The unusually warm weather gets a lot of attention and rightly so. But you need to be careful that you don't fool yourself by thinking that seeds and transplants can be "pushed" forward due to this spate of warm weather.
The thought is tempting. I did this a few years ago with string beans and got a sub par first crop. So, I'm holding the course.
The problem with this warm weather is that it is pushing other things too such as diseases and pests. So instead of getting that nice reprieve that early Spring gives you from those kinds of problems, you now have to instantly gear up for them right from the start, as if you were planting in May or June. Already I have seen cabbage moths and cucumber beetles and those crops aren't even in the ground yet!
The one saving grace has been that the humidity is low and the wind warm and active. This keeps the incidence of fungal diseases low which is good. But it also means drier soil so you have to keep that water on the transplants constantly. We just hooked up a new drip system and it works like a charm! Just in time too as the lettuce and spinach are not used to being this hot and dry. We probably lost some spinach due to these conditions but that's the way it goes!
Today we are planting radishes, beets, carrots, peas, more lettuce and spinach. It will be the first direct seeding of the season. To me, this is like the opening day of something special. Although I prefer to use transplants because of the energy a seed needs to get going, there is no other feeling than seeing a row of seeds pop through the ground and start to emerge in spring.
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