And this year's "Chilly Nilly" prize goes to Ken of Bed 5 and Mark of Bed 45!
That's right you two! Both of you tied for the coolest beds in the garden right now having a temperature of 65.3 degrees Fahrenheit. It has been so nice to see the steady rise in temperatures this week and hopefully the few nights of approaching cold weather won't take us back too far from what we have gained. A special THANK YOU goes out to Reagan for helping me take all the temperatures Sunday evening. You were such a good helper!
The week started off with a garden average of 64.7 degrees. As of Sunday evening, we are currently right at 70 degrees for an overall garden average. Temperatures run from our chilliest at 65.3, to our warmest at 77.4 degrees. As always, I take temperatures late day between 5:00 and 6:30 p.m. to maximize any heat we may gain throughout the afternoon hours. The temperatures of each bed are recorded with a digital meat thermometer, added together, divided by the total number of beds, giving us an overall average for the garden. This gives us a pretty good idea of where our temperatures stand for planting purposes.
Here are the results for this week of recording:
Our chilliest section of the garden remains the area near the pecan tree and picnic table. All beds in this section remain under 70 degrees with Ken being one of our "Chilly Nilly" prize winners at 65.3. This section actually has an advantage over others in the garden when growing cool weather vegetables in the spring as they can hold onto the chillier ground temperatures a bit longer. This gives them the opportunity for a greater length of time harvesting before the heat takes over and causes the plants to end their life cycles. The overall average for this section as of Sunday is 69.0 degrees Fahrenheit.
The section of the garden that houses our special needs area is still the most consistent with their temperatures running from 67.1 to 74.2 degrees. The average for this section is now at 70.2 as of Sunday evening. When ground temperatures in this area climb, they tend to fluctuate less with the ups and downs that are common of early spring weather. The largest advantage in this section is that both soil life and plant growth experience less stress due to fluctuating ground temperatures, which does go a long way in keeping plants healthy and productive once they get started.
The largest surprise was the warmest area of the garden at the last recording is now the second to the coldest when dividing the garden up into four sections. It also houses one of our "Chilly Nilly" prize winners (Mark) at bed 45. The temperatures in this uppermost right-hand section closest to the orchard have an overall average of 69.1 degrees. The lowest is Mark at 65.3 and the warmest is 72.3 degrees. In looking back at last year's recordings this scenario was the same as another bed in that section was also a "Chilly Nilly" prize winner. It looks as if when looking towards the future at garden trends, this area has a distinct advantage for winning our "Nilly" prizes, grin!
Our last section on the right hand side of the gate closest to Dallas Hwy is still the warmest area overall. In fact, our "Garden Hotties" remain the warmest bed in the garden at 77.4 degrees. The temperatures in this section range from a low of 67.2 to a high of 77.4 degrees. The average for this section is 71.7 overall. Many beds in this section have the advantage with the temperatures needed to support "tomato territory" and once the nights stabilize and the beds are prepped they will be off and running.
I am hopeful that this next little spell will be the last of the cold weather. It is always a nice reminder though to respect those last frost dates for our area as planting too early can cause quite a bit of damage to our plants. I will continue to keep us all posted!
A great big CONGRATULATIONS to Mark and Ken, you are sooooooo cool! I'll drop the prizes by the shed my next trip over.
Happy Gardening,
Denise, Beds 25 & 29
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| Ken & Mark's Prize Bu's Brew Bio-Dynamic Compost Tea Bags from Malibu Compost! http://malibucompost.com/goods/layin - for awesome tips and a link to information on the brew. |
Here are the results for this week of recording:
Our chilliest section of the garden remains the area near the pecan tree and picnic table. All beds in this section remain under 70 degrees with Ken being one of our "Chilly Nilly" prize winners at 65.3. This section actually has an advantage over others in the garden when growing cool weather vegetables in the spring as they can hold onto the chillier ground temperatures a bit longer. This gives them the opportunity for a greater length of time harvesting before the heat takes over and causes the plants to end their life cycles. The overall average for this section as of Sunday is 69.0 degrees Fahrenheit.
The section of the garden that houses our special needs area is still the most consistent with their temperatures running from 67.1 to 74.2 degrees. The average for this section is now at 70.2 as of Sunday evening. When ground temperatures in this area climb, they tend to fluctuate less with the ups and downs that are common of early spring weather. The largest advantage in this section is that both soil life and plant growth experience less stress due to fluctuating ground temperatures, which does go a long way in keeping plants healthy and productive once they get started.
The largest surprise was the warmest area of the garden at the last recording is now the second to the coldest when dividing the garden up into four sections. It also houses one of our "Chilly Nilly" prize winners (Mark) at bed 45. The temperatures in this uppermost right-hand section closest to the orchard have an overall average of 69.1 degrees. The lowest is Mark at 65.3 and the warmest is 72.3 degrees. In looking back at last year's recordings this scenario was the same as another bed in that section was also a "Chilly Nilly" prize winner. It looks as if when looking towards the future at garden trends, this area has a distinct advantage for winning our "Nilly" prizes, grin!
Our last section on the right hand side of the gate closest to Dallas Hwy is still the warmest area overall. In fact, our "Garden Hotties" remain the warmest bed in the garden at 77.4 degrees. The temperatures in this section range from a low of 67.2 to a high of 77.4 degrees. The average for this section is 71.7 overall. Many beds in this section have the advantage with the temperatures needed to support "tomato territory" and once the nights stabilize and the beds are prepped they will be off and running.
I am hopeful that this next little spell will be the last of the cold weather. It is always a nice reminder though to respect those last frost dates for our area as planting too early can cause quite a bit of damage to our plants. I will continue to keep us all posted!
A great big CONGRATULATIONS to Mark and Ken, you are sooooooo cool! I'll drop the prizes by the shed my next trip over.
Happy Gardening,
Denise, Beds 25 & 29
