OK, thanks everyone, you've put this 'worrywort's' mind at rest! Howard,my GH is very small and serves me only for the winter months. I can heat it when necessary, but cooling it doesn't work! Our summer temps are just too hot for the building I use, actually a glass house. I have an attached screen house where all the lower light plants stay during the summer and do well. But the high light guys I try to keep outside. Rain this time of year is very unusual for us, my rain barrels are overflowing :))). Since you've given me an OK, I'm going to put the rhyncostylis plants out too and let them enjoy all the rain. Happy growing. Sheila :)

It's been about as foggy as San Francisco, but very little rain here in NC. A few more drops are expected tonight. When I drove over the lake, it was still down so much there are new islands. We still have about 60 gallons of rainwater stored in a barrel, but the frost finally got all of my potted annuals, so I will just use it for my potted evergreens. It was so warm on Thanksgiving. The crowd enjoyed wandering through the garden and sitting on the screened porch. Cameron

Susan, Yes, I plant beets every year. I like them pickled with cinnamon, as small whole baby beets and later when they get bigger, I slice them and pickle them. Yum! Ten times better than the ones you get in jars at the store. Have a very earthy taste that gets processed out of the 'store boughten' ones. Just can't compare. They are easy to grow, too. I like to plant them in 3-4 ft. blocks, but sometimes I just plant them in rows next to the onions. Yes, I have a well. Even with the pump coming on every few seconds, the electric bill for my watering never is more than 5 or 6 bucks and I water plenty. (Sheeesh! Don't tell anyone! They might hike up my rates!) I have a white grape tomato that I bought from a co-vendor at the Stillwater Farmer's Market. It is called, Snow White and it tastes like a grape, I kid you not. They are kind of a creamy white color - just a touch of yellow to the white. really pretty in a bowl with the little red grape tomatoes. Delicious as antipasto and yummy just as a snack. Anyway, I saved some seeds and anxious to grow some this year. I grow several varieties of tomatoes, so I am sure to have gobs of extra tomato plants that I can can bring to Swap. I will have Sweet basil, Lemon Basil, Lime Basil, Spicy Globe, Thai & Cinnamon Basils, too. As long as it doesn't drop down into the 20s and last for days, you can cover your plants with sheets and weight them down with small rocks. You can cover them with lots of hay, too, and that works great. Hay is a great insulator. If you want to get really clever, here is one of my methods that works fantastically: Fill black plastic trash bags with leaves or hay. Damp is okay. Tie them shut. Lay these along both sides of your plants, down your rows. Secure them with sticks so they won't blow or roll away in the wind. The black plastic will really warm up the soil around the plants during the day and if it is supposed to get cold at night, you can just throw a sheet or lightweight blanket over the bags of leaves. The bags will keep the blanket off the plants and help hold in the heat. Makes sure that you cover them back up before it gets dark to conserve the heat in the hay or leaves. I have used this method to extend my growing season well into the colder months. I grew green beans all the way into December several normal wintery weather years. In fact, I harvested enough fresh, crisp green beans on Christmas morning one year to feed my entire family that came to dinner! Blah, blah, blah! Nuff said. ~SweetAnnie4u

..thanks for the various replies to my queries here.... from what I now deduce, in the U.S. they use a single spelling of meter to cover both, whereas here we use two spellings, metre for distance and meter for our energy supply needs... there is no way for instance, I would refer to my meter box as a metre box... ...I think, if I was learning English as a foreign language, I might prefer to use the American spellings, as it seems they're a little less complicated... ...I'm not sure we have long distance readings via computer here as yet, maybe in some places, - I think this is a great idea - but we tend to take our own readings and pass them over either by phone or internet, but once a year they send someone out to do a manual reading, just in case we're cheating... it's been this way for many years as far as we are concerned here, and after living in different areas of the country... ..Melodye above reminds me that 'gas' is another area of confusion.... we would never use gas to refer to the petrol we put in our cars [autos?].... once again, more simplified maybe but confusing for me, in the U.S. they use gas to refer to different things...