Weather really does play a big role in our lives.

We haven't had the moisture we are accustomed to getting in Southeastern Arizona and we are having to water our gardens more. We can't kid anyone. It is hot-and dry!

When we look at a weather map of the United States, the weather in other areas has been cold. So cold, in fact, that spring is a thing of the past and in most areas the residents will jump from winter to summer without it.

So what?

Well, on the seed packet is printed how many growing days are needed to harvest a mature crop. This information is there for a reason, and we had better read it. The people with cold weather cannot plant crops that have long growing seasons because if they do, a fall frost might kill the growth of the plant, and they would lose both the plant as well as its fruit.

Soil needs to be warm in order to germinate the seeds that are planted in it. I don't know if this is taken into consideration in the number of growing days printed on the seed packet. If it isn't, then the number of days to harvest will be longer.

Sowing the seeds in the ground is great, but it seems to take forever before the seedlings emerge. In fact, we often wonder if the seedlings will ever appear and think about planting more seeds. Then, just when we're about to give up on them, the sprouts appear.

We should take the time to read labels. We should know what was planted. We can throw away the seed packet and use a note book or 3x5 cards, or keep the seed packet. When the next planting year rolls around, we will know what variety was planted, whether it provided what was wanted, or it failed miserably. We will have something to go on.

Knowing the length of time involved with that particular crop gives an idea of when it was ready to be picked and when it should be pulled out. Perhaps we were able to plant another crop with the leftover seed.

As you can see, record keeping will benefit you a great deal!