Hi Goldimom, Beautiful plants! I am only in my second season of hosta so have none of those . So many choices , I am trying to read through the posts and choose ones that are easy to grow . I am putting my order together this week June & KR are on the list . Thanks for the pix . Dot

SO GLAD you tackled that one, ken! LOL Actually, I didn't find him as 'cranky' at all--but he IS 'to the point' without a lot of 'dressing it up'! He's right about the 'Mars' and 'Venus' thing! We gals can 'think' and be very intelligent but we usually kick into the 'feelings' of a thing, ultimately and react and act from that base. Guys--from Mars, are to the point, logical (in their minds--MOST of the time) and really have a hard time figuring us 'feeling' gals out. For instance: Why can't we just lash out and get over it--right? I think ken is someone you need to meet and spend time with, (in person) in order to understand he's typing like he's thinking, quickly to the point, fast in and fast out--with little emotion, which includes irritation or anger!! I'm not saying he may not have a moment or two of crankiness, on this forum (at least it does come across that way SOMETIMES--who doesn't have those moments, anyway?) but I really think he genuninely does not see how what he types, CAN come across that way at times! You have to know, that we cannot know the mood of any of us when we try to communicate this way--the one typing or the one receiving the words, used to make a point! I'm glad I got to meet him and figure this part out and now I can visualize him saying what he's typing, and how he's REALLY saying it, and I can just see him making those quips as in person, not crankily but 'quick to the heart of the matter' (as previously said) with little rehashing or dressing it up! I had come to think that he reminds me of a man I use to work for, and I was right--his delivery and way of communicating is very similar, and after I sort of figured him out, (that his bark was much worse than his bite) we got along just fine!! If he DID seem cranky, I'd just ask him (in a teasing way), "Why are you so grumpy today?" He seemed to appreciate that I'd hit him head-on rather than turning and running out crying and feeling all hurt and sulking the rest of the day! :o) Did I describe you even close to your reality, as you see it, ken? Janice (Venus girlie-girl)

Sharlacr, Welcome to the forum. I hope you have as much fun here as the rest of us and that the info you pick up is useful. I also hope you have a bountiful garden this year. Now to address a few topics you mentioned: Depending on your soil type, the type of bermuda grass you had, and how well-established the bermuda was, you likely will be fighting bermuda for years. It helps if you dig up every bit of it as soon as it sprouts in your garden. The longer you let it grow, the stronger it becomes. You also can keep the bermuda grass down by putting down cardboard or newspaper around your plants and piling mulch on top of them. The cardboard or newspaper block light and keep it from reaching the soil, which will slow down any bermuda grass attempting to regrow from seeds, roots or stolons. The mulch holds the cardboard and newspaper in place. As a bonus, earthworms love cardboard and newspaper, so they'll soon discover it, will eat it and then carry 'it' down into your soil in the form of earthworm castings (aka worm poop) which will further enrich your soil. PEAT: Peat moss is controversial for 2 or 3 reasons. Some people object to is use because it is mined and transported great distances. For that reason it is not the most sustainable option. Another issue with peat moss is that once it gets really wet, it is very slow to dry, and once it gets really dry, it is hard to re-wet. Also, peat moss is 'dead' in terms of biological activity. So, it isn't healthy and alive with all kinds of biological life like compost would be. The decision to use or not use peat moss is an individual one. The only time I'd say that using peat moss actually might be harmful to a gardener's soil would be if you have really acidic soil to begin with. In that case, peat moss will make soil more acidic and soil that is too acidic limits the kinds of plants that will grow in it. KNOWLEDGE: It is alright if you don't know what you're doing yet. There is no better way than the learning-by-doing method. All of us didn't know what we were doing when we first started gardening either. I can read something 100 times in a book, but I don't think I fully understand it well until I've experienced it first-hand in my yard or garden. THIS FORUM: Although Garden Web has forums for virtually every gardening-related topic you can imagine, this is my favorite forum. On many forums, you'll talking with people who grow in soil, climate, weather, etc. that are totally different from ours. What works for them in their soil and with their climate and weather may not be what works for us, so I prefer this forum where we're all in the same region of the country and face similar soils, weather and climate. ONIONS: Oh, don't touch those onions yet. They likely aren't ready, but you didn't give us enough info. When you say you planted on Mother's Day, did that include the onions? If so, and if you are growing them for bulbing onions and not for fresh green onions, then they are a long way from being ready. By 5", do you mean 5" tall or that you see bulbs in the soil that are 5" across? Your answer to that makes a big difference in whether or not someone here can tell you if your onions soon will be ready for harvest, or not. TOMATOES: This will perform a lot better if you cage or stake them,but how much better they perform will vary depending on your soil type and on how wet or dry your average summer weather is. Most tomato plants can regrow from the roots at least one time if they are snapped off, frozen to the ground, devoured by deer, etc. After that, whether they can rebound again just depends on how old the plants are and how vigorously they're growing. CUCUMBERS: Cukes like warm soil and warm air temps. As soon as the conditions are right, the plants will take off and grow like mad assuming they are healthy. Once nighttime lows are staying consistently above 60 degrees (and, hence, soil temperatures are as well), the cucumber plants will grow just fine. Just be patient. SUCCESSION PLANTING: You have several options for how to use the area occupied by the onions once they are harvested. I usually follow onions with bush beans or pole beans, winter squash, summer squash, melons, okra, or southern peas (these are heat-loving peas like blackeyed peas, pinkeye purplehull peas, zipper peas, crowder peas, or cream peas; but NOT cool-season peas like sugar snap peas, green shelling peas or snow peas). It is wonderful that you have a nice, sunny spot for a garden, Often, folks who live in towns and cities don't have enough sunlight because they have to contend with shade from the buildings and trees on neighboring properties. Dawn

Oakley, I recently tried the spray and it did indeed turn me a bit sunnier! I like it - will tide me over until I'm able to (afford to) go to my regular colorist/stylist. She does a fabulous job but she's pricey and my hair grows quickly, meaning that I start to feel drab several weeks before I'm able to sit in her chair and have her work her magic. She gave me lowlights the last time I saw her, but now that warmer weather is here I've been wanting to go back up to my lighter shade. I haven't tried the shampoo/conditioner in this line, but the spray works beautifully. It actually lightened my hair a good deal more than I would have expected, probably because I already color and my hair is porous because of that. It didn't turn my hair that nasty orange hue either, which is great! I used "Sun-In" back in high school, and it must have been hideously harsh with peroxide. At one point my hair was almost white. Definite over-use, I'd say. ;-)