Let nature be my guide

I often struggle with timing. It starts to be warm and sunny, and I want to plant all my warm season plants. I used to do just that. Last year I read it should be at least 50 at night before lots of them should be planted, and 60 for some.  In 2024 I waited and it worked well. Even though I planted much later than my normal everything grew well, and produced earlier than ever. This year has been hard because we have 50 degree night temps for a few  nights at a time, then they dip down again.
One day I'm in the garden and I see a volunteer tomato. If that's not a sign it's warm enough for tomatoes I don't know what is. It still seems a bit cool for squash, but I have a volunteer growing like crazy, so I guess it's time.
My dinosaur Kale is huge, and blooming like crazy. I have to decide if I want to cut it way back (I've had good luck with this in the past) or just start new. I know I'm going to do one or the other, so I let it bloom, there's not a lot of flowers in the garden at the moment, so the bee's are enjoying them.  Then I noticed a small kale under the giant one. Mother nature has helped me make my decision once again. I cut down the mature plant. It won't be long before before it's big enough to enjoy.
I have a bed full of peas. For some reason they aren't very good. All the other peas in garden are the same kind and amazing. Why, I'm not sure, maybe not as much water?  Soil is missing something? Anyway I hate to remove them in peak production. Maybe if I water more they will be better. On the other hand I have lots of summer veggies that could go in that space.  We have 3 miserable days of high winds. The only damage was the teepee I built over the peas. At first I tried to prop it up, but then I decided to clean up the mess and move on.
These were pretty obvious, but I decided to share them, because it got me thinking. It really pays to not only spend time in the garden, but to take time and "be in the garden" to listen to what it's telling me. So often I'm so focused on what needs to be done, I forget to slow down and enjoy my garden. To use all my senses, and pay attention to what it's telling me.
Have a great day, and remember to take time to enjoy the miracle of nature.

I think you're right.  Thanks for sharing your experiences with us, it helps others learn too.  I planted my pumpkin seeds and my cantalope seed in late April.  I was going to plant them in early May, but my MIL said hurry up, same with my serano peppers.  I wanted to try your method of early May for those things, we'll see if late April was okay or if I shouldn't have caved into my MIL.  They were all seeds from things we got at the grocery store, so we'll see what happens.  Only one of my pea seeds "took" and its too late to plant more now, last year I tried to plant snap peas too late, May, and they grew and then shriveled from the heat.  So we'll just have limited snap peas, but better than none which is what happened last year haha.

-"One day I'm in the garden and I see a volunteer tomato. If that's not a sign it's warm enough for tomatoes I don't know what is."

Just because a seed from a previous year, sprouts, doesn't mean it won't die later if it gets too cold. Sometimes "listening to Nature" means having spent enough time (years) knowing the weather cycles of your area. Most often folk lore and guidebooks are based on real reason and experience. Paying attention to what others before you have learned, is also "listening.

Riona I don't know where you live. I'm in N. California zone 9b. For us peas are a fall crop, or very early spring, almost late winter. I struggle with peas too. My issue is critters eat the seedlings. I planted 3 or 4 times last year. I finally covered them, but by then they grew about 6 or 8 inches and just hung out till spring. Good luck, and keep trying, eventually you will figure out what works in your area.

Jim to true. I'm spoiled in zone 9b. I could get away with planting much sooner. I've just found later works better for me. It has happened, but very unusual to get a frost even in April for us. Thanks

Zone 8b, so we can't do as much year-round gardening as you can, but our frosts aren't super heavy, so some things can survive either in stasis or grow wayyyyy slowly overwinter.

Go by the phases of the moon. Once the equinox comes around the moon is what moves the waters around like the white around the yolk inside an egg. That's what determines your frost dates. Above ground plants plant new moon to full, root crops plant them between full and new when the moon is waning.

If you plant by the moon, you won't have problems with critters. That's what I found. They only eat plants that are out of tune with nature or sick or dying. And plant some for them.

In my area, last frost date is around mother's day. I went by the moon cycles, I was off by about a week. I got the seeds in we got about a weeks worth of rain and I see seedlings coming up. You can transplant when the moon waning too. Start seedlings for above root crops on a new moon. Works every time.