I had very good results this spring from Walla Walla Sweet seed that I planted directly in the garden on September 21. The only protection they had was a thin straw mulch which got progressively thinner as strong winter winds whipped it away. My low last winter was 0F during the first week of February. The ones directly from seed were very big onions. The thinnings that I transplanted into a new row on March 1 were somewhat smaller. The only odd thing was that some matured very early (June 1) and some are still standing. I am at latitude 34 degrees north. Also I agree that Johnny's is a great resource. I am going to plant Desert Sunrise seed from there this fall in addition to Walla Walla Sweet. Tom Logan

You can get flats of Georgia hybrid collards at Lowe's or HD. I planted mine in mid-October and am still snipping leaves off to boil. I don't let the leaves get larger than my hand before harvesting, and they're great! the most important thing when deciding what to plant is to check your county extension service! Mine has an online "gardeners almanac" that tells you what to plant, and things to do. Here's February for Hillsborough County: WHAT TO PLANT IN FEBRUARY FLOWERS: Annuals: Ageratum, Alyssum, Arctotis, Asters, Baby's Breath, Balsam, Begonia, Bracteantha, Browallia, Calendula, California Poppy, Carnation, Diascia, Dianthus, Dusty Miller, Foxglove, Gaillardia, Geranium, Lobelia, Marguerite Daisy, Nemesia, Ornamental Cabbage/Kale, Osteospermum, Pansy, Petunia, Snapdragon, Strawflower, Sunflower, Sweet Pea, Vinca, Viola VEGETABLES: Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cantaloupes, Carrots, Celery, Collards, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Endive, Green Onions, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Mustard, English Peas, Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Radish, Squash, Tomatoes, Turnips, Watermelon HERBS and SPICES: Anise, Basil, Bay Laurel, Borage, Caraway, Cardamon, Chervil, Chives, Cilantro/Coriander, Dill, Fennel, Ginger, Horehound, Lemon Balm, Lovage, Marjoram, Mexican Tarragon, Mint, Nasturtium, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Savory, Thyme, Watercress. BULBS: Achimenes, African Lily, Alstroemeria, Amaryllis, Amazon Lily, Aztec Lily, Blackberry Lily, Caladium, Calla, Canna, Crinum, Crocosmia, Dahlia, Gaillardia, Gladiolus, Gloriosa Lily, Hurricane Lily, Kaffir Lily, Lilies, Louisiana Iris, Morea, Rain Lilies, Society Garlic, Tiger Lily, Tritonia, Tuberose, Voodoo Lily, Walking Iris, Watsonia, WHAT TO DO IN FEBRUARY For more details on the following, call your local Extension office or visit the University of Florida s publication website: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu Plant or transplant cold hardy trees and shrubs. (See January) Fertilize citrus trees if not done in January. (See January) Fertilize annuals and vegetables. (See January) Check Out Seed and Garden Catalogs. Most gardening catalogs arrive during the winter months. Check out the new varieties offered this year. Prepare vegetable and flower gardens for spring planting. Till soil and add organic matter such as manure, compost or peat. Test pH of soil (Contact your county Cooperative Extension Service) and add lime or sulfur if necessary. Prune, mulch and fertilize roses. Roses that are older than 1 year require a major pruning each year. Remove one-third to one-half of the top growth and any unproductive growth. Strip all leaves from remaining to rid plant of latent diseases and insects. Fertilize and mulch. Prune grapes. Grapes should be pruned before leaves begin to sprout. Bunch grapes and Muscadine grapes each have different pruning requirements. Control scab disease on citrus. Scab fungus causes light brown, corky areas on fruits and leaves of susceptible citrus varieties. Spray Murcott, Page, and Temple varieties with a copper fungicide when new growth emerges and again when 2/3 of petals has fallen from the flower blossoms. Fertilize lawn and trees. Shop for a fertilizer that contains slow- or timed-release nitrogen. To determine the correct amount of fertilizer to use, simply divide the first number on the fertilizer bag (which represents nitrogen) into 100. Apply this amount per 1,000 square feet of lawn and landscape area. Broadcast the fertilizer over the soil or mulch and water. The nutrient and water absorbing roots of trees and shrubs are concentrated in the upper 6 to 12 inches of soil so there is no need to punch holes in the soil--simply water the fertilizer in. Apply mulch to all plant beds. A 2-3 inch layer of mulch will discourage weeds and retain moisture in the soil. Apply pre-emergent weed killer to lawn. Pre-emergent herbicides kill weed seeds as they germinate. Some fertilizers contain pre-emergent herbicide. Do not apply them near trees and shrubs or in areas where any seed will be planted. Carefully follow label directions. Fertilize shrubs. A good lawn fertilizer such as 12-4-8 , or 15-5-15 or the like is usually adequate. Shop for a product with 30% to 50% of the nitrogen in a water-insoluble or slow-release form. Acid-loving plants (Azaleas, Hollies, Gardenias, Camellias, etc.) will benefit from an acid-forming balanced fertilizer such as 6-6-6 or 8-8-8 . Broadcast the fertilizer on the soil surface and water in. Start vegetable and flowers from seed. Sow seeds in flats or pots in a light, sterile mix. Plant seed no deeper than twice the seed's thickness. Place in a sunny spot; keep warm and moist. Watch new growth for aphid infestation. Aphids feed on the undersides of new, tender leaves causing curled, distorted growth. Most broad-spectrum insecticides easily control aphids, but soap solutions are effective as well. Mix 2½ tablespoons of liquid, dishwashing soap (do not use those containing a degreaser  use 1/3 less for concentrated soaps) in one gallon of water. Forceful sprays of water can dislodge aphids.

"Meant to add -- and please post the new images in this thread" But how do you do that? It says at the bottom of the page here, "Image uploads are not enabled for followup messages." Thanks for the help. I'm sorry, but I guess I just have hands that shake too much, so it's hard to get a clear image sometimes. And that picture I took was an image from an HD video I took, and I did have to resize the image copy so I could fit it under 60kb as said on the "Special Notes for Uploading Images". Again, sorry, and even though my regular picture taking camera has a blur reduction feature, I still have some blurry images with that setting on. I'm not sure what to do to make the image less blurry, other than using Photoshop to sharpen it. If you can see what the round thing on my strawberry plants is, again please help me figure out what it is, and wheather I need to do something about it or not. My camera is about 10 megapixels, so I guess that's HD, but it still is hard for me to stableize the camera. I have two tripods, but I wish to not go outside in the garden for a while unless I really need to. It's been really rainy off and on here. I also don't want bugs all over my two tripods if I were to go outside on a clear day, so I don't know what to do about the blurry image now. I did really try to get a close-up of the round thing, so you would hopefully notice it. What do you think I should do to make the image sharper, and better over-all quality, while keeping it under 60kb? Again, thanks for your time and help.

I'm quite sure after reading this thread that i have an answer for my early girls, which are all doing this thick leaf stem growing upwards and twisting (more like a sucker would do), with large, thick leaves that are also turning upwards and rolling/twisting. There is zero discoloration or otherwise poor health indications, i grow in the middle of 50 acres, totally organically, my own compost used, mulched with wood chips a year old from within the property. I've used zero pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. Just compost, coco coir, water and my seedlings. They aren't stunted, are growing quite fast actually but, here in Northern California in the Sierra Nevada mountains we've seen record breaking temps between 90-105 for a few weeks straight now and I'm pretty certain my plants are just tired of baking. I'm hanging shade cloth tomorrow and will post pictures as well because it's quite bizarre how hearty they are but growing like an upside down tipi (and it's only my early girls doing this, the other varieties are all fine.)