An ASATGCBW lesson. I grow in Maine, where frost in the ground can be deep and last a long time. One of the crops I grow is sunchokes, and for a variety of reasons, I harvest them in spring. A few years ago, I made arrangements with a chef in Philadelphia to provide 100 lbs of sunchokes for a special dinner he was doing in April. I wasn't worried about the quantity - I grow several times that amount in a 30' x 75' bed - but the weather was a concern. We had been through a colder than average winter with a good amount of snow cover, but based on previous experience, I knew it was likely that I would spend a few hours digging in cold mud, another hour or two with a high-pressure sprayer cleaning them off, and then a trip to the FedEx counter at the local municipal airport. Well, as you've already guessed, things didn't quite work out that way. I spent the first few hours of my day shoveling snow off the beds. Then, several more hours with a pick-axe breaking out huge icy clods, which I loaded on a toboggan and moved into my house to thaw. It commenced snowing, again. Several more hours kneeling by the bathtub, prying frozen knobby tubers from the grip of frozen clay. A harrowing drive on snowy roads, trying to get to the airport in time. Back home, still snowing, to remove the trap from under the bathtub to get all the crap out of the drain. A call from the chef - the flight was delayed, so he would have to do all the prep on the same day as the meal, and he wanted reassurance that they would need minimal cleaning. I got the crop delivered. It wasn't a lot of money, but it put my product in one of the 17 true 5-star restaurants in the US. The date, according to my calender and records, was within range of when the ground could be worked - and it turned out it could - but it was a lot more work than I had planned on - including bringing all that mud back out to the garden the next day, picked clean of sunchokes.

Cool growing plants can be planted right now. Last frost is usually mid-May, but some years that can be too early. Years ago it was end of May guaranteed. Just watch the weather for overnight forecasted temperatures. If you're growing frost tender plants you can just throw a plastic sheet over them if frost threatens.

First and Last frosts shown below are 'average' and vary year to year. There are lots of tables on the web with different dates, this is just one example. Within each town or city there will be differences due to microclimates. Use the dates as guidelines. For example, I live outside of Baltimore MD, which is listed with a last frost date of March 26th. Balitmore is always at least 10 degrees warmer than my yard, so I use April 22nd as the last frost date for my gardens. City State Growing First Last Season Frost Frost (Days) Spring FallMobile AL 272 Feb. 27 Nov. 26 Juneau AK 133 16-May Sept. 26 Phoenix AZ 308 Feb. 5 Dec. 15 Tucson AZ 273 Feb. 28 Nov. 29 Pine Bluff AR 234 Mar. 19 Nov. 8 Eureka CA 324 Jan. 30 Dec. 15 Sacramento CA 289 Feb. 14 Dec. 1 San Francisco CA * * * Denver CO 157 3-May Oct. 8 Hartford CT 167 Apr. 25 Oct. 10 Wilmington DE 198 Apr. 13 Oct. 29 Miami FL * * * Tampa FL 338 Jan. 28 Jan. 3 Athens GA 224 Mar. 28 Nov. 8 Savannah GA 250 Mar. 10 Nov. 15 Boise ID 153 8-May Oct. 9 Chicago IL 187 Apr. 22 Oct. 26 Springfield IL 185 Apr. 17 Oct. 19 Indianapolis IN 180 Apr. 22 Oct. 20 South Bend IN 169 1-May Oct. 18 Atlantic IA 141 9-May Sept. 28 Cedar Rapids IA 161 Apr. 29 Oct. 7 Topeka KS 175 Apr. 21 Oct. 14 Lexington KY 190 Apr. 17 Oct. 25 Monroe LA 242 Mar. 9 Nov. 7 New Orleans LA 288 Feb. 20 Dec. 5 Portland ME 143 10-May Sept. 30 Baltimore MD 231 Mar. 26 Nov. 13 Worcester MA 172 Apr. 27 Oct. 17 Lansing MI 140 13-May Sept. 30 Marquette MI 159 12-May Oct. 19 Duluth MN 122 21-May Sept. 21 Willmar MN 152 4-May Oct. 4 Columbus MS 215 Mar. 27 Oct. 29 Vicksburg MS 250 Mar. 13 Nov. 18 Jefferson City MO 173 Apr. 26 Oct. 16 Fort Peck MT 146 5-May Sept. 28 Helena MT 122 18-May Sept. 18 Blair NE 165 Apr. 27 Oct. 10 North Platte NE 136 11-May Sept. 24 Las Vegas NV 259 Mar. 7 Nov. 21 Concord NH 121 23-May Sept. 22 Newark NJ 219 Apr. 4 Nov. 10 Carlsbad NM 223 Mar. 29 Nov. 7 Los Alamos NM 157 8-May Oct. 13 Albany NY 144 7-May Sept. 29 Syracuse NY 170 Apr. 28 Oct. 16 Fayetteville NC 212 Apr. 2 Oct. 31 Bismarck ND 129 14-May Sept. 20 Akron OH 168 3-May Oct. 18 Cincinnati OH 195 Apr. 14 Oct. 27 Lawton OK 217 Apr. 1 Nov. 5 Tulsa OK 218 Mar. 30 Nov. 4 Pendleton OR 188 Apr. 15 Oct. 21 Portland OR 217 Apr. 3 Nov. 7 Carlisle PA 182 Apr. 20 Oct. 20 Williamsport PA 168 Apr. 29 Oct. 15 Kingston RI 144 8-May Sept. 30 Charleston SC 253 Mar. 11 Nov. 20 Columbia SC 211 Apr. 4 Nov. 2 Rapid City SD 145 7-May Sept. 29 Memphis TN 228 Mar. 23 Nov. 7 Nashville TN 207 Apr. 5 Oct. 29 Amarillo TX 197 Apr. 14 Oct. 29 Denton TX 231 Mar. 25 Nov. 12 San Antonio TX 265 Mar. 3 Nov. 24 Cedar City UT 134 20-May Oct. 2 Spanish Fork UT 156 8-May Oct. 12 Burlington VT 142 11-May Oct. 1 Norfolk VA 239 Mar. 23 Nov. 17 Richmond VA 198 Apr. 10 Oct. 26 Seattle WA 232 Mar. 24 Nov. 11 Spokane WA 153 4-May Oct. 5 Parkersburg WV 175 Apr. 25 Oct. 18 Green Bay WI 143 12-May Oct. 2 Janesville WI 164 Apr. 28 Oct. 10 Casper WY 123 22-May Sept. 22 *Frosts are rare.

I could use the big red flowers. Don't need any more trumpets Thanks Al.