I planted for the last 2 weeks. Things aren't growing real well but they are growing.

depending on where you are you may want to keep your blankets handy. Im south of tulsa in bixby. Last year on April 15th we had an overnight low of 27 and 33 the night prior. I decided Im holding off until then to plant anything that would need be covered. Except that i planted corn over the weekend so, oops.

Do you know your average last frost date? Mine was two days ago, so I'm now at the point where the chance of a frost or freeze is less than 50%.

I don't really plant by the calendar. I keep an eye on soil temperatures and air temperatures and also on the forecast. When the air temps and soil temps are in the right range, if the 8-10 day forecast looks good, I plant whatever is appropriate for the current air/soil temperatures. I've actually been holding back and not planting as much as I wanted to because our soil has been so wet. With a couple of recent days in the 80s, we've dried up a lot so I'm going to plant more this week.

All my cool season crops are in the ground and are doing well.

With warm-season crops, I planted the early corn and round 1 of the bush beans last week and they are emerging from the ground at supersonic speed. We've been warm here---86 degrees yesterday, for example, and our soil temperatures are really warm. We will be cooler for the next few days but not cold.

I'm not holding back and will continue planting in a nice, orderly manner. Today or tomorrow I hope to put the first tomato plants into the ground. I also have several flats of flowers I raised from seed that I'm transplanting this afternoon (which I why I think I won't get around to transplanting tomatoes until tomorrow).

I don't know if I'll put any additional veggies in the ground after I get all the tomatoes planted this week, but I'll keep an eye on my soil temperatures, air temperatures and 10-day forecast. I might plant seeds of cucumbers, squash and melons next week if the soil temperatures are consistently warm enough.

I might sow the seeds of mid-season corn today or tomorrow. I won't plant the second round of beans for another couple of weeks. I have 4 fenced garden plots, and the main one, which I call the front garden, will be just about completely planted before Easter. That rarely happens, but the weather is great so I'm going to do it.

I do have tons and tons of floating row cover, including the really heavyweight stuff that gives 10 degrees of freeze protection, so I can plant without much worry at this point. I don't like dragging out the row cover and using it, but if our weather turns back cold, it will protect the plants.

I really don't expect much cold weather here. I'm in Love County, so further south than you are. All our trees are leafing out like crazy, including the oak trees, and the hummingbirds and butterflies are all over the place. It definitely feels like spring here and I am going to make the most of it.

Dawn

I'm in Newcastle. I use all raised beds, so wet soil isn't a problem, nor is soil temperature. Last frost date is April 2nd, but I'm like you Dawn, I just follow the weather. We're in a pretty warm pattern right now, unlike last year where we were in a colder pattern at the end of the winter season.

Anyway, I'm headed down the street to a local nursery to pick up lots of pepper and tomato plants! Also plan on putting pole beans and cucumber seeds in the ground today.

I guess my garden management pretty much lines up with yours, Dawn. I don't plant by the moon, almanac or OSU's plant dates. Some of those are taken into consideration, but for the most part it's a 'go with the gut', based on everything you listed. Based on that, I feel like I am way behind. But experience tells me we have plenty of time to get it done.

Soil temps of 35-40 degrees for the cole crops. 60 degrees for tomatoes and squash. Most everything else I look for 65-70 degrees for peppers, cukes, okra and pole beans.

I always hold out till after Easter. I have learned my lesson!!!

After cold mornings on Saturday and Sunday here in Tulsa, I plan to get my tomatoes planted in my raised bed on Sunday or Monday. I haven't seen anything scary in the weather models through at least April 15. May as well get them in after the cold mornings later this week.

Lee

Yeah, I have a feeling we're in for a surprise soon...one of those nasty ones.

Me too, wxcrawler, but only some of them. Mainly, I just have so many darned tomato plants and I'm working their ground by hand. I figure I'll put in as much as I have something to cover them with. We'll either get another cool snap or we'll start burning up real fast.

My soil is only 50-55 degrees but we'll reach the low 80s today.

