I am an amateur. I do not sell anything. I look at the value of what I grew. I did chard and should have done better but the poor soil on this community garden was terrible. no manure in years. all worn out. anyway I did much better with the rutabaga. I did a couple of things with my chard leaves. I cook them and ate them and also blanched them in a microwave covered dish no water added and then froze them in zip lock bags. I did the same with the rutabaga leaves but they came more at the end of the season. I dont think we are suppose to start the seeds early indoors but I did so with 12 seeds. The roots start out thin and then seem to get really huge and thick with the big bulb. My guess is that the roots wind up merging or else they push the bulb up and out of the soil. But the roots close to the bulb look like thick roots just like the bulb. Up here in new england eggplant is terrible difficult and only give up very little fruit per plant. same with sweet peppers and some other things like melons. It can be grown but lucky to get 1 to 3 fruit per plant. Tomatoes do great. If you just want leaves then chard is better choice. IF you want more than the leaves then try a few plants of rutabaga and see what you think. I really like the Gilfeather turnip. I get a very short grow on the community garden so I intend to always plant all my seeds early unless there is a good reason. I did 2 kinds of carrots and the yield was ridiculous small compared to the rutabaga. No comparison at all. Another thing I like about the rutabaga was that I did not water them. maybe a little bit. but they seem just fine in the dry weather. although they grow better with some water. But we did not have any water at the community garden for over a month in the heat. I am also eating the stem of the rutabaga. I believe the Gilfeather is very different from the regular rutabaga sold in the stores. It is not as smooth and round as the store ones. and it is a little softer and easier to peel and much much larger. They store very well. so that is a benefit.

mine is already waking up from its succulent form! woohoo! i placed one of those "plastic" cups/domes from one of my old purchases at home depot when i bought a flytrap. The cup has been placed on the container while the plant is planted. the plant's leaves seem to be perking up quicker than a thought as well. thanks shadyvine for the info. :) i do recall seeing a pic of an asian man holding two ping titans. those plants are freaking huge. i had one that split into two but i gave one to a friend of mine. this is the second year that i will have my ping titan. and last year it shoot lavender/pinkish flowers at all times during the summer. by fall, my plant stopped sending flowers and the leaves turned succulent and not sticky. but right now since i am growing it with a dome, it is waking up thanks to the humidity around it. all the plants seem happy, except me :(

greenhouser, They were cold-tolerant plants---pansies and the like---and it was late February. There were daffodils in bloom, too, at least the one year I'm thinking of, and the local stores all had seed racks up near the front. "cold winters" is a relative term. WE returned from TN that year to temps well below 0 F and two feet of snow on the ground. I couldn't plant peas in early April because the ground is literally still frozen solid, and often still under snow. And yet there are four gardening zones colder than mine---I've met folks on Gardenweb in zone 2---so I shouldn't complain! And I do prefer a landscape that is snowy all winter to one that is grey and wet and drear. I love my four Canadian seasons, don't get me wrong. But March is the time I like least, when I'm WEARY of winter because it seems like it has gone on forever but the snow just keeps on coming---serious blizzards, we're talking, most years in March---and that's when a place just a few zones warmer where spring has sprung (even if it's a fickle one) sure looks good to me! ;-) Zabby

Technically, no. First because not all jars "ping". Second because sometimes jars will ping and then release and then ping again. Third because some will ping and then let go several hours or days later. So the "ping" sound is not the true test of a seal. The NCHFP instructions for testing a seal: Testing jar seals After cooling jars for 12 to 24 hours, remove the screw bands and test seals with one of the following options: Option 1. Press the middle of the lid with a finger or thumb. If the lid springs up when you release your finger, the lid is unsealed. Option 2. Tap the lid with the bottom of a teaspoon. If it makes a dull sound, the lid is not sealed. If food is in contact with the underside of the lid, it will also cause a dull sound. If the jar is sealed correctly, it will make a ringing, high-pitched sound. Option 3. Hold the jar at eye level and look across the lid. The lid should be concave (curved down slightly in the center). If center of the lid is either flat or bulging, it may not be sealed. It is also recommended that you test seals by carefully lifting the jar with your fingertips by the lid. Do it over the sink or a bowl in case the seal is poor. The problem with jars that have tipped is that some of the food gets under the lid, between the lid and the jar rim, leading to weak seals prone to separation. When in doubt, refrigerate. Dave