Hey, Kippy, believe it or not, we have a burgeoning wine growing industry here in the UK. I think much depends on the variety of grape (we tend to grow sparkling whites here in the UK, often very similar to German wines). Not even the most optimistic weather-watcher could claim we have long hot summers but there are varietals which will do well in the cool and damp english climate. We can certainly manage outdoor dessert grapes too (Boskoop Glory is a good one for me) so why not have a go? There is a lot of fun to be had training the vines - the major fiddly bit is thinning out the bunches of grapes - and they look quite fabulous over a pergola too (although mine is on a couple of posts and wire). Mind, the growing of them is easy - the making a good wine is likely to be beyond me. I had a period, years ago, of making horrid brews such as nettle wine, parsnip wine and so on - I still drank them though - after the first few gulps, they slipped down OK and they were certainly poky (shudder)....but anyway, I prefer beer (ale, NOT lager). I too wondered if Kim was going to write a book. He should. Failing miserably with my Meyer lemon (and I had wanted one for ages) - looking sad, pallid and completely growthless - sulks in the greenhouse, weighing me down with guilt and bafflement. Swinish fruit.

I'm new to Florida and gardening (officially 1yr now). I have some purple heirloom tomatos that I planted too late, thinking 2011/12's "winter" (unusually warm) was the Florida norm. Well this year is a different story but amazingly these babies are still producing! I did lose a couple of the strugling ones to frost but all of them had fruit on them before perishing. Oddly enough, the thriving, surviving ones are not the ones getting the most sunlight. In fact, you can tell that they were planted by a rookie..too close together, improperly supported, planted at the most shaded end of the garden bed. I did cover them on cold days & nights with the green tarp from Home Depot and less than 5% of foliage has been lost to frost. They're all with thick foliage and blossoming regularly. Photos later!

I think all of those plants will withstand cold weather...... especially the bok choy swiss chard beets and peas....... don't forget about collard spinach and other greens....... Are you in the mid 20s in zone 9.....???????

Gellchom that soup sounds SO YUMMY! Here's a recipe I found at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago. It is on my "to try" list. Slow Cooked Italian Sausage Agrodolce Serves 6. 20 min. prep. time Total time, 4 hours or 10 hours depending on how you use the cooker 1 TBLSP Pine nuts, toasted (do this by shaking them about in a saucepan on med. heat for just under 10 min. Watch closely, they burn in a nano-second) 1 package mild italian pork sausage links (or whatever kind of italian sausage you like. I would use vegetarian sausage, lol!) 1/2 med. head green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced into bite sized pieces (about 10 cups it says) 2 red onions peeled and thinly sliced 1/2 cup golden raisins (it's an aesthetic thing I have found, regular raisins work fine) 1 14.5 oz. can italian style petite diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil (I dunno about the "petite" part, if the ones you find in your store aren't "petite" enough, dice 'em up more, and if you just have regular diced tomatoes, add some oil and garlic to the sauce.) 1 6 oz. can tomato paste 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (or to taste I guess, I like a little zing in my italian stuff) 1/2 cup chianti red wine vinegar (I would use a little less cheapo red wine vinegar and mix with some balsamic and a dash of dark red wine) 1 TBLSP sugar (I would use brown) Heat some oil in a skillet on med. high until it faintly smokes. Brown the sausages 4-5 min. Set aside Layer cabbage and onions in your slow cooker. Combine raisins, tomatoes, paste, crushed red pepper, vinegar, sugar in med. sized bowl. Pour atop cabbage mixture in slow cooker. Place sausage on top of all this. Set cooker to HIGH, 4-6 hours, or LOW 8-10 hours. To serve, arrange on individual plates or serving platter and top with pine nuts. You could also make this as a braise in the oven in a large braising pan, or saute the cabbage and then simmer in the sauce on top of the stove until the cabbage is tender.