I'm not letting the hail in our forecast stop me from planting this afternoon, but I'll be ready to cover up the plants as well as possible if the hail seems likely to hit us. If I postponed planting every time the possibility of hail was in the forecast, I'd never get to plant anything at all.

Our nights/early mornings aren't forecast to be cold enough later this week as they are for NE OK, so I am not real worried about them. I always can cover up plants if it seems we'll drop significantly lower than forecast.

Bon, I came in for lunch when it was 79 degrees and I'm about to go back outside and it already is 81, so our forecast high of 83 seems liked to be achieved....and then surpassed. If I don't hurry, it may be 83 before I make it back outside. I'm just waiting for them to do the weather on the noon news and then it is back outside into the gloriously beautiful, almost hot, weather. I know the low 80s aren't hot, but they feel hot when your body has been used to winter weather. By June, the 80s will feel cool.

Dawn

I had to stop working the tomato bed. It got too hot. I'll continue a couple hours before dusk.

I'm still planting potatoes! The ones I already planted are probably goners from the 'bathtub' effect. lesson learned.

I am trying to hold out till next week. Probably won't make it.

I started laying out rows yesterday and was all prepped to start digging holes. Realized I was closer to my cabbage than what I wanted. By the time I worked out the logistics I decided to see what it does later this week.

Who knows, I may just throw caution to the wind and at least get my shorter DTM tomatoes planted in the morning!

I'm showing 34 for me Saturday...at this point :( I planted quite a bit this week, but I can run around with towels I suppose ;)

This is funny. Many of us can't wait to plant, but I don't know about you, but by the end of the summer I can't wait to stop working in the garden. As for myself, I began weeding my flower beds, my husband began rototilling the veggie garden, and I ordered a few types of large sized artemisias in hopes that they will keep weeds done, and now I am in the house painting doors. trying hard to not think that all the weeding has to get done now, this very minute.

I got the first 27 tomato plants in the ground, but it took a while. By the time I made it back outside after lunch, all the flats of plants awaiting planting were hot, dry and thirsty and I had to water them. Then I realized the temperatures were continuing to climb so I moved the flats to shade. I prepped the tomato bed, laid out all the plants and stakes and prepared to plant.....and the temperature was 86. I normally do not like to put tomato plants in the ground in such hot weather, except when planting fall tomatoes in summer when you have no choice, so I stalled for as long as possible. Finally, around 4 pm when shade from the pecan tree began hitting the west end of the tomato bed, I started planting. By the time I finished, our temperature had peaked at 89 degrees, and the plants and I both were tired and cranky. I got them all watered in and mulched and then put up low tunnel hoops. After dinner, Tim and I attached deer netting to the hoops with zip ties as hail protection.

I then had time, just before darkness fell, to scatter Garden-Tone fertilizer over the soil surface and then rototill it into the soil in the remaining raised bed where the next group of tomato plants will be planted. I was trying to beat the rain, and did so, but didn't really like how wet the soil still was in that bed. We've had good surface drying this week, but just a few inches down, the soil in the garden is still pretty well. We don't need more rain, but we got a round of storms around midnight and awakened this morning to another round of storms. So, who knows when I'll get to plant some more tomato plants but it likely will not be today. At least that bed, which is the last raised bed in the front garden, is ready for planting whenever the weather allows. All that remains in the front garden is three grade level planting areas and two of those likely are going to be too wet to plant any time soon thanks to the rain from last night and this morning.

Bon, The seed potatoes might be fine, especially if you were planting whole seed potatoes versus those that had been cut into pieces. Seed potatoes, and potatoes in general, can tolerate a lot of moisture. I always miss a few small potatoes when digging and those tend to survive all year, including in our traditionally wet autumn, and sprout the following spring, giving us surprise potatoes in last year's potato-growing area, which of course, has something new in it in the following year.

I have lost seed potatoes when a whole lot of rainfall fell within 2 or 3 days of me planting them, but by a whole lot I mean around 6" that fell in a period of 2 or 3 days. I think if only 3" had fallen, the potatoes would have been fine. That 6" was too much too early in the season when the soil temps and air temps still were awfully cold. Since it was early in the season, I bought more seed potatoes and planted them in a different place (in case the ones I thought had drowned were still alive, which they weren't).

