A Speedbump for over-anxious gardeners....

[PiedPiper]

...Sigh. The last three weeks of awesome early spring weather were more than I could resist,... Not only did I move ahead with the usual cool-weather crops - spinach, kale, lettuce, snow peas, etc,...... but I even gambled and currently have okra seedlings just breaking the ground's surface,.... a hundred of 'em, and they hate the cold. And the cool-weather stuff is really gettin' on up there, have no fear.

And inevitably, it turns out we'll be seeing something like 26 degrees and a hard freeze tonight. But fortunately all my stuff is planted in compact raised beds, and I was able to spend the day constructing 6 mil plastic bubble tops to set on the raised bed frames. Hopefully that will avert disaster. My yard appears to be dotted with domed skylights.

Also fortunately, I had not yet been tempted to start setting out any of the thirty tomato plants which will eventually make my summer,... along with various peppers and squash. A lot of time invested in starting all these seedlings, so hopefully I won't be robbed of this amazing jump on the season,.....

So,..... anybody else try for an extra-early start on their home gardens? Or itching to get going? Our last frost date here is supposed to be April 2oth, so I was really pushing it., but if we dodge this frozen bullet, it will have been worth it.

 

[alchemy]

I haven't tried to garden in years (though it's kinda hard to grow anything in an apartment complex)

I've never had much of a green thumb anyway. Currently, I have two dead plants sitting in flower pots on my porch. One is a aloe vera plant that I finally managed to kill..still not sure how. And the other was a an experiment plant that was killed by a recent cold snap that swept through my area. By experiment plant I mean that I had no idea what it was, but I was trying to keep it alive. After trying to grow different plants and having them all die on me I finally decided that I would simply put out a pot filled with soil and see what random plant/animal/mineral would take a liking to it. For almost a solid year, the only thing I was able to attract was bits of moss, a few dead leaves, and an overly ambitious, though admirable spider. Finally, several months ago, I spotted a green leafy sprout protruding from the dirt. In no time at all, it...whatever it was...had reached nearly a foot high. Alas...thanks to the cold, my mystery vegetation is now dead.

My current future dead plant venture involves finding a hanging pitcher plant (I've always loved carnivorous plants) and attaching it to my porch. There are a lot of mosquitoes about this time of year so hopefully it'll be able to survive for at least a while.

 

[PiedPiper]

Alchemy,...

Don't give up,.... the Zen of gardening, especially for food plants, is a spiritual thing it would be a shame to miss. Apartments are tough, though,.... I understand that. Try a somewhat more sizable planter on the porch,.... say a giant plastic tub with good soil,.... all this stuff can be searched online. I guess it helps if you really like fresh vegetables.

 

[paracarl44]

The last date for freezing is May 15th around here.

The orchards have been in bloom for over a week, and there was a frost warning the other day.

Also the cherry trees in Washington D. C. have had an early bloom and it is not April yet.

 

[TropicThunder]

I'm still trying to clear my disaster of a yard just to get the beds prepared. This has gone from project to adventure.

 

[paracarl44]

I'm still trying to clear my disaster of a yard just to get the beds prepared. This has gone from project to adventure.

^It may freeze down here tonight, so it should be chill up your way.^

 

[PiedPiper]

Freezing predicted here, too,...... got the plastic dome caps back over the sprouts. But it won't be the 26 degree hard freeze of last week.

I was surprised at that last freeze date of May 15 for your location, paracarl44; I'm 45 miles from Pittsburgh and I pulled up a "last frost date" of April 21st in a search. And as I said, I've already got freakin' okra sprouts an inch tall. Some of my self-started tomato seedlings are already 10" tall and starting to branch (see, I really DID get carried away with the early spring)... but the tomatoes are in an indoor "greenhouse bubble window" I built onto my kitchen,.... works great. I'm counting on an effective last frost date of maybe April 7th this season. Fingers crossed. Getting this kind of jump for once is really gratifying.

 

[paracarl44]

According to Burpee.

The last average frost in our area is mid April, however weather records show until May 15th to be completely safe.

 

[PiedPiper]

The last average frost in our area is mid April, however weather records show until May 15th to be completely safe.

______________________

I just read up on the temperature information for okra - one of my favorites - and it was more extreme than I'd realized. Okra isn't said to germinate in soil temps below 60-65,.... and wants night time temps of 70 to grow,...... yet I have 80-100 seedlings an inch high, growing under one of my hastily constructed hot caps. I may be looking at the earliest okra in town,..... I'm gonna do the same thing with a couple of those 10" tall Early Girl tomatoes,.... build a small plastic enclosure for them and shoot for some wildly early tomatoes, as well. This is fun.

 

[unit5610]

Flowering trees are opening up now, almost three weeks early. I almost bought pansies two weeks ago when it was 80 out, but since then we've had 2 hard freezes and expecting some snow tonight so I'm real glad I held off.

 

[TropicThunder]

^It may freeze down here tonight, so it should be chill up your way.^

It is now. Winter is making one last pathetic attempt. =/

I'm still having a hell of a time with the demolition stage. I've inherited a patch of land that has been left unattended for several years, but clearly once had a garden in there at some point. My front yard is already pristine. I'm thinking sunflowers...

I'm planning on a flower garden in the back though. Maybe vegetables later on.