I just bought 13 flats of cool weather veggies. Today the temperature was in the 60s and it felt nice to be outside. Our weather has been very variable with a few days of chilly, downright cold temps with snow and then a few days of upper 50s ~ 60s. Anybody else experiencing anything similar?

The plants will go out in one of my 4' raised beds which lay fallow last year. There is a bit of mulch left and some plants have come back like chives, parsley and the dreaded rhubarb. Boy, do I want to yank that out as it is so big and I do not use rhubarb. Maybe I can get them in this weekend. Has anyone else planted outside yet?

I wont start planting outside until the end of April beginning of May. Here in the Poconos I would be afraid of late frost planting this early. We are in a new house this year and the yard needs a lot of work, so my DDs and I have been working on clearing brush, moving rocks and fallen branches. DH wants to cut down a couple of poplar trees (he's allergic to them) that are near the house.  So hopefully we will have all that done in time to plant.

Just got some nice herb starts.  Plan to get more later on this year as it starts to warm up.  We are still having pretty cold temps at night here in the Willamette Valley.

It is so warm here in the NC mountains, I am putting all my seedlings out this weekend.  Just came in.  It is in the 60s right now, and we are expecting 70s all next week.  I planted lots of herbs, multiple plants of rosemary, basil and sage.  This year I hope I planted enough to last!

Oooh, I love planting herbs!  Some have such pretty flowers, too.  I try to get ones that I use or are perennial.

     Everything is about a month ahead of schedule here in SE PA and suddenly tonight it is going to freeze.  I covered a couple of my plants and brought  in a pot of pineapple sage that I bought. It can't take the frost.  Then it is supposed to warm up again. What crazy weather.  It is zone 5 or 6 here (depending on which side of the house)- we're right on the border of the zone map. Usually we can get frost as late as the middle of May.  Moher's day is a good time to put out the tomato plants.  I'm enjoying the warm weather and hoping my early plants make it ok.

I'm in zone 7, and it has been such a warm winter we are worried about a possible drought due to no snow.  I had a lot of basil last year, but I ended up picking it to pieces for sauces and dishes, and it didn't come back.  I hope I planted enough to last this time.  In the last house we had, the thyme and sage were perinneal and came back year after year.  I can't wait for some vine ripe tomatoes!

I am trying sweet potatoes this year. The vines need to be started inside and put out once it is warm enough. It will probably be May before I can put them in the ground. They need 4 months of hot weather to produce. They do not like a lot of water or any amendments. It will be fun to see if I get any sweet potatoes. I have lettuce and spinach to pick now. Because of the mild winter I have bbeen picking lettuce and spinach right along. I am in norther Los Angeles county at 3500 ft. We had rain and a ducting of snow last Sunday. I do not put tomato plants out until May. We have a well so the water expense is only for electricity to pump the water.

I would love to have sweet potatoes or yams but I have not been able to find any plant starts.  I guess you have to use seeds.  I grow a lot of potatoes, reds, baking and white, from actual potatoes.  Can that be done with yams/sweet potatoes?  I did try once but it did not take.

Planted my strawberries!!!  I love fresh strawberries!!!!

Priscilla:  Well, if you really don't like the taste of rhubarb, that's one thing, and I can see why you'd like to yank out all those big old plants.  But I still look forward to having stewed rhubarb as a simple dessert in the spring, maybe with a home-made scone to accompany it.  And have you checked the price per pound if one had to buy it in a supermarket?  That and other prices make me grateful for the home-grown stuff, and the "share" I usually subscribe to for the growing season with a local farmer, at my summer location.  I've been reading, with interest, about raised beds.  When you get up into your eighties, like me, you find that getting down to weed gets a little troublesome!

Yes, I do not like the taste of rhubarb and even the wildlife will not eat it.  The plant is still there and is about to flower.  I LOVE my raised beds but I think it would be better set at about 3 feet tall.  It takes a lot of dirt to fill them.  Weeds were not too bad but I plant as close as possible to minimize weeds.  I read an article about cramming in plants which a Frenchman wrote.  We have had great luck doing just that.  I have not had good luck with corn, that is my only failure.  I think they needed a bigger area and lots more water.