EXTREME gardening

What lengths have you gone to in order to garden? Confess now!

pirl and I have shared our night gardening strategies such as headlamps and flood lights. Why stop when the sun goes down? I have started my car and pointed the headlights on a garden to get bulbs in. I have a 500 watt halogen light that can be set up where ever the action is and serves the additional purpose of generating heat to thaw hands when the temperature drops at nightfall. Of course, bulbs can be placed by feel, the unmistakable round bottom and pointy top of daffodils is so helpful.

Do your friends shake their heads and recommend psychiatric hospitalization when you tell them that you have a thousand bulbs to plant so you can't talk to them (to say nothing of such unessential tasks as eating and bathing!)?

I was thinking about putting some bulbs in tonight before it rains. In the summertime, fug-geddaboddit, I definitely do as much as I can after it cools down, at night. I usually just get blank stares when I tell people I'm planting 8 or 9 hundred bulbs. Or they just ask,"Why?", then it's their turn to get a blank stare.... To me the best thing about gardening at night (besides beating summer heat) is you can see your pests in action- it's easy to remove slugs when you can see 'em. And plants appreciate being planted when it's cooler, and you can water them in before the sun comes out. I have had the cops slow down to see what I'm doing... I just smile and wave

So how do you illuminate your work? And keep from freezing at this time of year?

You both are presented with the dilema that I have always had. That is why I don't do bulbs. But I so enjoy driving past yours. Thank you dedicated gardeners. The following picture is me finishing the plants I bought the previous day and forgot to plant until in pajamas I remembered them. Therefore PJ gardening in the snow.

Freezing? It's 55 degrees right now, it was almost 70 today and yesterday! Are you sure you're a Yankee? LOL That's what longjohns are for!
I have work lights and extension cords for the areas that are away from the house. I lived in Maine for years, this is not cold here, not yet anyway. Planting bulbs reminds me of diggin' clams in reverse. I think I'll try my old clam hoe, it's a "manure" fork bent at an angle with a torch, and a short steel pipe welded on it.

Shoot, I can't find it right now, I was gonna post a picture

Well clearly I am not as extreme as you all. I'm in the garden from daylight to sundown Saturday and Sunday, and after work every weekday until the blasted Daylights Saving starts up. My night vision is poor to nonexistent, so I would probably end up planting tulips upside down and backwards in the compost pile if I tried to work after dark.

Ok, longjohns take care of the torso...what about the fingers? PA eventually gets cold, I lived there for 5 years in the early 1980's.

I don't have a great solution for blue fingers...I keep a space heater outside with gloves in front of it warming and drying and switch pairs. I also tuck the air activated hand warmers into my gloves, but cannot get them all the way to the fingers where the trouble lies. The thick gloves with the batteries might be ok for hiking, but they block tactile feedback and make the process clumsy. Of course frozen hands make it clumsy too!

For Christmas last year I bought my husband a battery operated vest to wear when he walks our dog and just might have to borrow it to get my planting done.

For the days where the forecasters tell us it will be near 100 degrees I'm up way before dawn having coffee and I'm outside (with the camera) before the sunrise to take advantage of every minute - occasionally in my night clothes.

A hot mug of water helps warm up my fingers when it's cold out - yes, I bring it out with me and pop it back in the microwave for another minute if needed! Temporary relief, true, but a help when it's getting later, darker, colder.