What did You do "To Grow?"

Two nights ago we didn't drop below 60 and we've had a few days close to 85 already, but today is cooler, and they are calling for tonight's temps to be down in the 30's, so we could see a frost tonight.
 
No 80° weather here, nor 60° nights, @MoonShadows ...

Climate is often uniquely local, especially in places with great elevation differences. It's a little mind-boggling but a hardiness zone map of Colorado demonstrates the idea.

My own gardening geography experiences are limited. I moved here many years ago after a few gardening seasons on the coast of northern California. After experiencing those cool summers, I thought that I'd be getting into some real growing season heat, moving so many miles inland from the Pacific.

In a way, yes but one needs to look at daily averages and the cool summer nights lowered the numbers. Seasonally, our cool springs undercut the entire growing season. When it came right down to it, I didn't move where there was any more seasonal warmth than when I could walk out in my front yard and see the waters of the Pacific ocean!

What is more ... accumulated seasonal warmth doesn't add up to any more than some of the coldest winter areas in the US.

I finally began to figure that out from US Weather Service data on growing degree days (link). It's not so great to be behind Fargo North Dakota already this year ! You can see the numbers for Spokane, my nearest weather station accounting for growing degree days. Now, look at Fargo ...

I have this little game keeping track of not Fargo but Devils Lake North Dakota. I've been able to correspond a little with a gardener near Devils Lake. She is frustrated by wind and freezing weather. She hopes to be able to plant peas and potatoes soon.

This probably isn't a real surprise to anyone. And, I'm not going to upset her by saying some of my potatoes were planted more than a month ago. What will be surprising to some is that when the growing season comes to an end, her garden may well have experienced more accumulated warmth than mine.

Well, the West was generally a fairly hot place last summer. We had a winter here that someone in North Dakota can only dream about. Everyone hopes we don't burn up this summer ...

Every location has it's challenges. I'm not sure how many gardeners would appreciate all the heat some place like Blythe California has already experienced in the last few months.

Steve
never out of wool socks ;)
 
I built a pea trellis. It was a very short trellis and will need more layers of string but, the peas now have their first chance to climb.

Then I dug out along one side of a boulder that was too heavy to turn over on the flat. Then rolled it into the hole ...

A tractor shoved it over into my garden when a new power pole went in beside my neighbor's garage ... Thanks a lot! I might roll it another 180° by digging another hole ... if I continue doing this, the boulder will be buried. The neighbor might be over asking about his rock and it will be gone!

Steve
 
I didn't move the boulder any further ... it's too big to ask the neighbor to do something about. He is very active with his garden this year. I have seen this sorta thing before and don't anticipate that it will lead to much good.

"You have to learn to do chores," Dad told me when I was about 8. Flurries of beginning activity counts for little in gardening. It is long-term, several months even for an annual veggie garden. He has done this before and once, even had a greenhouse. I passed it one spring afternoon and tried to imagine the indoor temperature. Was it above 120°f? 150°? It, the greenhouse, was dismantled the very next year.

Structure in building the garden is important but care matters more.

Yesterday, I got some more of that composted chicken pucky worked into the beds in the shady corner using the little tiller. I'm not fond of that thing. I keep turning the off switch by mistake. Maybe it is not a mistake but pulling the starting cord repeatedly is a little too high of a price to pay for being subconsciously anti-machinery.

;) Steve
just back from battening down the plastic film i've got instead of shade cloth covering some plants in the backyard. no need for shade at 4am but there is a thunderstorm and if the wind kicks up ... there goes the plastic!
 
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I was so pleased to hear the rain coming down with all that lightening blazing away last night.
It really poured down hard a few times! Mostly it was a steady rain though, so hopefully that will help keep the lightening fires from getting out of hand. I haven't been keeping up with the watering of my perennial beds very well so this rain certainly helped. All that lightening bouncing around all night must have given the air a big nitrogen boost too. We should see the plants smiling this morning. :)

Kid#1 has already been pretty busy with the wildfire fighting. He's happy. I try not to worry. :\
 
Hours yesterday were spent weeding.

The potatoes were finished - big deal, 100sqft. The dahlia garden was finished (except the paths), Big Deal! So much purslane in that garden! One bed of onions was finished - pretty big deal. The grass from the neighbor's raspberry jungle had invaded!

Grass and Walla Walla Sweets ... something of the Revenge of the Palouse!

Steve
 
Staying home today, again, to finish "planting" my firepit and cement pavers surrounding it. THEN, I will move a pile of last winter's stall cleaning to shore it up. Maybe, before I work again tomorrow evening, I'll get my tomatoes on the porch (WHICH ARE GROWING FLOWERS!!!) in the ground. :th
 
I have tomatoes still needing to be put in ....somewhere. It will probably mean getting out the shoehorn again. The kids garden class garden has consumed a lot of ground. I thought it was best to leave a lot of path space around the planted ground with 14 little feet skipping around in there.
They got their purple podded beans and carrots planted Saturday, and the peas and popcorn are up!
 
Mowed, dug up the big weeds, and otherwise prepped the first bed for my beefsteak tomatoes. Tomorrow I shall till it, auger their holes and plant. Mowed underneath the two cherry trees. They are LOADED and just barely starting the blush. We shall SEE if the hanging CD's will discourage any birds. Looking forward to a big harvest of canned tart cherries and winter pies! :drool
 
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