Even when I think the forecast might be wrong, I'll cover up plants if that little voice in my head (the Voice of Past Frozen Plants?) tells me to. We'll see what that voice is saying tomorrow, but so far our forecast still shows 42 degrees for a low on the coming cold morning.

One of the best investments I made was when I bought frost-blanket weight floating row covers. It has saved my garden from late frosts or freezes numerous times. Even more than that, it has saved my sanity because I don't have to worry about late cold weather---I have that extra peace of mind of knowing the row cover is out there in the garage if needed.

Jess, I have a lot of wormwood growing in the back garden and the area around it has to be weeded just like every place else, even near the three-year-old plants that are pretty good sized. Weeds still sprout up underneath them, but once I've pulled them in early to mid-spring and put down mulch, there's not much of a problem. I like the way it looks though, and it is very resilient which is good because the sandy soil back there drains very quickly and I need tough plants out there.

I love Spring and early Summer and enjoy all the garden chores in nice weather. By mid-summer, though, between the relentless heat and the mosquitoes and fire ants, I find it harder and harder to stay caught up on mundane chores like weeding and watering. Partly it is my own fault----as I plant so much that most of the summer time goes to harvesting, cooking and eating the harvest, and preserving the excess by canning, dehydration, etc. If I was less busy in the garden, maybe I'd spend more time outdoors on garden maintenance.

The extreme heat just drives me indoors though from late June through late August of most years, and with endless food processing needed to stay caught up on the harvesting, I don't make it outside very much---only long enough to harvest. It isn't a hard choice---working inside in the air-conditioned house or outside pulling weeds in temperatures in the 90s and 100s. Guess which one I choose?

The last few years, fighting the endless recurring summer droughts have just sucked the life out of me, so much so that I haven't even planted a fall garden. I'm hoping to put in a fall garden this year, but we'll have to wait and see what the weather does. If we have a rainy summer, as I'm expecting and certainly as I'm hoping for, I'll be eagerly planting a fall veggie garden. If we have relentless drought and a lot of irrigation is necessary, I won't do it. There's just a point where, between the heat and the need to irrigate a lot, I decide it just isn't worth it.

I've been watching this thread...and giggled...then groaned...but now I've gotta tell you all that I DID throw caution to the wind (okoutdrsman!) and I planted the majority of our 3 raised beds last Sunday. Yep. That was me. 6 bundles of sickly looking onions (hey, they ain't gonna grow if they ain't in the dirt, right Mulberryknob?), 7 lbs whole seed potatoes, 3 20' rows of carrots, 39 pepper plants (that Atwoods sale GOT me), 3 bush cucumbers and 15 tomatoes....(still got room for a few more!). Dulahey - we are close enough in distance I hope you tried to go for it! My personal next couple of months dictated the decision, because if I don't do it now....It ain't happening. Like Dawn, I've got frost covers at the ready. In fact, I'll be throwing them over everything Thursday Evening to protect against any possible frost. Where I am, we're a micro-climate like Dawn. On last Monday when DH woke me to say good-bye before work - he said "we shoulda put the frost covers on. It's 37 degrees here (and that was at 5 AM)". So far, nothing looks worse for the wear. Toms & peppers look great, in fact have grown! (They do have protective metal cans as protection) Onions...so/so. The rain we got last night helped tremendously!

I'm thinking a fall garden is going to be good for me. I didn't try brocs, cabbage or cauliflower this year after several years of disappointing harvest for spring trials. Have seeds, will try again!

Last night's downpour kinda set me back a little. Not really, it just made it easier to wait till the weekend. The front garden will be workable tomorrow, but the main garden is a swamp. At least the west half.

Most of it won't be planted this year, so I'll deal with drainage and soil amendment as time allows. The waterway I sculpted has made a big difference on the east half, but it doesn't extend far enough to keep water from dumping right on top of shallow soil over clay.

Onions are looking decent considering how late I got them in. Broccoli and cabbage are hitting their stride. Waiting on lettuce and radishes to sprout. May have to break the crust and help them out.

