Are we there yet, are we there yet? If you have ever traveled with children, you have heard this question a million times. These days though, now that my children have children, we travel in different cars, ha ha.

The question I keep getting in spring is, is it time yet, is it time yet? If I had the answer to that question, I would probably be a millionaire by now. But sadly, I don't have the answer to that question. Even though the weather has been favorable this spring, anything can happen. I have seen weather go from eighty degrees on Saturday to waking up Sunday morning to eight inches of snow, so crazy spring weather does happen.

This year, in my professional opinion, I think we may have an early spring. I am starting to plant cold crops (broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts) in my garden and I have pumpkins, zucchini and cucumbers already growing in pots in my greenhouse. As the pumpkins, zucchini and cucumbers get bigger later in the season, I'll probably bring them out and just sit the pots in my garden. The pots are large enough for them to grow in all seasons, but because of the deer around, I have to keep them in the greenhouse or in the garden.

I had some perennials this past week that were sitting in a little red wagon by my front door that I was going to plant the next day and when I went out to plant them, the deer had conveniently pruned them for me. Luckily, they are perennials and will come back up. If they were annuals, they would be goners. I don't mind taking a chance on the weather as I am home to cover my plants if we are expected to get some cold nighttime temperatures.

Likewise, our local customers that are home every night can also start planting. But for the weekend warriors that come up Friday and go back Sunday, you simply have to wait until the weather is a little safer, usually around the end of May. Of course, by this time, many of the best plants are already running out of stock as most of our growers come from areas south of Monticello. This presents a problem every year as our season starts just a little bit later than everyone else.

Garden centers in Middletown and Newburgh are stocked full of plants already, as those areas are probably frost-free from here on out. We might still get a frost but the ten-day forecast is looking pretty favorable, even for places like Claryville, which is probably the coldest place in Sullivan County I can get a forecast for. Claryville may get a frost Saturday night, but after that, even they are looking good with temperatures. So, the time is close at hand that you can get back into the garden. In the meantime, finish all those preseason projects like liming, fertilizing, or putting down a new layer of mulch. I just re-mulched my front flower beds to freshen them up for spring, and here is a tip. Always buy one more bag than you think you will need. It seems no matter how much I get, I am always one bag short.

Even stone beds need some freshening up from time to time, usually every five years or so. Stone doesn't decompose like bark mulch will, but it does erode and settle into the ground over time, so just add a small amount to the top to spruce up the color and freshen it up. And whatever you do - don't mow your lawn until late May. “No Mow May” - the bees will thank you.