I went ahead last weekend and took the gamble of planting my annuals in the front yard (south side). I just looked at the garden forcast on weather.com and it says there is no threat of frost in the next 10 days so let's hope I dont have to go outside and put cups over all my little plants!! Last year I didn't plant until the last week of May. I am pretty busy this year, so when I had the time to do it, I just went ahead and did it. If you do go ahead with it, just keep some large plastic cups and some rocks handy in case there is a threat of frost. You can just put a cup over the plant, & put a rock on top so the wind doesnt blow it away and take it off in the morning. Good luck! KT

Susan, Our forecast changed drastically. They had us warm early in the day (up to 59 degrees) and now our high says 43 degrees, and in fact, we have been at 43 degrees all morning so I guess it isn't going to warm up much more, if any. They also had shown us with snow (around an inch) for days and days, then changed us to the "no to little snow" area yesterday, and now there is no mention of snow for us until the Thursday-Friday snowstorm, and it is a very slim (20%) chance. We're just too far south for most OK snow storms. We're likely getting more precipitation than they originally said. We had lots of thunder and lightning in the early morning hours, and alternating periods of brief moderately heavy and mostly longer periods of really light rainfall. The rain gauge has almost an inch in it so far today, so I'm pretty happy. Originally we were in the half-inch to inch category, so it looks like we'll get more. When Chris was driving home from Dallas this morning he ran into rain falling so hard in the Gainesville-to-just-south-of Thackerville area that he had to slow down to 40 mph on the interstate because he said there was very poor visibility and traffic was just crawling. I wish we'd gotten that heavier rain here. We aren't too terribly cold (as long as we stay indoors). We won't necessarily be colder than any other area during the day, but cold air sinks, so our creek hollow (virtually all of our property is a creek hollow that sits lower than the surrounding area on all sides) will drop colder at night. I think that is partly why the cold nights in late spring can make me crazy--Fred is less than a mile away on higher ground and he can plant warm-season crops 2-3 weeks earlier than I can and his won't get hit by a late frost or freeze while mine will. I enjoyed those snowy years in 2010-11, but partly because they are fairly rare at our end of the state. Snow in December through February is a delight, I think, as long as we are able to stay home in it and not be out on the roadways. Snow in March or April when we ought to be planting is just an aggravation though. I've noticed that without fail it rains here in February right at onion and potato planting time. If I didn't have raised beds, I'd never get the onions or potatoes planted. I do think that climate and weather is relative depending on what you're used to. When Tim's family and friends in Pennsylvania talk about it being really hot, that likely means their temps have risen up to the upper 80s . When they have drought, that means they haven't had rain for a week or two, and it rarely lasts much longer than that. To me, their summer is more like our spring weather, and they have nothing that compares to our summers (and I am sure they are glad!). We had friends in Texas who have moved there from Great Falls, Montana. When their children played summer baseball in Montana it was so chilly in the evenings that they played in long sleeves or sweatshirts. Brrr! They said that they had about a month of good summer weather, there but there was nothing on earth that had prepared them for a Texas summer. Here where we live, we get colder in winter than we did in Fort Worth and also are often significantly hotter here in summer. It seems to me that we weren't paying enough attention to the climate when we chose this part of the state! Dawn

I suppose I could move one out of each, and keep an eye on that long-range forecast. Since I'm growing in tubs, protecting them is probably not possible -- too many gaps and cracks to seal up tightly. You can wrap the cages in row cover if need be, and leave some extra at the top so you can seal it all up. Just be sure to do it at least a couple of hours before the sun sets to trap some heat, and use at least the mid weight thickness (not summer weight). Some even use clear plastic, but you'd have to be careful with it, and be sure not to leave it sealed up the next day or you could cook your plants. Milk jugs, soda bottles, buckets, etc. filled with warm or hot water and set close to the plants can also help. Or - if you get really desperate and find you don't have anything to cover your plants with last minute and the night temp forecast looks bad, you can get up really early (4:00am to sunrise is generally going to be the coldest) and periodically mist your plants to prevent frost from forming. These are all things I have found will work down to 29-30F or so, the plastic may even work a little below that for all I know, especially if you seal it up a few hours before the sun sets. Also keep in mind that frost can sometimes form at temps above 32F. Anything below 38 or so, and I start to get antsy, especially considering the forecast could end up being different than actual. It also doesn't hurt to stagger your plantings a bit - most years I end up with a delta of at least three weeks between first and last plant in. Staggering can also serve to extend your window of harvest. Well, hopefully any late frosts or freezes won't be a concern for you this year - good luck with your garden.

Hi For me this has been one of the worst winters .Way too hot through Dec Had none set until late Jan they were promptly attached by gigantic worms Have some growing now but look how late it is!! Too bad I'm not going for plants well over 6 feet and still growing.lol Had MUCH better luck with swiss chard in spite of the winds too much rain and too hot most of the time. Those growing in pots are almost twice as big as those in the tomato bed. I suspect the neighbors cats had something to do with that ??lol I was wise enough this year to not plant any winter annuals BUT the tropicals have done fantastic!!! gary