My new Brunnera was planted in mid summer and I thought it was a goner, but it did finally pop up. I think they really nead a lot of water, as the more I water the nicer it looks. However, I don't know if it's going to be successful for me in the long run...because I don't like watering that much! I wanted to mention the iris. On December 24, I discovered that Menards had clearance on their iris...75 cents a package. The same on a bunch of tulips. I decided to try it as the price was worth it...for experimenting, if nothing else! The tulips I planted right away and most did not make it. The iris were in packaged in plastic bags with that soiless mix...peat, I think. I just left them in the packages in one of the cooler rooms in our house. My fear was that they would rot. You'd think that the minute spring had sprung, I would have popped them out of there, but I was preoccupied with other things and didn't get them opened until 2 days ago! THey are perfectly nice. They have developed quite a bit of fine roots and are showing a nearly white shoot, but I think they're going to make it. I plan to set them out in late July. I'm going on a trip for the first 15 days, so I figured they've survived this long, they'll make it 15 more days until I have time to plant them and baby them a bit. I also had a lot of iris from my garden that I transplanted in November and most of them survived but did not bloom. I think they'll probably bloom next year, if I get the mulch of their tops! Also, I have found iris literally sitting on the top of the garden mulch after an entire winter...and still alive. The same during summer. Once I had iris in an undrainable container for nearly a whole summer...I got them out by August and planted them...they didn't bloom the next year, but the one after, they did. Basically, I have been unable to kill an iris despite incredible neglect!

I know this thread is old and inactive but it gave me some ideas and I wanted to share my experience. I planted a punch of seeds (Ipomoea purpurea (mixed) mid/late march. Separated seedlings after they got true leaves into 4 inch pots. after they had 6-8 leaves I put one in a cupboard to cut its light exposure to 10 hours or so for a week to 10 days. Kept another on heating mat for a 4-5 days and/or provided supplemental lighting. One pot was sent outdoors. End of a couple of weeks the one with limited light exposure had buds the rest did not. After another couple of weeks in the south facing window (default location) all were sent out on the balcony where they get 2-3 hours of sun if it's out. The weather has been pretty irregular, 23 one days 10 the next and mostly rainy. The buds on the one are holding up but the cold exposure outside has slowed their development into blooms and wind has been trying hard to kill them. Anyhow, got them back indoors today. None of the others have recognizable buds yet. Will update when the one with buds blooms. Bottom line if one grows in a pot and limit daylight (like for kalanchoe or poinsettia, but not for weeks, just days) to the seedlings, one could get at least Ipomoea purpurea to start blooming early. Whether, the blooms, once initiated, will stop after a while, I am not sure. Will update how this goes. I know this was not a rigorous experiment but take it for what its worth. I started more than a couple of dozen kinds of seeds and this was obviously not top of my list.

First, let me say that I'm not a commercial vendor or business. I have more varieties & seeds than I can grow and offer my extras at a cheap price to cover shipping, special envelopes, expenses, ebay & Paypal fees, etc. What I make is miniscule--it's almost a break-even in small amounts, and considering what it costs me in supplies & utilities to grow them til harvest, it may even be a net loss. Any money goes towards food on the table & my mother's Rx's or supplies. Without getting too personal here, she's diabetic & mid-level Alzheimers and I have more than 1 handicap/disability. As many here may know, I've given away many seeds for free in the past, both here & other places, as well as sometimes trading & bartering. This is just a way to get some harder to find seeds out there to people to grow, some aren't easily available commercially, (Olive Hill was great this year!) so it's a good cause both ways. I've distributed probably 20+ packs for free this year at the Buffalo-Niagara Tomato Tastefest party, in addition to donating 60 packs to the event as winner prizes, some still unclaimed (actually 50 packs--I won Smallest Tomato category! Anybody that won please contact me by e-mail if you still haven't picked your choices--yes, YOU get to choose 10 packs!) Anyway, generally 20-30 seeds per pack, even more for some small seeded varieties... about 300 tomato varieties, it increases every year. While I often use generic descriptions, I also try to include personal comments on how they did or what I thought of them. Pics are available for most so you know what they should look like, what the seeds came out of. Many are not bagged but I use some unique practices like isolation, distraction planting, timing, location/selection, etc. Commercial places don't bag blossoms, though they do grow larger #'s of plants to reduce their chances of crossing. I actually make it very difficult for crosses to occur. You really have to throw the plant distance/closeness theory out the window and think outside the box on this one--I've actually found that others that plant with sufficient or great space between plants often get crossed seeds and I don't. Plus I often regrow my seeds the following year to insure what it's supposed to be, not just germinating to check leaf type. If you feel you've got a variety that isn't what it was meant to be, I encourage everyone to e-mail me at matermark@gmail.com to let me know about it and I'll pull it and make good on it. And if I grow a variety from well known commercial sources that you've already mentioned here, and it's not correct, (yes, it happens many times, from many you've recommended above), I come right out and say it's suspect (say, PL Watermelon Beefsteak or WinsAll) & don't offer it, pull it or replace it. I usually outright discard seeds and try another source if it doesn't seem like what it should be, instead of selling those seeds or giving them away as "bonus" seeds like some often-recommended-here companies do--ie: Azoychka bonus seeds many are familiar with....plus you know what I've went through re: Dr. Lyle... Yes, many places charge shipping or handling charges that often are higher than the seeds... plus many people compromise what they grow because of high S/H costs incurred from ordering from multiple places. I've found ways to cut those costs considerably, so I pay the shipping. I don't really have any minimum order levels though try to stay in nice rounded numbers like $3-5-10, and have even worked with people with smaller quantities of each variety, of course it takes much more time & is more expensive for me to pull 20 packs of just 5 seeds than 5 packs of 20 seeds. And you don't need to be an ebay member either, it's just that that is my most common, easily accessable outlet, and I use it in the spring mostly, when I have all my seeds together, ready to decide which to plant. I also put my extra plants on craigslist in May for a buck or 2. So, once again, I'm not a business, and this isn't an ad or an offer--I'm an enthusiast. Like I said, if someone is looking for just 1 variety or so, I often help at no cost or SASE if it's something I have enough of and easy to get to & have time. Hope this helps. Mark, who must harvest peppers, take a "non-compliant" diabetic mother shopping for Halloween candy "for Trick or Treaters" she says, carve 2 Atlantic Giant pumpkins in the cold, and hopefully finish planting my garlic. Still no frost yet here in the metropolis named after "beautiful river", but expecting one tonight, almost a month later than usual...

