I'm still a novice myself but my bulb foliage isn't poking through the ground at an even rate. Daffs, Tulips, Hyacinth, Iris Reticulata, Crocus, Pushkinia, Squill...some of each are up and some of each not...right in the same beds or containers. I'm not privy to the inner workings of each bulb and they seem to have their own individual internal clocks. No doubt much more experienced bulb people can say with more certainty or "informed maybe" what's going on. The linked Bulb Guide says you might need to prechill some bulbs in Zone 7 but don't know if it's necessity since I don't garden there. If you scroll down on the linked page you'll see the optimal planting times for Spring blooming bulbs. Don't know what kind of Tulips you have but different varieties bloom at different times...early, mid and late Spring. I should've had my bulbs in the ground by November but had some still in bags at end of December so planted them. Some are coming up and others aren't. Better to plant than toss as long as you can work soil (or use containers which I do with some bulbs) as they might give you bloom next year if some don't bloom this year. You just have to make sure they have good drainage so they don't rot until next next year. Last year in late Spring I took a lot of bulbs out of beds to rearrange some things and containers since I needed them to plant annuals. I carefully tipped bulbs out of containers onto newspaper and took them out of soil with as much top growth and roots as I could manage. The Tulip bulbs were mostly rotted so had to toss them...didn't know about keeping soil very well draining then. Daff bulbs were mostly fine. I got an old laundry basket with side holes from my recycling center, lined it with newspaper and "planted" the bulbs in the basket using the container potting mixed lightened with some perlite. Kept watering until foliage died back and then just moved entire basket up against house for rest of year until December. When I tipped the laundry basket over the Daff bulbs had LONG roots. I scurried around to find a place to replant them and just hoped for the best. Turns out there were a few Tulip & Hyacinth bulbs in there too but most have started to throw up foliage. I was lucky enough to have much of those long roots intact. Just luck and desperation...no horticultural sure footedness here. :) Still, it's going to be "wait and see" unless someone with Zone 7 experience can tell you definitively if any of your bulbs needed prechilling...if you didn't buy prechilled bulbs to start with. Good luck...hope something sprouts for you this year. Here is a link that might be useful: Ames Bulb Guide

I've done the same thing, planted zukes (1st time, 3 in an 11 gallon tub, 1 in a 5 gal tub) back in May only to have them die horribly at the slimy mercy of a SVB wormy thing (*ick*). Replanted in mid-July and the plants TOOK OFF, now at about 5 weeks they are blooming and the one in the small tub has 2 tiny zucchini! I keep checking for SVBs, even tho it should be too late in the year. I'm hoping to harvest quite a few, even tho the tomatoes and peppers seem to be pretty much done for the summer. Ziya

Hi Keith, Sorry if this is kinda wordy. From what I have read and in my own experience Garlic needs a long cool ( or cold for some cultivars ) season to form it's roots before it starts to grow above ground leaves. It needs large leaves and well established roots to form individual cloves instead of just the onion-like bulb. When planted in the spring the garlic is pretty easy to dig because the roots are like a ( very healthy ) green onion, but, when Fall planted I find the roots are deep and thick some are alomst a foot long and require a shovel and deep digging to harvest. This is why for the garlic bulb to seperate into cloves it needs to be planted in fall. In spring when the plant gets going ( by mid March to early April they should be several inches tall ) you can spray liquid ( N ) fertilizer on the leaves every 2 weeks or so until May, this will make the leaves grow big. You stop spraying Nitrogen ( I use fish emulsion + kelp ) in May so that the plant diverts energy into fattening up the cloves. Depending on the variety you are growing and what your weather is in June you will probably be harvesting sometime in July ( maybe late June ) Harvest the garlic when about half of your leaves have browned or you have 3 - 5 green leaves left. Spring planted garlic usually will not seperate into cloves but instead forms the solid bulb like( a scallion/green onion ) you descibed. These are still good to eat but just don't resemble the garlic we are used to seeing, and yes you can plant them again now ( if the ground isn't frozen )and harvest next year. Generally you want to plant 4 - 6 weeks before the ground freezes solid in your area. I planted some in Mid October and some I will plant this week/weekend. I am in a similar zone to you and we had one night in the low 20s already but then a couple days in the 60s so our ground is not frozen yet ( That is usually early December for here ) A good ( great ) book is Growing Great Garlic it answers almost any question you will ever have about garlic, including it's history. Good Luck

Next year, look for Tiny Tim seeds. It can be grown in a styrofoam coffee cup and placed on a windowsill when producing. Tiny Tim has a good taste. Other dwarf cherry tomatoes taste terrible (Tumbling Tom, Red Robin, etc.). If you put Tiny Tim in a gallon pot, it gets to be about 18 inches tall, and produces quite a lot. In a coffee cup, it is only 6 inchrs tall and does not have that many tomatoes, but the little plant is covered. Unfortunately, it is determinant, so it stops producing after it gives you a windfall. It is also fussy about care. Wants daily watering and regular fertilizer. Does not tolerate full sun outside. Start the seeds yourself. Then send them to your "suburban place" when transplanted into their pots. When they start producing, put them on your windowsill, and you will have tomatoes to eat. I did that for years when I lived in an apartment.