Doug, I had a friend in MD send me cuttings a couple years ago. Interestingly the USPS thought the route from MD to FL included a side trip through TX, then onto CA, then back through CO, then finally onto FL. Also apparently they consider a package staying in a sort facility for over a week part of the trip. Supposedly they lost it, but then they found it. I mention this because the little tour of the US my cuttings took, was just under three weeks. Until it was "lost" it showed the route on the tracking. amusing in a sad kind of way. And the cuttings arrived fine, a little dehydrated, but they perked back up quickly. I still have every one of them. So, I'm thinking your package might have been left in the hot sun for a good bit of time. Did you use EMS or just regular international mail? Maybe that is the difference? When I get my order, I'll take pics, see what happens. Renee

Ezzirah, In general, my motto is "plant 'em if you've got 'em". Well, except when it is -22 degrees outside and sleeting....but I don't think anyone here would do that anyway. You could plant asparagus in January if you found it that earl.y and it likely would be fine, notwithstanding the fact that you live in a state where the temperatures can be 20 degrees below zero one day and then 60 or 80 degrees less than a week later. Almost any cold-hardy plants like asparagus, horseradish, rhubarb, strawberries sold bare root, etc., can be planted as soon as you see them in the stores. In fact, it is better for them to get out of those plastic bags and directly into the ground as soon as possible. Our Wal-Mart just got all their bare root stuff like that put out in the garden center within the last 3 or 4 days (seed potatoes and onion sets arrived a couple of weeks ago and then the rest this week), and their timing this year is pretty good because this week there is nice weather that will encourage people to plant the bare-root plants sooner rather than later. Bare-root plants left in the plastic bags too long often become diseased. I bought healthy, bare-root strawberries yesterday and will plant them later today to enlarge our small berry patch. I love planting season! I have put off planting asparagus forever because the bermuda and Johnson grasses encroach upon my garden from outside the fence continually. Because of asparagus' height, I've wanted to plant it along the north fence but know keeping the grass out will be a major ordeal. So, now I'm thinking I may plant in the bed that is second closest to the fence where the grass would be easier to keep out. Then, I could use the bed along the fence to grow something tall like pole beans that wouldn't be shaded too much by the asparagus. I hope your asparagus does well for you. Dawn

Hi, Yvette! I love clover. If I were keeping a lawn, that's what I'd plant. Hmmm. I might think about it anyway! I found an article for you that strongly suggests planting Dutch White Clover (Trifolium repens): http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/rensselaer/HORT/Fact%20sheets/fs07522x%20white%20clover.htm Here's another article about using White Clover in lawns: http://www.greenventure.ca/pdf/Clover.pdf And I also (drumroll, please) found you an Eastern Canadian source for the seed. The place is called Homestead Organics. I'm attaching a link to their pdf catalogue. Good luck. If this source doesn't work for you, I hope someone else can help. Maybe your local garden centre can get some in for you. Here is a link that might be useful: Homestead Organics catalogue

Of course it depends on your problems there Joyful. After one of the operations, the home visiting nurse told me "Your two best friends right now are protein and vitamin C". Vit C also helps the body absorb iron. OTOH, coffee, cocoa and tea inhibit the body's absorption of iron as does fiber. At one exam, the pcp doc was debating whether to let me have surgery because I was anemic but I did a little research, checked with the doc and changed diet around a bit from what was previously recommended. Got more iron into the diet and things built up well. Also drink plenty of water. The body works better when hydrated. It will absorb things it needs better when hydrated. This site was very informative for me. And yes, iron cookware helps get iron in the diet too. A few other notes in my medical files: • Honey is very good for the entire body. It contains a good amount of iron. You will get about 0.42 mg of iron in 100 grams of honey. Moreover, honey also contains copper and magnesium that will help in increasing the hemoglobin in your body. Adding one tablespoon of honey to a glass of fresh lemon juice early in the morning on an empty stomach everyday will help in effectively fighting anemia. • One tablespoon of molasses is said to contain 3.2 mg of iron. • Apples • Nuts are a great source of iron and will help you to easily boost the iron levels in your body. It helps you immensely to gain iron levels in your body even when you are on the move.