It was a bad winter here in tropical Minnesota also. We did not set any records for low temperatures, but a record or two for length of time of continuous below zero temperatures was broken. All of the roses except the near specie Rugosas and William Baffin suffered extensive damage. This was the first winter in my recollection that Morden Centennial, Hope for Humanity, and other hardy Canadian roses suffered more than tip damage. Quadra and Ramblin Red had to be trimmed down to about a foot of cane. Even though they were covered with wood chips, most of the modern roses had to be trimmed to the ground. The spring was cold and dry. I was almost two weeks behind on uncovering and pruning this year. The good news is that almost everything is now showing signs of life. I only definitely lost the two potted roses that I was trying to overwinter in the unattached garage as a test. However, there are more that have been in a slow decline for some time that will be first up on the cull list because there is probably not enough plant left for a decent recovery in this climate. It is still dry and cold here. I am going to have to water this week. That is almost never the case in May. Regards, Charles

I noticed that my Trachys (while still not looking great), ARE looking much better than just a few days ago. So, don't panic if your Trachys are showing signs of discoloration or those characteristic rings. Some of the leaves will return to normal, and as long as the bud is firm, they should be good to go for the growing season. I finally broke down after those predictions of 0 F and ended up providing some protection (regular, small X-mas light, bubble wrap, and an relatively light weight (insulating blanket) I picked up at the nursery. I used the blanket more as a scarf draped around the midsection (including the growing bud but leaving the leaves at the top and the base of the palms exposed. I tugged gently at them today and they seem very firm. Careful, for those of you that are protecting with lights. I was surprised at how efficient this little set up was. The air inside the bubble wrap felt very mild (not hot, not too warm, but relatively mild). I opened it up a bit as I don't want to encourage growth at this point. TZ, it would take a monsoon to quickly melt all the snow I have in my yard. I would go out with a yard stick to measure it, but I would have to climb the glacier that borders by driveway area (it was built with all the snow accumulations we've had. I got sick of shoveling and ran out of space for the snow so now my "blacktop" is covered in a few inches of snow. I really am expecting another big time weather 'event' from this latest storm.--And though I am sick of the snow, I like it much better than the arctic cold. I certainly hope Feb. is milder, but expect it to be just as stormy--along with that other notoriously stormy month--MARCH!!

If you can get your frame up soon and cover it then the soil will warm. I never worry about soil temperature in my central PA high tunnels by March. In fact the soil never freezes inside my high tunnels except for a few feet along the sides. After a few sunny spring days like today when outside temps never got over 40F but it was 95F inside my unheated tunnels the soil under a plastic canopy is warm enough. Its the air temperature at night (or days as timmy stated) that can kill your plants. So start you plants and get your frame up and covered as soon as possible. If you sow seed now inside you are setting yourself up for an early April planting date. Though early April isn't suitable to set plants out unprotected, it could allow you to plant under a plastic covered tunnel with a minimal amount of supplemental heat. The rule-of-thumb for covers is that you gain one zone for every cover used. Last year after planting tomatoes in early March in a tunnel I set up a canopy over those plants within the high tunnel and covered it with Typar. Then I placed a few wire hoops randomly over the plant rows and pulled remay fabric over it. I did use a propane heater and a hanging box fan a few nights between layers but overall the heat expenses were minimal. The covering and uncovering on a daily basis was a hastle. This year I'll have a double inflated plastic cover on the early planting tunnel. I plan on retreating to previous year's methods of heating with an end-vented wood burner and using the circulation fans to eliminate cold spots. As timmy mentioned you need to have a cooling plan. Rollup sides are fine for June thru October but for March thru June when you want the structure as tight at nights as possible a thermostatically controlled exhaust fan is a more reliable option. You mentioned that you were open to electric means. My system thrives on electric to operate the fans and intake louvers. But electricity is too expensive as a heat source for a larger volume of air. If you are thinking about using the inner row cover you might consider stringing decorative lights amoung you plants. That might gain you 6-10F temperature rise where you need it assuming that you can trap much of that heat in the vicinity of your plants.

Awww, Mama Emerald (and papa Emerald, too!) I can already tell you are going to be wonderful parents....in that you recognize the 'tease' your little 'love-blob' is being! (Ha, ha...camera stopped....now I'll perform!!). Get used to it.....this 'teasing' could go on for the rest of little love-blob's life! ~ And then.....this beautiful 'blob' translates into this magical head...complete with eyes, nose, mouth.....before you know it there will be eyelashes, fingers, toes, nails....Oh My! Please continue to take us along on this miracle journey with you and papa Emerald. We'd feel rejected if you didn't include us now!!! And as to the Christmas decorations.....good idea, but maybe you should hold off until just after Halloween. That would still give you time to set up the nursery after the decorations go up! Be Restful - Be Happy - Be Thankful - Be Content