Greeting from another Michigan wintersower! I have some asters, not sure what kind though, they were snatched from some-one elses flowerbed(with permission).Drk purple and about two ft high. How about some rugosa roses and grape hyacinths?? Echinacea would be good too, the kids might not see the flowers but could watch the birds that eat the seed. I have all those seed. You might also try perennial sweet pea if you've got the room-mine are still around but I don't have any seed right now. Also try wild violets-I have plants but no seed. -B

Hello fellow growers, I am a UK student who recently switched my major because growing food and flowers is so much fun, and my favorite hobby! Im trying to build my first greenhouse, and the project is moving very slow, due to the rising cost of school. I mostly have the concrete floor set (thanks to a friends help) and the bottom support frame built. If anyone has any extra greenhouse parts, extra film, plastic, seeds, plants, hangers, fans, ANYTHING, it would be appreciated. I can pay shipping or if close enough pick up myself in my truck.

Michael, we never did get to do croissants which were on the schedule. Our teacher wasnÂt feeling up to snuff with the remains of a cold, and we asked a lot, a LOT, of questions. She is teaching a class later  a one day-er  on breakfast pastries that a few of our group are taking. I think that might be going into dangerous ground for me. As much as I like them, I donÂt have the metabolism to handle a batch of them. However, for those of you who are thinking of making them, she suggested taking them to the point of final rise, wrap well and freeze, then take them out the night before, thaw in fridge, then take out in the a.m. for the final rise and baking. This way you CAN have one or two or eight fresh when you want them. Most baking does seem to require some advance thinking; otherwise thatÂs why god invented bakeriesÂfor the rest of us. Sally, where is your son studying? If we didnÂt travel so much, I would take more courses. LOL Free food!! (actually as a taxpayer, I kind of pay in advanceÂ) Annie, one day you two will be "mature" (that = older!!) and possibly live somewhere that has money for student education. ItÂs a shame about Michigan. Michelle, that apple pie is a snap. Basic (your fave) one unbaked crust pie crust shell in a 9" pan. 5 or so green apples, peeled, cored and sliced about the thickness of your little finger  well my little finger. Pile them into one good layer and add a good coating of brown sugar. Continue to pile high And then pat the streusel topping all over to coat the apples and seal them in. I didnÂt do a very good job at that as my streusel kept falling off. We also noticed that things were drying out as we made them in stages. The streusel was brown and white sugars, butter and walnuts, made in the KA. The pies that had the apples sealed in did a lot better, tho the pie I took home had apples that were still firm but cooked. I know one of us cut her apples much thicker than I would have, so mine might be ÂhersÂ. Bake and learn. ;-) As our teacher said, apple pies are darn cheap to make  her mother had 6 children to raise and feed and seemed to know fast and good pretty well! If anyone wants any of these recipes, feel free to send me your snail mail, as some are long and I donÂt know if I will have time to scan this week. I also have not played around with my scanner enough to know how well it does the written material. Maureen

Is this just gardening for fun, or is the school making a commitment to the garden as an ongoing project? Does it tie into curriculum, and will there be education or experimentation involved? If this is for high school students, hopefully you can get some help from local agricultural educators, the UC Extension service, and your local Master Gardeners. If seed saving would be an ongoing part of the project, there are sources that will provide both free seed, and educational materials. I have provided a link to one of the better resources, the Community Seed Resource Program. I too donate seed to support civic projects... but because fraud is so rampant on the internet, I will only mail to institutional addresses. You can reach me via PM on my member page.