I planted three big tomato plants that I put under wall of water covers. I also planted six little ones without the wall of water things. I figured they wouldn't be a great loss if there was a frost. I have many more in a big stock tank that I can cover that has protection from the wind and strong sun. I have them covered tonight because it is dipping into the 40's.

I got .6 of an inch Sat. that makes me happy. My yard now has enough blooming and looking good that I don't feel so ashamed. In spring my lawn is weeds and chickweed is thick. It looks like I do nothing and I am outside all the time. Now when I mow it looks better and I have areas where the weeds have been pulled and ground mulched. I still have a jungle but there are pretty spots.

I have a few small areas that I've cleaned up but my yard looks like a jungle for the most part too. The weeds grow so fast this time of year, it's hard to keep up.

They've lowered our lows a bit for tonight and tomorrow night. Right now NOAA's forecast says 38 for tonight and 39 for tomorrow night. Just wanted to warn everyone. I'm not sure that's cold enough to do any damage but I've got a few containers I will bring inside for the night just in case.

My yard is full of dandelions too as are a lot of yards I see. I didn't connect that it may have been the hot summer last year.

I'm getting some tomatoes today but will wait till next week to plant them.

The only thing I'm really worried about are all the buds getting frozen. Everything is budded out and about to flower, some of which only bloom in spring, and I'd hate to lose those flowers to cold.

I planted all my tomatoes yesterday (Tuesday) and today will plant the peppers. The poor things are in their pots on the driveway anyway, on these cool nights. Today I'm planting two peppers to a big pot. The others will go in the raised beds.

It's very cool this morning and on my morning inspection, everything sure looked perky. And no mosquitoes buzzing around, for sure. I think the last frost was a few days before St. Patrick's Day.
Sunny

Ok, I've cleaned out the greenhouse and moved the tropicals outside. NO MORE FROST! I insist upon it!

Sandy

We have had some tomatoes out for a couple of weeks. Got sucked in by the beautiful 80 degree days for so long. Have covered them for the last 5 or 6 nights with brown paper sacks and they seem to be doing well. Some blooms are coming on and look healthy so far. Forcast is around 50 and above at night for quite awhile. Hope the plants are okay as the soil temperature has dropped from 62 to 56 as of this morning but shouldn't go any lower. I have my fingers crossed I don't have to start all over.

I read somewhere that tomatoes stop growing at 51 degrees F. Oh well -- they have the rest of the summer, so they are planted and slightly mulched for now.
Sunny

Well, I won't be planting tomatoes until at least May 10th. It is hard enough for me to get them in the ground once.....don't want any do overs. Also I raise all my own plants and don't want to have to buy any. I start the seed late so now they are still very tiny, maybe 3 inches. I do see mother nature is sending up tomato seedlings from last years tomato patch. It will be interesting to see how they do and compare.

I mowed day before yesterday hoping for all this predicted rain....we got a small shower this morning. Every body keep aware of the possibility of tornadoes for Sunday!!!

Way off topic :

Yea and I just got a membership card from Farm Bureau because my insurance company is being "protected" by another company due to extreme losses in the Joplin tornado. So if my house blows away, how good is my insurance? I got something a while back and I just thought one company was buying the other but now I am wondering what to do.

It's kind of hard to check up on insurance companies to make sure they're really paying claims and make sure they're not on the verge of bankruptcy but I guess if you did enough looking on the internet, you could find some info. With the economy the way it is and all the disasters we've had, I don't think a person should just assume.
We go through Great Southern Insurance who covers 19 different companies and will check those 19 for the lowest rates. I don't know if that's available in Joplin but maybe something similar if not. I like having a middle-man to keep an eye on our insurance company and make sure they're paying claims. At least I hope it works that way.

Helen, Missouri Farm Bureau is a great company. If I were you, I'd call the Neosho Farm Bureau Service Center and ask what it all means for you, personally.

I think MFB is, in effect, re-insuring your own company.
Sunny

Thanks Sunny that is an excellent idea. It is better to act than to just worry. With all these tornadoes, I wonder what our insurance will cost. Mine went up after the 2008 tornado; I don't think the recent one is factored in yet.