My seedbox is finally emptying :)

Hooray, my seedbox (of seeds I've traded or SASE'd to receive) is almost empty - just about everything that's still in there will be direct seeded in the garden this spring.

I still have plenty of seeds from my own plants, and I'm looking forward to harvesting and trading for some new things this summer and fall. But it sure is nice to finally have most of my "babies" started! (Now to get DS and DH to start that tiller so the new beds will be ready when the plants are!)

Terry, I could send you some of mine so your box doesn't get lonely..........

LOL, Kathleen. I was starting to suspect I was raising a second generation of seeds IN THE BOX. (You never really know what they do in there when the lights go out.)

I'm sure I'll be pestering some of you for your seeds soon enough; right now my GH is full to the gills of flats, or soon will be once I start potting up some of these seedlings!

Terry,
How soon can you start 'tilling in TN?
This northerner has no clue! :-)

Our average last frost date is near the end of April. So I still have a ways to go before I can set out much. Our ground is not frozen down here, so tilling starts whenever the ground isn't too wet and the guys can't quickly come up with something better to do, LOL.

Melissa, I don't think I ever thanked you for the ornamental Pennisetum seeds - they were among the seeds that have been recently sown in the GH; I'm hoping I get several nice clumps. It looks like a neat plant, and even neater considering it came from a friend - thank you so much for sharing them! :)

You're welcome, Terry.
The Pennisetum 'Weserbergland' ornamental grass
was just my small way of saying
thank you for all that you do here at Dave's.
It's a wonderful ornamental grass.
People always touch it as they walk
past it in my garden. :-)

I don't think my seedbox will ever be empty, hehehehe, the greenhouse AND the house are already full of flats and/or seedlings.

I remember, Mellisa, what it was like living in the frozen north. Some years we couldn't even consider tilling until well into May. Now, of course, I'm already harvesting at a time I used to be first planting.

The downside is knowing what to do with cool weather and hardy plants. English peas are always problematical, for instance, because our spring usually lasts only about 36 hours before the heat sets in. Peas traditionally go in the ground on Valentine's Day, and many old timers plant lettuce seed at the same time.

To answer your question, though, we rarely get more than a surface freezing of the soil, and could till in January if the ground was dry enough. I tilled last weekend. Got about half the gardens done. I'm setting seed now for hardy stuff (cabbage, broccoli, etc.), but actually am a week or so late. Many folks in this zone are setting pepper and tomato seed, but I usually wait until March, for transplant in May.

Frankly, it's taken me several years to adapt to the differences, and I learn more every year.

My daughter has been tilling up gardens this past week. She lives in KY just north of Clarksville, TN. she's kind of in shock, having grown up in a zone that leans more toward 4 than 5 some years. I think it will be fun for her to grow roses down there, though. She wants me to help her plan, but I'm afraid I'll steer her wrong with the difference in climate.

Kathleen, she lives in Melody's neck of the woods, so to speak. We live about 2 hours (hard driving) south of Clarksville. Roses can indeed be grown here - Elena has many beautiful hybrid teas. I stick with OGRs and rugosas, which can still get blackspot with our long, hot humid summers.