I had full intentions of being prepared for early planting with hoops and row covers. Got the jig built for the hoops. Hauled about 1000' of 1/2" EMT home and have about 15 hoops rolled. Scored a roll of Dewitt cloth from a friend that wasn't impressed with it. Now I'm trying to decide on how I want to anchor the cloth.

Paula, Yay! So glad you got all that planting done. I love a nice early start in the years when it is possible.

I've now got about 40 tomato plants in the ground, and would have more except the remaining ground where other tomato plants will be planted (hopefully soon) is too wet.

All my raised beds are now full so everything else has to go in at grade level where drainage can be an issue in very wet years like we're having so far in 2015.

Okoutdoorsman, My broccoli and cabbage are hitting their stride and looking really good even though I planted them awfully late (because of the snow and constantly saturated soil). My peas are started to climb the trellis fairly well now. It has been too hot, really, but that heat has helped plants that were planted late to made some speedy growth. I'm just now ready for highs in the upper 80s and we've had far too much of them for this early in the year.

I have planted both early and mid-season corn and the early onset of heat is making them both sprout and grow really well. Next week, if the soil in the back garden isn't too wet to work, I'll plant the late corn back there. There's 5 or 6 types of beans, mostly bush but also three types of pole, in the front garden and they also have sprouted and grown quickly. I hope the early heat isn't a sign of what we'll have to deal with this summer.

I love my row cover fabric and now have it in at least 4 different weights. I love it, but there was a definite learning curve with it. I've been using it for 8 or 10 years. The heavier weights work better for me only if they are supported on hoops, whereas the lighter weights can float right on top of the plants. The heavier weights also can hold in too much heat and block too much light so I am pretty quick to get them off the hoops after the sun comes up and the cold temperatures are gone. I've barely had to use them at all this spring, but it's nice to have that extra frost and freeze protection available if needed.

We didn't even go as low as forecast last night (our forecast was 42 and our actual low so far has been 46) which fits in this year, which for us has been just about as opposite from our usual norm as possible---warm and very wet instead of cold nights and very dry.

33 here...probably light frost on cars (mine is in garage)

We had hard freezes the last couple of nights. I did not put a single warm crop in the ground and even those on the porch were brutalized. I hope everyone that is under the cool spell is doing okay with their plants.

I'm learning to watch for the dewpoint on mesonet? Seems that is related to the frost or the freeze zone? Freezing wind? Because it's 28 degrees, right now and has hovered in that area for the last 2 days. We're all huddled in the house keeping warm with the sun shining brightly. ha

Yep, I agree CC, the dewpoint is a general rule of the low you can expect.

Okay. Apparently, I'm clueless to the diff 'tween hard freezes, frost and the like.. but saw it's relative to that number. I'm tired of learning. I just want tomatoes! haha

Funny, I had a couple of Early Girls in the ground. When I checked early this morning, they were fine. 40 ft away my wheelbarrow that still had a small amount of water from recent rains, had a skim of ice on it. Go figure?

The water in the wheel barrow was pure water. The water in the plants veins contain sugars. Plus, ground radiation helps for some hours for small plants.

The dew point is merely the temperature to which the air would have to cool (at a constant pressure and constant water vapor content) in order to reach saturation. Then, when saturation occurs, depending on other factors and how they come together, you can get fog, clouds, precipitation, dew or frost. Your dew point can be lower than your air temperature but it is never greater than your air temperature. When your air temperature and dewpoint are very close or the same, the air generally has a high relative humidity value. The dewpoint can affect how comfortable or uncomfortable we humans (and other animals) feel. When dewpoints are lower than 65 degrees, we generally feel relatively comfortable. When dewpoints are 65 degrees or higher, we start to feel sticky and uncomfortable. Dewpoint is not the same as Relative Humidity. RH values indicate how close the air is to being saturated.

Frost is caused by radiational cooling, which happens as the earth loses heat (generally because the sun has set) and temperatures drop below the freezing point at ground level. There are different degrees of frost and you can see anything from light damage to no damage to heavy damage.

