Can I plant now?

According to my limited knowledge, it's way too early to plant anything outside. It's still 8 weeks until average last frost here. But.....I've already got stuff growing in the garden. I've got little carrots coming up that are leftovers from ones I missed picking last year, plus I've got garlic coming up from last fall. So would it be safe to plant at least carrots and alliums already? For reference, I can shove a stick several inches into the soil, so it's not frozen.

To be sure, that is only one way to find out!

Garlic is pretty hardy, but I have never tried to test my carrots against any frost. As long as you go into it with a mind that you might not miss these plants if a killing frost comes through, I don't see any harm. In the best of cases, you get a bonus yield this year. In the worst of cases, you resow in a few weeks.

I like to gamble in the spring, I have been surprised with things such as tomatoes and cucumbers taking off early.

I agree with Timothy. You have nothing to lose except some seeds. I always push the edges of the seasons. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. When it does work it is a real treat!

Its all about the soil temps.

Carrots need at least 45degF, 65 is best...

Nebraska soil temps are more like 34degF according to https://www.weather.gov/ncrfc/lmi_soiltemperaturedepthmaps

If you have a lot of seed to spare, go ahead, it will wait for warmer temps. You can speed up the warming with cloches, clear plastic, temporary cold frames, etc. The only danger is seed will rot in cold water-saturated soil before it can germinate so factor in your soil moisture and rain forecast.

Garlic can be planted anytime from August to April in your climate. You probably have cold-acclimated phenotypes, but some extra mulch before hard freezes are a good idea. My elephant garlic got a little freeze damage on the outer leaves, Music hardneck in a more protected spot survived 10degF unscathed.

My garden will attract every herbivore in the neighborhood to come feast on any early plantings, so I have to cover with wire cages weighted on the edges with rocks and an apron of wire 1/2 meter out to prevent groundhogs digging under.

yes, plant ...especially right before rain is forecast

blankets are amazing for warm day/frosty night kind of weather ...they won't bother you seedlings, and can give your spring garden a big head start if you have time to cover in the evenings and uncover in the mornings ...or just leave covered thru a cold snap

In this case "there is only try"  -  general recommended sprouting temperature for seeds is 18°C  (60°F approx)   some seeds like less, some more.  So. give it a go - some will surprise you for sure.

Radishes, carrots and lettuce can be planted now. I sometimes put them out in February when we get a brief warm spell. They will sit there through snow and freezes until there is a long enough warm period to sprout. The sprouts are pretty tough and will survive mere frosts. A hard freeze might kill them, but not a frost.

Down here in sunny Texas, the mesquite trees have not budded out yet.

To me that is a sign that it is too early to plant outside.

Weather folks are predicting high north winds this weekend, again no ....

Timothy Norton wrote:I like to gamble in the spring, I have been surprised with things such as tomatoes and cucumbers taking off early.

To support your gambling habit: 😅 some time ago I found that the NOAA had detailed records of frost/freeze probabilities for pretty much every location in the US, but it was ridiculously hard to access.

I recently pulled all that (and more) together and made it into a website, with everything organized by zip code:

https://ultimategardencalendar.com/

So, in my area the Old Farmer's Almanac says my last frost date is April 5, which I think is based on a 30% chance of 32°F. But looking at NOAA data, I could push that back to March 31 for only a 40% chance of a light freeze. And as early as March 5 there's only a 30% chance of a 28°F moderate freeze!

Anyway, I hope that's helpful.

I went for it. Today I planted a packet of carrots, some lettuce, celery, sugar snap peas, broccoli, turnips, and bok choy. I'll report back with how it all does.