2) Do not keep adding soil to your bulb onions. You want them to crown. Hopefully you planted them about 2" deep. 4) I add green onions to well over half my kitchen repetoire when I have them. In cooked dishes I add them at the very end. They are wonderful in salsa, all oriental noodle dishes, (most other oriental dishes), mexican cuisine, salads; they add a freshness and a subtle kick to just about everything.

Woo Hoo! and I hope you had a nice Mother's Day, too! Lisa is absolutely right about winter sowing but we won't get into that right now. What did you start your seeds in? Peat pots, peat pellets?? If you started them in the peat pellets that you soak and they swell up into cute little balls of soil, that would be great for your morning glories since they don't really like to be transplanted. If you started them in soil that you placed in tiny pots, just be careful when you transplant them, not to disturb the roots much. Also morning glories are best grown in lean soil, so unamended, non fertilized soil is best. It's a lil late for snapdragons as they like it cool. Once the weather warms up, they don't like it too much and will get kinda raggedy. But persist, water them well, and they are likely to give you pretty blooms in fall. Salvias love the heat. I don't know which ones you planted and there are tons of them. There are some that are perennial, and some that are annual. A lot of the annuals will reseed for you next year. Many bloom in the fall, and many bloom in summer until fall. But they usually grow quite well from seed. I have lots of seedlings I grew this year that are close to going in the ground. As Dawn mentioned there are seeds you can sow directly in the ground now, too, like Cosmos, Zinnias, Mexican Sunflowers, Purple or White Hyacinth Bean (vine), Cardinal Climber (vine), and Cypress Vine (red, white, or pink), marigolds, and many other annuals. And most of all, have fun! Susan

I could be wrong about the zone - on a zip code lookup map it tells me 9-10. I am near the coast, and the weather here tends to be much more mild. Those "zones" are pretty broad classifications. Here's a fairly accurate description of where I live: "Salinas, CA climate is mild during summer when temperatures tend to be in the 60's and cool during winter when temperatures tend to be in the 50's. The warmest month of the year is September with an average maximum temperature of 74.60 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is December with an average minimum temperature of 39.40 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperature variations between night and day tend to be fairly limited during summer with a difference that can reach 19 degrees Fahrenheit, and moderate during winter with an average difference of 22 degrees Fahrenheit. The annual average precipitation at Salinas is 15.12 Inches. Rainfall in is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The wettest month of the year is January with an average rainfall of 3.00 Inches." We do get some 90 degree days, but only a handful. I had read the FAQ about blossom drop. . .I don't think too hot is going to be my biggest problem. My neighbor (who's in something like his 60th year of planting tomatoes in his backyard across the street - he's 92) said he usually doesn't even plant until around May 1 because it's not warm enough to really get 'em growing; in his words, "they just sit there and look at ya." Maybe I'm misunderstanding the term "frost date." Is it a technical term, or just the last time that you wake up to frozen stuff around you? Stupid question, I know, but I have a feeling I'm not communicating something correctly. Yes, the plants get direct sun for at least 6-8 hours a day (I need to be a little more scientific about it), but it's been a cold spring - it's been in the 50's all this last week with a high of 63 projected for the next week. On the few hot days we have had, the plants have practically grown before my eyes, but they don't grow much during these chilly times. So. . .I can put in a stake without messing up their little root systems? Thanks, Christopher

I agree with Ryan, I'll add Bryant to the list also. like said, it's contractor first, You may want to look into a hybrid heat system that uses heat pump and gas in the winter. Heat Pump for the mild cold days and the furnace for the times it gets real cold. You will save on energy with the heat pump, and then have the benefits of instant heat when you want it with the gas furnace. It's also not just about SEER, there are models in every brand that have the same SEER rating but they are not made the same. Quality cost more. Like a yugo, it got good gas mileage back in the day and it was very affordable but if it lasted 2 years it was out living it's life expectancy. So there are systems that will hold up longer than others per average even from the same manufacture but they also cost a little more. When you deal with a contractor you hope he gives you several choices. Good Better and Best, This way you can compare and decide what system fits your needs the best and what you can afford.