Here's what we're getting: >>Missoula temperatures look to be on the rise, albeit slightly, this weekend, with a high of 68 degrees predicted on Friday, 71 on Saturday and the mid-60s on Sunday. When it will all end, nobody knows - but on Thursday, Kitsmiller said Montanans should be braced to deal with high water for much of the summer, due to the persistence of cool weather through the month of June so far. As of Thursday, Missoula's average high daily temperature during the month of June was a full 8 degrees lower than the historical average. "We could be worrying about flooding for most or at least a good portion of the summer," he said. "We just haven't seen anything quite like this in the past. We've had years with a lot of snow and rain, but this has been odd because we still have all the snow up in the mountains, we haven't warmed up, and we keep getting system after system of wet weather and cool weather coming through. "Even with this much snow, we normally would have lost it and flooded already due to warming temperatures," he continued, "but because it's been cool, we keep pushing it back."

Hi Breezy! The dat's are triple creams. I think they get pretty big so I'm probably only going to plant one or two in my small yard. Afterall, I now have 9 brugs that I have to find room for! I only have frosty pink in the ground and I am trying to train that one into a tree. The others are still small and in pots on the patio. I'm trying to see who likes the full sun, who doesn't and how fast they are going to grow before I find the perfect garden location for them! Some of the ones I just got in the mail today have fuzzy leaves. Was it you who told me something about fuzzy leaves? I think it was either that the fuzzy ones did best (or worse) in Florida / sun. (I guess I better find out! )

As someone else who gardens in a cold climate with a short growing season, I tend to agree with Flora - you started your beans too early. Your bean transplants are nearly ready to go into the ground, with warm weather still weeks away. While I can direct seed most common beans here with a good chance of success, I use a lot of bean transplants. For heat-loving beans such as limas & yardlongs, transplants are virtually necessary in my area to ensure a good harvest. It is also good practice to use bean transplants if you have limited seed or temperamental Spring weather, since it overcomes cool-soil germination issues & means that nearly every seed which germinates will survive. And if growing a bean for seed, it increases the chance of getting dry seed before wet Fall weather arrives. I would never use flats filled with soil though, for the reasons given in the OP. My preferred method is to use peat strips, with sterile soil less mix. Planted pot & all, this avoids root damage during transplanting. 32's work well for larger beans, and 50's for smaller beans & Vignas (cowpeas, yardlongs, adzuki). To further lessen transplant shock, place a little sand in the bottom of the tray & nestle the peat strips into it after planting. Provided the sand is kept moist (but not overly wet) those long bean roots will not be air pruned, but will grow into the sand. At the time of transplanting, those roots can be gently pulled from the sand. Working quickly to keep the roots from drying out, gently coil them into the hole beneath the plant, then water immediately. I have had virtually no transplant shock using this method. As a rule, I consider beans to be ready for transplanting when they have their first true leaf. This generally takes about 2 weeks, so I start bean transplants that much earlier than the recommended date for direct seeding. If transplanting is delayed by bad weather, I've held bean transplants up to a month before planting. Much beyond that, though, and they will become stunted. For squash & cucumbers, I use the same procedures as above, except I omit the sand. It is worth noting that it takes an intense light source to grow beans, cukes, and squash indoors, or they quickly become leggy... shop lights are not up to the task (spoken from experience). If at all possible, those transplants should be placed in direct sunlight as soon as possible after germination.

Ah, stilt grass revisted. If some sharp-eyed person notices when it starts to flower let us all know so we can cut and pull then. My pre-emergent results - regular crabgrass control worked only when applied at three times recommended rate - I used the extra in my spreader on the heavily infested ends of my yard rather than save it, and it killed it quite dead. I have a solid stilt grass stripe in the back, where I missed a row, with nearly bare earth on either side - pretty much nothing grew there but stilt grass. The pre-emergent compatible with grass seeding worked somewhat better but not perfectly - may have been a problem with uneven spreading and the dry weather we had then - watering just didn't dissolve the granules the way drenching rains would. Corn gluten had a very definite effect. However DH applied it and he is not the most meticulous or observant guy around when it comes to yard work. Next year I will definitely try corn gluten at the heavy rate, and do a follow up application 2-3 weeks later - I thought the stilt grass seemed delayed rather than totally stopped by the treatments. The part of my yard where stilt grass is the least problem is where I planted Rebel fescue, not that it is entirely immune. Lisa