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intheflow

(28,898 posts)
Fri May 9, 2014, 09:17 AM May 2014

Colorado gardening wisdom says it's safe to start your garden after

threat of last frost. This is always cited as Mother's Day. Forecast for this upcoming Mother's Day? 9-18" of snow!

That's another week delay in planting - and I suppose I'll spend most of Sunday running around my yard shaking snow off my fruit trees so the branches won't snap.

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Colorado gardening wisdom says it's safe to start your garden after (Original Post) intheflow May 2014 OP
Yikes! beac May 2014 #1
I think our season is kind of short already. intheflow May 2014 #4
My new philosophy.. PLant nothing that can't be brought inside before June .... hlthe2b May 2014 #2
Most of my stuff is pretty cold-hardy. intheflow May 2014 #5
San Diego is famous for "May Gray" JayhawkSD May 2014 #3
Here in W PA, Curmudgeoness May 2014 #6
Early warm up in Western Colorado randr May 2014 #7
We also had a light frost a couple weeks ago. intheflow May 2014 #8

beac

(9,992 posts)
1. Yikes!
Fri May 9, 2014, 09:49 AM
May 2014

I will now stop complaining about how cold it still is here in New England.

I do worry that we in colder climates are headed for growing seasons too short to actually grow anything.

intheflow

(28,898 posts)
4. I think our season is kind of short already.
Fri May 9, 2014, 11:20 AM
May 2014

I haven't been able to get decent melons growing since I moved here two summers ago. I suppose I could try with starters, but I've never had particularly good success transplanting melons either, so... seed it is.

On the bright side, my root veggies aren't going to mind this a bit.

hlthe2b

(106,202 posts)
2. My new philosophy.. PLant nothing that can't be brought inside before June ....
Fri May 9, 2014, 09:53 AM
May 2014

I have geraniums, begonias, and some (frost-resistant) cushion spurge (yellow flowers) in big pots, but the first two don't like temps much below 50 degrees, so I've already been hauling them in each night to their ovenight spot on plastic near the front door.

I wanted to plant something, but haven't done anything else but pull weeds.... Somehow, I'm no longer even concerned with the dog's yellow spots in the yard...

intheflow

(28,898 posts)
5. Most of my stuff is pretty cold-hardy.
Fri May 9, 2014, 11:48 AM
May 2014

My front bed is all perennial flowers, they'll do just fine as long as the temperature doesn't drop below 30. My root veggies won't care, either. I'm a little worried about the okra and eggplant seeds I sowed directly into the bed this past weekend. Maybe I'll see if I can put together some kind of spur-of-the-moment cold frame to give them a fighting change. They haven't started to come up yet, so that might work. Fingers crossed!

 

JayhawkSD

(3,163 posts)
3. San Diego is famous for "May Gray"
Fri May 9, 2014, 10:22 AM
May 2014

Marine layer that hangs around until midafternoon, and all day at the beaches, with high temp only in the mid sixties.

Not so much this year. We are starting on a second round of Santa Ana winds. Offshore breezes, sun from dawn, high temps of 90+ at the beaches and 100+ inland. Wierd.

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
6. Here in W PA,
Fri May 9, 2014, 06:55 PM
May 2014

my mother always told me that you do not plant anything until Memorial Day. I didn't believe her some years, when the warm weather came early. I should have listened---lost so many plants one year when we had a heavy frost Memorial Day weekend. I absolutely hate waiting, but I don't have the money to keep replacing plants, and don't want to lose babies that I have nurtured from seed.

I would build a cold frame devise if I had to get anything planted earlier than Memorial Day though.

randr

(12,477 posts)
7. Early warm up in Western Colorado
Sat May 10, 2014, 08:50 AM
May 2014

pushed fruit trees into flowering a few weeks ago. Several lite frosts have ruined most stone fruit. I have a beautiful bloom on my peaches and apricots until a 23 degree night two weeks ago. Hoping to ride out this storm and get to planting next week.

intheflow

(28,898 posts)
8. We also had a light frost a couple weeks ago.
Sat May 10, 2014, 12:07 PM
May 2014

Hard to tell if the blossoms were all killed off. Most looked pretty droopy the next day but the bees were still digging on them so I hold out hope we might get some fruit. Going to move our trees to a north side to hopefully stave off flowering to a week or two later than where they are now in full sun all year long.

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