Well , maybe

[Terry Coombs]

someday I'll actually get strawberries to grow . This is the 2nd time I've tried , and I'll admit that WM isn't the best source . Twice now I've purchased and planted berry starts with the same results . They apparently rot in the ground and never come up . I guess if I really want strawberries I'm going to have to get a couple of plants and let 'em spread on their own . I'm wondering if the cold and wet weather we've had is the reason ... both of my 'maters have frost damage , though both seem to be recovering and putting out new gowth . And the green onions planted the same day are doing great . Also , got my freebie tiller up here now and after a bit of ignition system cleanup it runs fine . Just won't transmit power to the worm gear shaft because of a worn drive belt . This is an old HWI unit with an engagement lever on the handles , even has a reverse ! The guy gave it to me while I was rebuilding his sheds because it was "dead" and he doesn't fix stuff , just pays someone else or buys new and it was "too old" .

[songbird]

cold wet weather isn't their best climate for growing, but it shouldn't kill them either.

put a note up on craigslist wanted for plants and you may find someone more local with plenty of plants they'll be willing to give away.

or you should be able to find actively growing potted plants at a greenhouse, call around, they aren't that expensive.

songbird

[Terry Coombs]

I plan on trying to find a couple of potted plants in the next few days . Just today got the big tiller running , gotta break up and condition some more space .

[David Hare-Scott]

Established strawbs don't do much until the ground warms up after the last frost. I wouldn't try starting new crowns until then.

D

[Terry Coombs]

We've been told numerous time by numerous locals that the last frost is

*never* later than April 15th ... yet it froze/frosted here at least 3 nights in the last 3 weeks - as the blackened leaves on my tomatoes can attest . I noticed today that one guy on the highway out to our place has nothing green showing yet . It has been unusually cold this spring , been commented on a lot on rec.birds .

[David Hare-Scott]

The times they are a changing....

D

[Terry Coombs]

It's that damned Global Warming that's causing all this cold weather I tell ya !!

[songbird]

Terry Coombs wrote: ...

for some parts of the continents this will be true.

songbird

[Farm1]

Ithink it's easier to think of it as being 'climate change'. Here in the southern hemisphere where I live, we are having unseasonal y warm weather. By now we've usually had lots of killer frosts and the fires have been lit and would be a regular feature of life for the next 4 months. So far it's almost balmy.

[Terry Coombs]

That comment was meant to be funny/sarcastic/tongue-in-cheek ... I admit/agree that the climate is changing , I'm just not sure we humans can take full responsibility for it .

[Ecnerwal]

Not my experience, and I'm a good deal further north (43°). Both types I have have had green on them right through the winter, and are pushing out new leaves now.

Both were also started from seed.

The bundles of suckers are often pretty sad - still, giving them a bit more time before ripping them out is wise - 100% loss is not all that common. They are often very dried out, which can't help.

Spring here is fairly normal, which is much better than last year, where everything got excited by record heat in March and early April only to be frozen solid in late April. No tree fruit at all.

And yes, global average higher temperatures can (and likely will) result in local variations that are colder than normal. The system becomes less stable. Most of the area suffering a cold spring now was roasting with record heat all last summer...

[David Hare-Scott]

When was your last frost?

D

[Billy]

You mean like acid rain, and the ozone hole?

How about the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre which in 1997, a couple of estimates put at containing 3 million tons of plastic. That is the best part of the story, it only gets worse. When it comes to fouling a nest, we could teach rats a thing or two.

[Farm1]

Well I'm not a scientist. Since I'm not, I have to take heed of the advice given by those scientists who are interested, involved and engaged in the areas of climate research. Their advice overwhelmingly says that humans are responsible.

[Terry Coombs]

Last I heard some of the most vocal about global warming were caught falsifying data to support their theories . IMO that ain't science . As I said , humans play a part , but you have to realize that this big 'ol ball of dirt we live on is itself a living organism . We are a small but influential part of that overall organism ... kinda like that e. coli in your gut .

[Ecnerwal]

We probably haven't had it yet. Average May 15, and average does mean later is quite possible. Snow on May 19 in memory (broke a lot of trees since the leaves were out - lilacs were in bloom.) "Safe for basil" is more like memorial day.

Historically, frost will not bother the strawberry leaves, but may bother the blossoms out at the time. Blossoms are starting to show up now. It's probably been a week or two since the "most recent but not expected to be the last" frost. Monday morning seems like a good bet for the next one.

[Billy]

Nope, the biosphere, where there is life, is a very small part of the planet. Most of the planet is as dead as a door nail. You must be remembering those old Captain Marvel comic books where the planet was alive, and conscious.

[Farm1]

This is an international ng, so what is the date of that?

[Terry Coombs]

Memorial Day in the US is usually the last monday in May . This year it's the 27th .

[Farm1]

They weren't 'caught' doing any such thing. What was put around the net on dubious climate sceptic's sites was 'claims' that data had been falsified. You can read all about it here:

I

The scientific evidence says overwhelmingly that human activity is contributing to climate change. It's that simple.

I also notice that just today that is yet again supported by the latest evidence out of Hawaii.