I'm working compost in this weekend and letting my beds go fallow, locked down under black plastic for the next several weeks to chase away nematodes and block the weeds. Will start my tomato seeds in about 9 days for transplanting out in the beds in mid-August. I'll also start broccolli seeds in August (and will continue starting seeds every two weeks through October so that I'll have a continual supply through the winter). Corn and beans will be direct sown in early August. Lettuce, onions, carrots and strawberries will start in October. I agree with you on the citrus. It'll be a bumper crop as long as we don't have any disasterous weather. My trees are absolutely covered. I just finished the last of my peaches. Man, they sure beat the hell out of anything you can get at the store.

I'd really been wondering when the redbuds would show that first blush of color and finally .... just in the last day or two, they are showing up along the roadsides. A deer visited a few days ago and snacked on some of my tulips :( but the ones that are left are beginning to bloom and they are beautiful! Phlox is now blooming and the hostas are growing fast. I'm now pretty sure that the tree that I thought might be a crabapple is just that, and it looks like another small tree is a redbud (yay). It's fun discovering what's growing here, now that the weather has finally decided to warm up. A neighbor said 12 wild turkeys were in our yard the other day, but we were at work so we missed seeing them. The street we live on is called Turkey Run Drive, so now we now how it got its name :). Oh, and one bit of good news .... they started the dirt work where the building will go, and when they stripped off the bermuda grass the land is mostly nice dirt, with only one little strip of red clay running through it. This may have once been farmland, or a pasture. So that's good news for the vegetable garden. Suzie

The advantages of planting most perennials, shrubs, and trees (in our zone) in early to mid fall is slight compared to planting them in early to mid spring. In colder climates, it's often best to wait until spring to plant. If you are planting a fast growing or top-heavy deciduous tree or shrub, fall might give the roots time to get more well established before the plant experiences wind that could push the tree, with a smaller root ball, over. Basically, plant at whichever time is more convient to YOU. If you plant them correctly and water them until they get established either time (in this climate zone) would work just great.

Some kind of hickory. Where I live I would call it mockernut, Carya tomentosa.