttime lows dip into the low 20s. So, their hardening off is one thing I'd consider. WILL YOUR PLANTS BE EXPOSED TO PROLONGED TEMPERATURES 40 DEGREES OR LOWER? Because cabbage is a biennial, it tends to bolt and go dormant if exposed to temperatures at or below 40 degrees for about 10-14 days, and they don't necessarily have to be consecutive days. So, one long wicked week of cold weather could push the plants very close to dormancy and then a repeated period of a few cold days could send them into dormancy. That happened here at our house in 2007 but not last year when the temps see-sawed up and down. If they are forced into dormancy by a cold spell, they'll tend to bolt and set seed once warmer temperatures resume. HOW LARGE ARE THE PLANTS WHEN THE TEMPS HIT THE 40'S? Look at the stems on your cabbage plants. As long as they are smaller than the diameter of a pencil, they are less likely to bolt. Once the stems are larger than a pencil, the cabbage is large enough that it can bolt pretty easily. I think that the ideal cabbage transplant would be about 4-5 weeks old, would have about 4 to 6 true leaves, and would have a main stem less than the diameter of a pencil. If your plants are significantly younger and smaller than that, I'd keep hardening them off and wait a bit longer before transplanting them. If they are already that size and the nights look good for the next 10 days, I'd plant them ASAP. WHAT ARE THE DAYS-TO-MATURITY OF YOUR PLANTS? If you have planted a type of cabbage with a fairly short DTM, use the calendar to help you figure out when optimal growth will occur and then time your plants accordingly. Cabbage will make the best growth and form the best heads when the air temperatures are staying in the 60-65 degree range. So, you want to plant your transplants early enough that they are maturing in those air temps. CONSIDER THE "TRADITIONAL" PLANTING DATE RECOMMENDATIONS: In general, it is most often recommended that cabbage transplants be set out about 2 to 3 weeks before the date of your "average" last freeze. So, for me, if I was planting based on "average last freeze date", with an average last freze date of March 27th here, I'd set out cabbage transplants between about March 5th and March 12th. I have, however, set out plants as early as mid-Feb. and had them do well--it just depends on what the weather is doing and how much risk you want to take. Since I am in a very low-lying microclimate in the river valley, I tend to plant cool-season cruciferous vegetables a couple of weeks later than the so-called "ideal" date based on OSU recommendations or last-average-freeze data. It is not uncommon for our low temps here at our house to drop as much as 10 degrees lower than the forecast overnight low for our area, so I've learned to be a little more cautious. So, consider your microclimate and let that help you make your decision. Once your plants are in the ground, just watch the weather and do your best to protect them in the temperatures are going too low. If I were you, would I plant them now? That's a tough call, but I take a lot of risks, so I probably would. For the first week or so that they are in the ground, be sure to keep them well-watered and mulched because that will help ease any possible transplant shock. Newly transplanted plants, even if they have been hardened off, are very sensitive to weather fluctuations their first 7-10 days in the ground. Listen to what your cabbage plants tell you. Once they are in the ground, if you see yellowing of the foliage, the plants are stressed for some reason. It could be the soil is slightly cold, the nighttime temps are cold, the plants are too dry or the plants need to be fed. It even could mean that they are getting too much wind--a common problem in March in OK. Doing whatever you can do to protect them from stress their first week or two in the ground will help them adjust to the outdoor conditions and will give you stronger, healthier plants. Remember, too, that the earliest plants set out in a garden-type setting are very, very attractive to pests, including sow bugs and pill bugs and little field mice or voles or rabbits, and often to flea beetles as well. So, you may want to cover them with a row cover/sheer curtain for the first couple of weeks to help protect them from the pests. If rabbits are a problem for you (and I am starting to see them in my yard pretty much all night every night looking for young plants to eat), dried blood or blood meal is a pretty good deterrent. If you just run a light band all around the row/group of cabbages, it often will keep the rabbits away from the plants. It never hurts to plant a few "test" plants. I like to set out 3 to 5 transplants and then watch for a few days--maybe 3 to 5 days--to see if the wild varmints and insects attack them. I'd rather have the rabbits chew up a small handful of plants than have them get 100% of them. If I do a "test planting" and the rabbits/other varmints haven't found them and devoured them within 3 to 5 days, then the rabbits probably aren't going to find a way under or through the fence and my plantings probably are going to be safe. If you have snail/slug problems, the early test planting will tell you if they are out and about this early in the season too. You can prevent them from getting your plants by scattering an iron-phosphate snail/slug bait like Slug-Go as soon as your plants are in the ground. The iron-phosphate based snail/slug products also kill sow bugs and pill bugs. I never plant in the spring without iron phosphate because I have huge populations of sow and pill bugs in my raised beds. Let us know what you decide. I haven't even put my cabbage in the ground yet, but I'll probably do it sometime in the next 10 days or so if the nights look like they'll stay warm enough. Dawn