I garden in downtown Atlanta, my garden acts easily as a zone 8 garden and it is BLAZING HOT, no shade, facing south and east. Everything does just dandy for me! Prepare soil well so it retains water, mulch very well and water when needed. I actually don't water all that frequently and everything is fine. Cowpeas, yard long beans, bush beans, lima beans, okra, malabar spinach, butternut squash, luffa, sweet and hot peppers, eggplants, various melons and tomatoes all do fine. I grow Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, sungold, green zebra, Juliette, Taxi, Jubilee, Rutgers, Marlglobe, and many more different tomatoes but these are the ones I grow pretty much every year. Most of the heirlooms I vary simply to try new tastes every year. Tip: Grow sweet peppers in the shade of tomatoes. A local farmer taught me this and it works like a charm. I've increased my pepper harvests greatly and never get any burn. Insects and disease are more challenging than that heat.

Not weird considering that most garlic sellers run out fairly early despite their unreasonably high prices which one would think might discourage people, I know it does me. So, yes, they are harvesting now and the crop will be ready in June for this fall's planting. That said, I still have a great deal of garlic from last year that has neither sprouted nor rotted so I guess I could put in a summer crop just to see what is going on, eh? Perhaps, I should try to make it last until I plant in September--worth a try.

Wow floodthelast! You have been busy! :) I still have a few things to plant out,I got most of them in though,my plan of having them all done by the end of the weekend did not happen! My smaller seedlings I put in all together in a grouping,that way I can just separate them all next year,seems they all appreciate being in the ground and have begun to grow already! Anywhere I am afraid the chipmunks will dig up,I sprinkled coffee grounds,I am more and more convinced smaller rodents do not like them at all,they play out there all day and dig away,but where the coffee grounds are,nothing,they avoid it! I do believe this is what put a stop to my vole problem. It does not work on bunnies at all,and I am not sure about squirrels either,I dont have any issues with them digging in my beds,just at the crest of the yard where they think I should have a million oak trees...lol..

Bless your heart Kasha & eternal gratitude for your advice (as well as alleviating my anxiety about my brug)! O.K. deep breath...ahhhh. A humble thank you (*does curtsy*) for welcoming me to the forum :-D ! It's a pleasure to meet you as well as all the other gardening enthusiasts on here. I'm learning new things & enjoying the camaraderie. Happy day! I'm on Long Island - usually we're classified as being in Zone 6 but some sites have us @ 7. My brug's tag said no direct sunlight but I'm not exactly sure how much is too much so I've been moving it around the patio where it can get filtered sun. Since it bloomed, I discovered mine is a suaveolens, with a deep salmony-pink blush on the ends. When it first opened it was white & then as the night wore on it changed color :). 2 more blooms opened last night & the entire room smelled like lemony roses with a faint honeysuckle. Wasn't too thrilled about the scent initially but I guess it had to develop more as the bloom matured (?). It's esp nice when there's a chorus of blooms open - but I don't need to tell you that ;D. Had to bring it in again last night since we're getting some pretty strong winds & I didn't want to chance leaving it outside in the gales, esp while it's still in its dinky little pot. The numbskulls @ the nursery where I got it said it "really needs to be repotted" & upon examining the bottom of the pot I would concur but unfortunately it's in active blooming right now so repotting/planting will have to wait. Will it die if I don't plant/repot it yet? Since you explained what to do with the brug before winter, I do feel much more confident/comfortable putting it in the ground. TY!!! When I got my brug, it had a lot of damage to its leaves; most of them had tears in them because they had it outside & the wind kept blowing it over. Was apprehensive about getting it to begin with because of all the damage as well as the fact that there were no blooms/markings to indicate its color, genus, etc (yikes) but I was desperate to find one for Mom & out of the 5 plants on display which were white, the nursery owner said it was the only pink one left & if I wanted scent, pink or yellow was the way to go (?). Any idea how long it takes them to adjust to their new environment? Still dealing with the yellowing leaves although it seems to have slowed down a bit since moving it indoors for the day. The immature baby leaves are being affected as well. I'm wondering if it could be a nutrient deficiency (nitrogen or magnesium usually). I noticed where the leaves are turning yellow & dropping that the green stem is turning woody. There's a lot of new growth all over but it's drying up & dropping off too. Been checking for mites - saw a few & sprayed with a castille soap & water mix. So far so good but I know I have to keep @ it every 3-4 days for the next 2-3 wks to keep on top of them. Yucky evil little buggers! TY for the advice about watering too! I watered it 3 days ago & today it feels dry enough again to give it a drink. It's raining today so I might as well fill my watering cans :). Not sure what the nursery put in my brug's soil. Some of it looks like perlite & others look like it could be Osmocote or MiracleGro. Going to do a foliar feed on it & see if that helps improve the leaf yellowing issue. It's perfectly alright that not many folks have responded. I'm just grateful people did :). As a busy gardener myself, I wholeheartedly understand how it is when it's "that time of the season" & all of us are tending to our plants & gardens. I just put my veggie garden in yesterday :). Can't wait for fresh home grown vegetables! I also grow roses, medicinal herbs, & tons of flowers. Had my Plumie for a yr & last yr it bloomed beautifully. This yr it's struggling so I suspect it's got rot somewhere. Going to unpot it & see what's going on. Have a beautiful day! In Love & Light ~ Angharand