We’ve made our way through March, rain, Ides, & all, & find ourselves coming close to Easter, with all it’s flowers, greenery & gardening. One very common aspect among the attitude of gardeners that I’ve come to expect after 41 years of interacting with them from an educational & vocational sense is their lack of patience.

The primary indicator of impatience is trying to hasten the advent of Spring or the last frost-free date. One should always remember that the last frost-free date is merely an average & might be 10 days late or 2 weeks early.

Anyhow, many folks put out tender crop plants a bit early, surely planning on protecting them if it does happen to freeze. But alas, many of the same well-intending folks, either forget to watch the weather forecast, or get busy & don’t take the time to cover their pepper & tomato plants from the freezing weather. Both of those afore-mentioned plants, in case you’ve had this experience, are not very cold hardy.

On the other hand, there are several early crops that can withstand some frigid temps. such as onions, certain greens, cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Kale, etc.

One thing the early planters can be assured of is that the plant suppliers, such as the local bedding plant shops, flower shops, feed stores, & grocery stores, will be glad to see you coming back for more plants following a normal or late freeze.

If you happen to like vegetable gardening, but feel inexperienced, there are several things you can do to garden in the right sense. One of the best & friendly methods is to find a gardener that knows what he’s doing and emulate his activities or, better yet, stop by & visit with them over the fence as to some of their well learned secrets.

Most gardeners are affable folks & willing to share their experiences. There are also several sources of helpful information pertaining to gardening such as the local County Agent’s office, local nursery facilities, feed stores, the Library, and just about any member of the San Saba Garden Club. All these folks like to garden & are great sources of good information. Don’t be shy about asking. Heck, I’ve been in the gardening & landscape information business for a very long time and learn something new each year.

Some of the most avid gardeners that I’ve noticed in my years around these parts are Skeeter Grumbles, Tennessee Berryhill, Willy Ray Harvell, Don Vangorp, Pecan Grove Rd.; Ragsdale’s Freedom Acres, ol’ Pecan Grove Rd.; Bruce Moore, China Creek, and going up 9th St. , you have Arnie’s on the left & on 8th St., Pluto on the right before you cross the tracks. Sam Center, Babyhead, is a tremendous tomato culturist, and J&J Byrd’s “King’s Crossing Farms” on the River up at Sloan is a real treat.

The County Extension Office has sponsored a Master Gardeners series of educational activities the past several years, and used to have some fact sheets & pamplets relating to titled “Grow your own Groceries” that supplied helpful info. on nearly all aspects of gardening. If all else fails, you can stop by Hyatt’s Produce shop on the Llano Hwy, & get locally grown fruits & veggies that fit whatever taste you might have. Other than that, I’d imagine that the Mayor & yrs. truly probably need to get our tiller tuned out around————Harkeyville!!!!