TA>(from a garden guru on GMA) the minimum temperature of the ground
TA>is more importent then the air temperature above it, when a new
TA>garden planting is being made.
  Hi Ack,
  I've seen 90*F temperatures at Parry Sound, Ont in April, with ice
  still floating on the river. (That's "up-north" to me.)
  Wanna skinny dip? (No thanks! :-))
  Somehow we tend to overlook soil temps, but that's why raised beds can
  start the gardening season up to 3 weeks early. All my early-set
  tomatoes are planted either on top of a ridge, or on the south-facing
  side of a "hill" of dirt. This is the equivalent of moving the garden
  200 miles south from here. Quite a difference. :-)
TA>Just in case somebody else missed it; that temperature is 50%F.
  That's OK for most peas, but the instructions in a comprehensive
  Stokes catalogue warned against planting certain varieties till the
  soil warmed up more. Now I seen Green Arrow has been replaced by a
  more cold-tolerant type.
  Removal of all mulches as much as possible, and an early tilling on
  suitably-dry soil will speed up the heating of the soil in the top 4-6
  inches.
TA>So while I wait for the n'orester to pass I think I will look
TA>for a thermometer I can bury in my garden.
  You may get a real surprise if you keep a diary of both soil and air
  temps, which I urge you to do, Ack. At least till settled summer
  weather arrives. Evaporation of moisture from soggy ground in a warm
  drying wind may cool the temperature as much as 10 degrees below what
  you might expect. And tomatoes planted in such chilly ground may still
  be shivering, while the sun bakes their leaves and stems. For those
  always pushing the date for inground planting (like me), that may
  explain why my early-planted tomatoes don't apparently grow at all for
  a couple of weeks. The ridge planting gets away from this "stalled"
  growth.
                    ...Sandra...
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