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What a Difference a Day Makes

April 7th, 2009

What a difference a day makes in the weather here in Ohio. On Sunday it was sunny and warm with the high around 65-70. Yesterday it was cold and snowing with the lows in the 20’s – BRRRRR.
forecast
This is not uncommon in Ohio, it happens quite often in the spring and in the fall. We can even have fairly cold weather in the middle of the summer.
radar
This is the main reason I have a cold frame and the reason we decided to build hoop houses on our raised beds.
lettuce-in-cold-frame
My little lettuces & beets are tucked warmly inside the cold frame, it allows me to plant things out much earlier than I would if I didn’t have it. The good thing is that weather will be warming up this week just in time for us to get our bees (that happens on Wed).

Do you live an area with rapidly changing weather? What do you do to extend the season?

14 Comments to “What a Difference a Day Makes”
  1. Mangochild on April 7, 2009 at 5:30 am

    I do wish the weather would make up its mind. While the temps haven’t been bad (move from the mid 60s to the mid/low 50s) they don’t tend to stay there too long. Its more the dreary rain/damp feeling that gets to me. Extending the season, well, nothing yet. I hope to get my act together for row covers soon, though that is being delayed due to my admitted lack of direction or sense of how to make it work without them flapping all over the garden or smashing the seedlings as the wind comes up and blows it around.

    Mangochild’s last blog post.. Food Storage: Early April Status Update

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  2. ChristyACB on April 7, 2009 at 6:17 am

    I live in coastal Virginia. My swings aren’t as bad as yours but they are just as annoying! I used raised beds to account for tropical cyclone flooding and winds and to warm the soil early. Occassionally I will put up the plastic on the hoop houses but rarely.

    ChristyACB’s last blog post.. Do you thin potatoes?

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  3. Daphne on April 7, 2009 at 7:47 am

    Our temperatures have been weirdly static this year. They have been lower than usually, but not jumping around much. Usually we get a winter thaw, not this winter. Things slowly, much more slowly than a usual year, defrosted in March. We had mostly 40s and 50s at the end of March. In April we warmed up a bit but are still getting mid 40s and 50s and flirting with freezing at nights, but not usually getting there. We usually get spikes and drops. It is very strange.

    Daphne’s last blog post.. Monday Seedling Update

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  4. Julia on April 7, 2009 at 8:52 am

    We have the same problem in Boston! I’ve been here for 15 years, and I think it’s snowed every year (save 2) in April. I have a collapsible greenhouse, but it won’t cover everything I’ve started. It does help if I decide to be brave and start tomatoes in May!

    Julia’s last blog post.. Can You Taste HFCS?

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  5. Allie on April 7, 2009 at 9:35 am

    We’re in Rochester, and we’ve got a blanket of snow on the ground right now. It’s making me so mad! We had an early winter too — snow in November and now snow in April. It’s ridiculous to be mad at the weather, but it’s making me irate. :)

    Allie’s last blog post.. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

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  6. Dan on April 7, 2009 at 10:24 am

    We are having the same weather here in Southern Ontario. I took some photos yesterday of the little bit of slushy snow we had for my current post. About 3 hours after that it started to really snow and now we have almost an inch of the actual white stuff on the ground. My pansies are buried but they should be fine, I hope. Looks like we will not warm up again until Thursday. I have brought most things inside from the cold frame and I don’t think I will put them out again until Wednesday when the sun comes out again. It seem as long as the sun comes out the cold frame gets nice and warm but if its cloudy it will almost match the outside temp.

    Dan’s last blog post.. Snow, I thought it was spring.

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  7. Jen on April 7, 2009 at 10:37 am

    I have some relatives in Sandusky – is that near you? Sometimes we joke that their weather ends up here (I live near NYC) a day or two after it’s there. Lots of times it is the same. I use our school greenhouse to start seeds because I don’t have good light at home. Nice to meet you and your blog!

    Jen’s last blog post.. School Garden in Springtime

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    • Susy on April 7, 2009 at 12:27 pm

      Sandusky is north and west of us, but we get pretty much the same weather, they just get it a few hours before we do.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  8. Sande on April 7, 2009 at 10:51 am

    That looks good enough to eat! I don’t have anything outside yet but some peas and they are finally just starting to sprout. I plan to make at least a temporary cold frame though.

    Sande’s last blog post.. Sunday Silence 3

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    • Susy on April 7, 2009 at 12:30 pm

      It is good enough to eat, we had a salad for dinner last night. YUM YUM.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  9. Cheryl on April 7, 2009 at 12:12 pm

    I should be used to the crazy weather by now living in Chicago, but it’s still irritating. My mood seed to change with the weather. I’m sure everybody around me wants it to stay warm too so they don’t have to deal with my cold weather mood.

    I’m discovering that row covers/hoop houses are helpful.

    Cheryl’s last blog post.. Mother Nature isn’t so bad after all.

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  10. kristin on April 7, 2009 at 5:45 pm

    What? I can’t hear you over THE BLOWING SNOW.

    It was 60 degrees on Sunday. Does that answer your question?

    kristin’s last blog post.. Living as a Slightly-Less-Evolved Being

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  11. Marc @ GardenDesk on April 8, 2009 at 12:15 am

    We’ve even got the same weather system here in Northern Kentucky. Unfortunately all of the peach and cherry blooms are in full swing. I hope some of them were pollinated before they froze.

    I have to rely on coldframes and hoophouses like you do if I want to get a jump on the season.

    Marc @ GardenDesk’s last blog post.. Planting Out The Onions

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    • Susy on April 8, 2009 at 9:13 am

      I know, I hope all the cherries & peaches pull through. I don’t think we’re that far along yet, but it’s not rare to freeze all the cherry blossoms here in Ohio, apples too.

      Reply to Susy's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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