First of all, according to various people, you may want to reconsider keeping your catfish and pond fish together. I posted a link below - or you can do a search yourself on the subject. In our pond in Upstate NY (similar in zone to you), I remove all my tropical plants in early October. We cut back our hardy water lilies which are planted directly in the pond and drop to the bottom the other hardy plants. Our pond is 3 feet deep and approx. 3,000 gallons so the fish overwinter in the pond. I don't know what you should do with a pond that small. We purchased a plastic 100 gallon tub at Country Max for our tropical plants, and I think that would work well for your fish if you decide to bring them indoors. You would have to add a pump or air stone for aeration and something for filtration. My husband altered the "plug" with a faucet and we can drain it pretty easily with a garden hose into our basement sewer come spring. Here is a link that might be useful: catfish in a pond

Could it be Indian Shot 'Red Stripe' (Canna indica)? I have a canna that was my mother-in-law's...it looks exactly like this...blooms, foliage and seed pods. Grows about 5 to 6 feet tall in full sun...not much water...we had a lot of rain first of growing season but not much since. I started with one plant in 2003 and now have 20 or more. Peggy http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/Detail/03072.html http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/37157/index.html Here is a link that might be useful: Red Stripe Canna

Do you know about when the average last frost date is? That's a pretty good guide for when to transplant seedlings that like warm weather - tomatoes, peppers (though they do well in the cooler fall too), eggplant, summer and winter squash, cucumbers, etc. Soil temp is helpful to know too. You can stick a meat thermometer into the soil to get that. Different vegs like different temps. When you seed packages say "as soon as the ground can be worked" it means it. If you aren't expecting a lot of rain or unusually cold temps, and you squeeze a fist full of soil together and have it crumble apart, the soil is ready. Peas, tatsoi, bok choi, spinach and other seeds like cool ground. I plant my peas when the forsythia bloom. Some of the cool weather transplants are broccoli, cabbage and kale. I try to get my warm plants in the ground when they're six weeks old. Their roots aren't so big and compact that they're disturbed much. It reduces something called transplant shock. I try to get my cool plants in the ground when they're around five weeks old. If you have a forecast for unexpected frost or even snow you can cover the seedlings with a sheet to give them a little protection.

taz, even though we are both zone 6 our growing seasons are much different. I live in the southern mountains of West Virginia. Even though our average last frost date is May 10th, where I live we have had snow as late as the end of May. Therefore I do not start my main crop of tomatoes until the middle of March and then that is a couple of weeks early for me. As Carolyn has said, it is better to plant a somewhat smaller plant than to plant one that is too large and the term large being relative to the individuals own growing situation and preference. Many people in my area wait until Memorial Day to plant tomatoes. Our soil temps really wonÂt be that warm until mid to late May. Last year was a perfect example, many people went ahead and planted early and their plants sulked until the weather warmed up. Which it never really did for us, we had a very cool summer last year. As far as my Long Keepers, by having them in the large pots I will be able to throw some blankets over them to protect them from our first frost. By doing this I can extend their season by another 2 weeks to a month, depending on the weather. This can make all the difference in the amount of ripe fruits that I can harvest. My main crop of tomatoes is now in the little greenhouse, becoming accustomed to the outdoor environment. They will be ready to go in the ground as soon as the weather allows.