Since I don't like "sweet" with my meat or fish, I only use maple syrup in traditionally sweet foods. Mostly desserts or . Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Maple Cream Fudge ================= 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup cream 1/3 cup of butter 1/4 cup of maple syrup pinch of salt vanilla . Add the two sugars, butter and cream maple syrup and salt into a sauce pan. Place over medium heat. Stir while bringing to a boil. Lower the heat and continue to stir slowly while the mixture cooks. After about 7 minutes, test by pouring a small amount into some cold water. You want it to form a soft ball. You might need to cook it for another minute or two. Remove from the heat, add a couple of teaspoons of vanilla and start stirring. It takes about 14 or 15 minutes for the fudge to cool and thicken. Pour into buttered dish. Option: Replace the cream and cup of white sugar with one can of Sweetened Condensed Milk and increase the maple syrup to 1 cup. 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 1/2 cup white 1/2 cup white corn syrup 1 cup butter 1 cup cream pinch of salt vanilla Cook to almost hard ball stage. Let cool slightly, stir and then pour into butter pan or mini muffin tins. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Maple Mousse With Walnut Praline ================================ Source: Marg (Friend) 1 Tablespoon Gelatin 1 1/4 cup cold water 2 eggs beaten 1 cup maple syrup 1 Cup whipping cream - whipped . Soak gelatin in cold water. Beat eggs and combined with maple syrup in top of a double boiler. cook stirring constantly over boiling water until it coats a spoon. Add gelatin and stir until dissolved. Strain if necessary. Refrigerate until thick. Whip cream until stiff. Whip gelatin mixture. Fold in whip cream until well combined. Pour into 3 1/2 cup mold and refrigerate until set. Praline 1 cup walnuts 1 cup white sugar 1/4 cup cold water toast walnuts at 350 for 10 minutes. Do not burn Add water to sugar in heavy sauce pan and stir until sugar has dissolved. Cook until sugar turns a golden brown. Add nuts and immediately pour on to a buttered cookie sheet. Let set for one hour. Chop coarsely. Sprinkle chopped praline over each serving. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Butter Tarts ============ 1/4 cup butter at room temperature 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 1 cup maple syrup 1 cup walnut halves Optional - 1/2 cup currants or raisins water Blend together the butter and brown sugar. Beat the eggs lightly and stir into the butter and brown sugar and add the corn syrup. (You can substitute Corn syrup for all or part of the Maple syrup.), add vanilla and raisins if using. Fill tart shells about two thirds full. Bake at 375°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until pastry is golden. The filling in these tarts is runny. Do not over bake or the filling will firm up. Let tarts set in the tins for about 3 minutes. Remove carefully and cool on racks. Makes about twenty 3 inch tarts. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table ==================== Source: Foodtv.ca Anna Olson Dough * 2 cups all purpose flour * 2 tbsp oats * 1/2 tsp baking powder * 1/2 tsp salt * 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled * 2 tbsp sour cream * 2 tbsp maple syrup Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter the texture of coarse meal. Stir sour cream and maple syrup and add to dough, Mixing until it just comes together. Chill dough for 15 minutes.