Jeanie,
I agree 100%. And what I keep telling others and myself. I'm starting some seeds earlier than normal but will also start some at the normal time. Also have invested in some larger pots I can pot up to if I need to hold the early ones longer. But if they get froze after they have been in the ground for a while I will have those started later to replace them. If I don't need the later starts I will either sell or give them away. And I'm not starting my whole amount either. I always tell someone gardening is a gamble but never put all of your eggs in one basket especially if starting this early. I posted on another thread about my visit with my friends and favorite greenhouse owners this past week. He said they've been receiving requests to start seeds for people for a few weeks now. They want the plants ready to transplant no later than April 1st. That is way to early for this area even with protection. I have set out April 10th and with protection the plants have survived and did well. They warn those who order plants so early but they grow for the public and if that is when they want them then they start them. One order was for 100 habeneros for a small market grower who wants the first peppers and tomatoes at his market. The quest for the earliest fruit will never end. My lean to greenhouse along with my cold frames allows me to start plants earlier and to protect them if needed. I plan to build another frame also. Any of us who have been around a few gardening seasons know full well that pushing the envelope carries certain risks. And in the end many times the results aren't any greater. I won't push peppers or ora at all. I'm going to push a few tomatoes hoping to get set before the heat arrives.Jay

If you're talking about transplanting warm-season flowers, herbs and veggies into the ground, I totally agree.

For cool-season plantings, though, many of us already are within the period of OSU-recommended planting dates and, with every day that passes, that will be true for more and more of us.

Here in southcentral OK, the current soil temps and forecast support the recommended planting dates and we can plant hardy and semi-hardy cool-season plantings now. The only thing I watch with cool-season plantings is the overnight low. I'll throw frost blankets over semi-hardy plants if the overnight low is forecast to drop below 30 degees, and will cover up cold hardy plants if the overnight low is forecast to drop below 25. Since I am in a low-lying cold microclimate, I don't trust the forecasts either because we often drop significantly lower than the NWS point forecast for our community. So, I watch how the temps are dropping beginning around 4 o'clock in the afternoon and if they're dropping faster than I think they should, I assume we're going lower than forecast and cover up whatever is in the ground. Except for onions. They're usually fine whether I cover them up or not.

No one here in my part of the state is planting warm-season plants early unless they raised them from seed themselves, because there aren't any warm-season transplants in the garden centers yet (which is a good thing).

The soil does seem to be warming fast. I places a thermostat about 2.5 inches down in the garden a few days ago, the low has been 43, the high is right now at 54.5 degrees, and the radishes are coming up. The temps have been changing about 6 degrees between day and night.

Larry

Larry,

I had pretty good soil temps in January. I think we had temps in the 60-62 degree range on some days. They've fallen back to more seasonable levels since February has been a bit colder than January, but they're still really, really good. Most days, my 3-day soil temp ave at 2 and 4 inches is in the mid-50s, except in the greenhouse where it is a lot hotter thanks to the "greenhouse effect". With all the heat and humidity in there, I should be growing bananas or something.

My raised beds stay a couple of degrees warmer than the grade-level beds, so I feel like I could direct seed carrots, radishes, spinach, etc. right now and be happy with the germination rates. If puddles of water weren't standing in the garden, that's just what I would do.

Dawn

Since we're discussing soil temps, I figured I'd share a little project I was working on yesterday. I've also been following soil temperatures closely and researching optimal germination and growing temperatures for various plants and veggies, so I decided to make a plot comparing this year's soil temps to the past several years. The gray, blue, and orange thin lines are the daily soil temperatures for every year since 2000 for the Washington OK Mesonet site, which is the one closest to me. The red line is 2012 so far, and it shows the warm start to the year well. We've since dropped closer to the average. I also like this plot because it shows when the past late freezes were.

I made similar plots for air temperature and deeper soil temperatures, and I could easily do one for your local Mesonet if you're curious. (I'm such a weather geek!)

Here's the one for air temperature. It shows freezes better. I also remember from last year that tomatoes don't tend to grow well (or..at all pretty much) when the temperature goes below 40 degrees, so for my location this chart implies that they will likely do best outside after mid-April or so. Otherwise I'll have to be prepared to cover them up on colder nights.