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Appalachian Mtns.

Last year it was an unusually warm April and May. This year it's an unusually cold May. What gives???
It's 4am Wednesday morning and I'm sitting here eating last nights words I typed on several post replies, and all the others I've made on others about folks starting too early or heating their greenhouses....it's now 35.8 degrees outside and that may just be it for Mr. Late-start-I'm-smarter-than-you-or-Mother-Nature-I-acclimated-my-plants-I'm-not-gonna-bother-heating-my-cloches-everybody-planted-too-early-"Southern" this year.
If these plants pull through this and grow like gangbusters, I'm a lucky and blessed guy.

Time to start a very late #2 batch of seeds and forget about any significant amount of weight coming out of Southern's patch this year...geez!

5/25/2005 4:00:02 AM

Appalachian Mtns.

PS...Please don't mistake me for whining or crying over my season. I just think this cold pop will slow my plants to the point they may not recover significantly enough to be worth a hoot after last night/this morning...kinda hard for a plant to roar back and throw an 800#+ fruit after being nearly froze I would think.
Batch #2 starting tonight?

5/25/2005 4:04:32 AM

Follansbee, Wv

I know what you mean about a bad May. This is two years in a row for me. I looking through my personal gardening diary the other day and comparing weather, day for day. On average, it's nearly identical. This year is running a couple of degrees cooler though. Still not heating the hoops though. Firstly, it's just not feasible or cost effective, secondly, barring a freeze, I think they will come along just like any other plant does.

Here's to warmer weather soon.

5/25/2005 6:18:34 AM

Sort of Sunny Sometimes, WA

Over here on the other end of the New World, it has stunk just as bad weather wise. Today I feel like having a party because it's supposed to hit 71. I can't remember the last time THAT happened. Perhaps tomorrow it will hit 72 and I'll get a 5th leaf. . .

5/25/2005 10:44:08 AM

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Southern:

In response to your discouragement over the cold temps: Two years ago, I planted the 893.5 Pukos. The plant had been in the ground a few weeks, and had a couple of true leaves. One night, my heater failed, and the temp. got down to 28 degrees. All the true leaves were literally frozen off. Only the cots remained. I thought the plant was dead. Anyway, it grew back, and ended up being the most vigorous pumpkin growth producer that I've ever had. In other words, if they are still alive, they can still thrive.

Your weather will turn for the better eventually.

Beet

5/25/2005 11:07:27 AM

Ontario, Canada.

Kyle, It hasn't been a bed of roses way up here either. Since my hoop house plants have been out we have had three frosts and a hard freeze. I have several plants that are unptrotected and unheated that are doing fine. They will rebound. I even lost one in a hoop house two weeks ago that got frozen right down to the cots. Surprizingly That plant is growing again with two new leaves.

5/25/2005 12:21:55 PM

Ontario

A couple of weeks ago it was 34 degrees inside my green-houses at 6:00 AM. I got a little curl on the edges of the first true leaves but otherwise things were OK. An outside temperature of 35 would probably mean a green-house temp. of 38 or so. You should be fine.

5/25/2005 1:03:09 PM

Montoursville, PA

Yep........I thought I somehow froze mine twice. Turns out it was likely cold water, cold weather and tender plants damping off.

Sure glad I had back ups up the gazoo because I needed them this year. The tougher backups stood up to the fungi causing the damping off. The backups were at second and third true leaf peeking. Hardened off a little better was the cure for my difficulty.

We still have not seen the warmer weather although Mother seems, to be trying now.

5/25/2005 9:18:24 PM

Oz

Batch #2 is still in the garage,,

The full moon is doing it...
Good time to plant,,tooo cold for copperheads.spiders.skeeters.chiggers....

I have been two days in the patch,,sweet tatters,corn,sunflowers,peppers,more AGS(#1b),
and some volunteer howdens.

5/26/2005 12:29:53 AM