A freeze is caused by advective cooling. Normally this occurs when a mass of cold air moves into the area (via the passage of a cold front, for example, with cold Arctic air)

Freezes and frosts damage plants in different ways.

Oh, and the use of the term hard freeze generally means temperatures are expected to fall below 28 degrees for along enough period to do harm.

I haven't read up on this in a few years, but the NWS has guidelines for the issuance of each different type of freeze, hard freeze or frost warning. They only use them during the growing season. A Frost Advisory is issued when the predicted temperature is expected to fall to 36 degrees or lower in the next 3 to 30 hours. Please understand that you can have frost even at temperatures up to 40 degrees. I often see patchy frost at 37 or 38 degrees, but only rarely at 39 and I am not sure if I've ever seen it at 40 degrees. A Freeze Warning is issued if there is forecast to be an 80% or higher chance that the air temperatures are expected to fall to 32 degrees or low in the next 3 to 30 hours. A Hard Freeze Warning is similar to a Freeze Warning, but with the temperature threshold being 28 degrees. Sometimes the actual air temperatures do not behave as forecast (last night is an example of this) and the NWS has to hurriedly issue a Frost Advisory, Freeze Warning or Hard Freeze Warning with no notice, putting it into effect immediately.

I just want tomatoes! hahaha

And I just want flowers...and i want to get the houseplants out of the windows...and maybe I want to get potted outdoor plants into the ground too (lol)...maybe I want lots of things related to frost-free weather.

I want more hours in a day!

Dbarron I agree, just let me empty the house of plants and cactus. I can start the flower garden end of this week or next, since the 2013 May tornado that blew us away, 58 years old and starting over. I have very limited garden space compared to before the tornado. The clean slate (as everyone refers to my situation) is at time a little scary.

Bon,

No....you want living tomatoes, not frozen dead ones. (grin) I think I have 48 tomato plants in the ground now and not a frozen one among them. Of course, it is raining today so I am sure they are chilly, wet and cranky. Whenever it is dry enough to plant again (raining today, so definitely not today and likely not tomorrow either), I have the last big tomato planting area ready to go and hope to put at least 30 plants into that area. After that, I'll just be squeezing in a couple here, a couple there, wherever I can find the space.

dbarron, I hope y'all warm up soon so you can have flowers. It stayed cold so long, and miserably wet forever, so even the wildflowers have been fairly late to appear this year. In our pastures only a few wildflowers have bloomed---generally Spring Beauties, dandelions (at this time of the year, a flower is a flower even if it is only a dandelion!), bluets, henbit, wild garlic and wild onions, blue-eyed grass and bloodroot, so far. The first bluebonnets bloomed three days ago. The daffodils and Dutch hyacinths are finished blooming, and the Irises, which often bloom by Easter, are a little late this year. All the blooming trees (fruit trees, ornamental pears, wild plums, redbuds, etc.) are about done, though some redbuds still have some flowers. Around our neighborhood, some flowering quince is still in bloom and so are some forsythias, but most of those also are finished. There's no roadside wildflowers to enjoy yet, unless you count henbit.

In the garden, the only flowers blooming so far are sweet alyssum, dianthus, and violas. The larkspur is getting closer to blooming though, and some of the poppies won't be too far behind that. I've got some godetia plants and some linaria that are getting to be a pretty good size but aren't close to blooming yet. Some petunias (an heirloom red-flowered one called Exserta) I raised from seed are getting close to flowering, but it still might be another week or two.

I moved the overwintering plants out of the greenhouse a couple of weeks ago and the orange tree is in bloom now. We have house cats, so I generally don't keep plants in the house as the cats will either eat them or dig in them.

Kim, I agree....and not just more hours in a day. More days in a week during gardening season would be nice as well.

Stockergal, I am sorry to hear of your tornado troubles. I cannot imagine starting over, but there are times I think I'd like to start over with a clean slate and begin the ornamental plantings from scratch....so I hope that you enjoy the challenge that lies ahead of you.

Dawn

If only I could function on less sleep too...

Luvncannin, sleep is highly over rated HA!!!!