I'm sure your neighbors were happy to see veggies, even bolting crops, over the weedy yard, Spaghetina. Here's a couple of suggestions I have from my time growing organically up in SF and Marin. 1) Most of those flowers of the bolted veggies are edible and tasty. While the leaf flavor has turned bitter through the winter and the taste change that comes with bolting, the blossoms often gain a very interesting taste that is great topping salads or lightly fried in certain dishes. 2) If like germinating your own crops from seed, remember which of your crops are heirloom (their seeds will usually produce true) and which are F1 or other hybrids -- it's seed is typically still viable, but may have very different characteristics than the parent. The GW seed exchange forum is a great way to get those exotic seeds you mentioned w/o having to pay catalog prices or drive all over the Bay area, but you need your own seeds to reciprocate. Some of the best plants & veggies in my yard are from trades I've made with other GW members. 3) To my way of thinking, your soil mix seems too heavily focused on decomposed organic matter and doesn't take advantage of the alkaline SF clay topsoil and it's associated soil flora. The compost/purchased soil is great for nitrogen and drainage and you can artificially pump up the P/K/Fe to grow good veggies & plants in it, but organic amendments like blood & bone meal, fish emulsion, seaweed and others need bacteria & fungi to free the nutrients for your crop's roots. That's generally not true for soluble inorganic amendments, which is why they are popular. There's definitely a risk of adding weed seeds by using your yard's topsoil in the garden beds, but that soil food web is necessary for growing good organic crops, IMO. For plants that need lots of N and like great drainage, I go 2/3 purchased soil/fully composted organic matter and 1/3 native topsoil. For tomatoes, peppers and others that suffer in N-rich soils, I use 2/3 native, 1/3 organic matter.

HostaHosta...you sure picked up some beauties....loving Hole Mole!! And that's quite the size of leaves on your Love Pat....And no wonder I love your HM...in it I also see Avocado and Guacamole...one big, happy family...I think I'm going to add Holy Mole to keep my Guacamole company and keep adding fragrance to my garden....not to mention the rhyme....holy mole guacamole.. Thanks for doing your part in enabling me! Lol Note to Don: I guess the hosta quest never ends, huh? :0). I am SO GLAD you inspired me to get GUac. Note to Paul and Old-dirt: your plants? . . . Just gorgeous!!!!!! Paul...adorable "windmill" ... You've just inspired me to spray paint my black garden tea trolley the colour of your Love Pat and chair! Thanks! :-) Jo This post was edited by josephines67 on Tue, Oct 8, 13 at 0:06

Magpie...I'm laughing at what you said about your DH... mine didn't go along with it that eaisly at first. I had to convince him 'He Could Do It'... I told him how clever he was and knew he could...he did warn me quite a bit, that the glass could shatter. I WAS amazed in the end, that he succeded. I hope you and DH had a great fishing day. Sounds like a nice 'together' time. yachter...Yep...Kathleen will be making her way to her local CTS shop. Nothing gets past her...lol As far as those chocolate cupcake candles...when I go next time, I will look to see if they still have any left and will keep you in mind. They would look cute with your Chefs. OA...I've seen those chocolate bunnies in many stores.. They seem to be pretty popular this year. I first saw them last year in Home Goods, but now many other places. party music...keep the faith.. as I said to Luvs. Also, keep checking out the CTS site..they have a listing of where they are and future sites as well. MM...you should Register on Michael's site and have them email you their weekly sales AND coupons. This way, when you go, you can print out a current coupon. I do that, because they don't send a flyer to my area. Hi Marlene..Welcome. You don't want to 'Short Out' you PC with all the drool!! lol Glad you enjoyed my 'haul'! I didn't realize until I unpacked everything...how much SPRING I bought.. Guess, just like everyone else, I've had enough Winter already. Hope to hear more from you, and please join in and share any pictures that you have...We LOVE pictures, as you can tell by the responces to mine!! lol PUNK!! You've been missed! I know you've been busy and glad you had a chance to 'pop' in. Glad you enjoyed looking at everything. I don't think your tree will make me laugh...you are always too modest. I'm looking forward to seeing the hand painted eggs your friend gave you. Looking forward to seeing you back when you get the time. jane

Thanks for commenting, punk, sorie, kathleen, marlene & purplemoon ... punk..blizzards are over & "sunshine" just makes all the diff in the world! Very cold yet tho...but do-able! I'd love to visit your home...from what you share, it's just downright SWEET! sorie ... that print is by Robert Duncan called "April Storm" ... by his signature it says 1980 ...but I bought this print at an frame shop & had it framed 7 or 8 yrs ago...it is one of my favs! kathleen...no, the tree I bought on an after Christmas small town shopping trip...at a specialty store...they had used it in their display decor...& had it for sale...I was in heaven! I'd been wanting one for some yrs since I saw the grapevine handmade ones at a craftshow that sold for lots of $$$. It would be fun to try to make a "small" one. PM...hey, next mo (March 20th) is first day of Spring...so maybe you can decorate for that! You'll be bringing out all those beautiful bunnies!! You've got alot going on right now, woman! Thanks, gals! Jeanne S.