OK this is closed now. I have sent my addy to everybody that was interested so far. If I have extra left over after sending these out, I'll re-post for it. Please remember, don't send me a bubble mailer. It will cost you extra postage to send to me and I have TONS of those things and really don't mind sending mine out to you. You'll help my hubby by getting them out of our closet, LOL. Just please send enough stamps to cover sending the bubble mailers to you. If it's just tomato/pepper seeds you want 3 should be enough, but if it's flowers and tom/pepper or just flowers, please send 4. I think 4 should be safe to cover the postage on the bubble mailer. If you do change your mind, just let me know, so I can contact the next person in line. Any questions, ask. Melissa

One of the best nurseries anywhere is in NJ. Fairweather Gardens down near Cape May is worth a trip when they have their open houses (you can't just go there and shop). They also have a catalog that will leave you with an irresistable urge to pull out yur wallet and spend money! I have a couple of questions for you: Are there deer, woodchucks or rabbits in your area? When you think about what to plant, you will need to consider your local wildlife - and choose things they don't like to eat. You also need to keep in mind that if you choose a plant that can't tolerate a normal NJ winter, it will die. Many, many plants are just fine with your winters, so you'll have lots to choose from. A couple of other plant sources: Van Engelen/John Scheepers bulb catalog. Reliable quality, decent prices, good selection, good information about what's critter-proof. They have a good sale in late May or early June. Gilbert Wild: they only sell peonies, daylilies and the occasional hosta, and daylily purists don't care for them, but if they have what you're looking for, the prices are good and the plant quality, while not Super Duper, is good. I've been happy with both the daylilies and the peonies I've bought there. Sutton Iris: personally, I think iris can be a little high maintenance, but this company has a good selection and even the lowest priced plants are good quality. It's OK to order plants from good companies, even if they are out of state. The best companies ship well-rooted plants, packed carefully, that arrive at the right time of year. That said, you would probably enjoy just walking around a garden center in your area (check the Yellow Pages) to see what's there. If you don't plant anything else, plant some peonies. And daffodils.

I used my poor man's walls of water before I got hoop houses. Use 6 liter soda bottles filled with water and lids and ring around a tomato plant and then set a cage around them. I left them on all season and the ones with the extra heat radiating back would come in 2 weeks before the ones that didn't. I also looked for early season that would withstand the cool nights. Some of the earlier tomatoes are gold nugget - yellow cherry, Taxi & Azchtoka (sp?) for yellow tomatoes. Smaller reds are Kotlas and Stupice and Prairie Fire. I say a small ripe tomato is better than a large green one. Good luck gardening.

Mxk3 - I was forgetting that heliotrope was a tender annual. I’m winter sowing a lot and whenever I have germination, and the ground is ready, I can plant out pretty soon after that, but I don't try heliotrope. Which is probably more toward the end of April, beginning of May. I start lettuces and brassicas. I should already have direct sown peas in the ground by mid April at least. I have raised beds that warm up early and stay dry, for vegetables. And for the most part, I grow perennials, although last year, I did do more sunflowers and zinnias direct sown. Annuals, like heliotrope I use in pots. And I try to get some pansies and other cold tolerant annuals at the nursery as soon as they sell them, potted up. I’ve never had much luck in starting them from seed and having them ready to plant early. That I would love to accomplish, I love pansies. Pots of pansies will keep me happy until it’s warm enough for other annuals. That must be very frustrating to take the time off to get your garden started and it rains! :-( I don’t ever seem to get enough rain. I do seem to remember a cloudy, rainy May not too long ago, though, and the tomatoes and peppers didn’t do well that year. I can remember a few springs, having to run out and cover everything. I guess I gamble a little, to get a chance to get things out early. Sometimes it works and sometimes I cover, but I haven’t lost plants, so I can’t complain. This winter has been so mild so far, but last year, it seemed mild until Feb/Mar, so I guess we still can’t tell how spring is going to shape up. I think you have a little different climate there in MI then I do here in MA, even though we seem to be the same zone. I am really looking forward to spring and already starting to feel the itch to get out there. [g] So it’s a good thing to have lights to start some seeds under!