My March plans had initially included the beginning of my sunchoke harvest next week and putting in the first rows of peas mid-month... which could easily still happen. Given that we're getting our best snowfall of the year right now, that may be postponed... or require a little top-undressing before I get to the harvesting part. Sunchokes are a remarkably forgiving crop, but not necessarily worth shoveling snow to harvest, and I have no delivery obligations till Easter week-end. It's truly spring in the hoop houses now, but even they will be a bit cool come Sunday.

This is a very good question and I'd like to see if somebody more knowledgeable can help us both out. My assumptions are ... 1) That you can sow tropical seeds any time of the year as the equatorial sun shines at about the same brilliance all year round. However, I have reservations that overall, there are changes due to changes in trade winds caused by more temperate zone temp shifts caused by seasonality that might even affect tropicals. 2) That you might be able to fake seeds out by growing them indoors at spring-like temps and having perhaps kick-started them with Giberellic Acid. What do I know for sure? Well there are some seeds like Gingko Biloba that need to experience a successive temperature shift, from cold and gradually to warm. If you plant them in warm, forget it; they are not going to germinate. But you can still fake them out by using your refrigerator to keep them cold for 3 to 4 weeks. That's what they say. I tried it and my Gingko seeds still haven't germinated. Stratification? I'm not sure how important layering the seeds between deposits of mulch which replicate fallen leaves can be. I think it's more to do with the temp cycle. But anyway, if your seeds aren't tropical and germinate at any time of the year, there appear to be ways to fake any seed out and coax them into germination. What happens after that, depends on how good your indoor environment provides for what they need which I suspect doesn't have to be much more than room temps and appropriate soil and water requirements. Finally, some seeds, even in their native soil and locale, can be sleepers, taking months or years to germinate. I suppose even the experts don't have a clue how to motivate these. But yes, if someone wants to chime in with some suggestions beyond my assumptions, please do. I'm sure Missti would be as grateful as I.

Hi shooflypets, There are no "stupid" questions, we all have questions and we all have answers, hopefully, if we converse with one another, we will grow closer, by meeting each others needs. Now...onto your "not so stupid" question.... I think most landscape/gardening stores have "compost thermometers" ,they are about a foot long, and around 20.00 I have a very large pile so I made my own 4' long thermometer. You just purchase a Digital Bar-B-Que meat thermometer (around 10.00), and use Heat-Shrink to secure it to a large piece of Rigid wire...VIOLA

kitasei, I've sown some perennials that I know need a long period of moist chill before they will germinate. The solstice is supposed to be the formal starting date, but who has time with the holidays. The last thing my kitchen needs right now is pots, labels, buckets of dirt ;0)