Hi, everyone. I have been primarily collecting very small varieties (micro mini or smallest of the small varieties) for some years. My collection has a few extra plants (fully grown or well established) for trade of the following varieties: 1. Tiny Wood Trail 2. Lil Ballerina 3. Spunky Trail (1 plant) 4. Pip Squeak (1 plant) 5. Tiny Moon Goddess (1 plant) 6. Chantaspring (1 plug) 7. Gleeful Elf 8. Rob's Loose Noodle 9. Little Darlin' Now I am looking for the following varieties: 1. Lilla Blåklockan (I. Lindskog) 2.Flashy Trail 3. Vallarta Campanas Moradas 4. Senk's Fruit Fly 5. Tsunami If there's anyone interested in trade, please let me know. Or anybody knowing who carries the above 5 varieties, please also kindly let me know. I would not mind purchasing them.

I've got lots and lots of flower seed that I'm wintersowing this year- 37 containers so far. And at least a couple dozen more to go through the next few weeks. These are getting planted in all over the place. I have an area of the yard I call the sanctuary that I'm slowly but surely filling in with plugs of different self sowing annuals and perennials. On the other side of the sanctuary is getting filled with different types of milkweed and other butterfly and insect flowers. Some others are going into the shady area in front of the house. Still others are going into a whole bunch of different spots around the yard that I want to be able to sow once, then leave to let them do their thing. I'm trying to WS thimbleberry for the first time- I want to cultivate up a patch of it on the back 40 somewhat around where the wild blackberries are growing- and where I plan on putting in the gooseberries I've overwintered, and later, raspberries- I want a big ole area of berry picking goodness. And bramble goodness to help keep out some neighbors I'm having trouble with- they can pick on their side, and leave mine alone, lol. Later in the season will be my WS of grape hyacinths- I WS them late in the winter in their containers so I can plant them in in blocks to a border around my solarium. I've found this works better with WS than it does trying to set them in in the fall when they are supposed to be planted. WS them kind of forces them to grow a bit faster and more solid than in the ground. I've considered WS some herbs and maybe veggies- but this depends on if I still have any containers and dirt leftover from doing up all the flowers!

Thank you Jim for the great Green Elephant event. I didn't know there was a winter sowing event too. How does that go? Do we bring the seeds and then exchange seeds and plant them together at the event?

I was thinking of sowing tomato seeds over the winter directly in the soil. I am in texas, so would the plastic cover be neccessary? I tried sprouting tomato seed in the soil outside this fall. They did not sprout. I planted a few in soil cubes (inside), and one sprouted. I moved it to a pot and then a few days later I moved it onto a mini green (pop bottle) house in the window. Got too hot in there I guess as it died in a few days. I left the lid off for air flow. I bought plants this year, just do not want to keep depending on others to grow my plants. This is my first time to grow tomatoes and only 2nd year gardening. I have my heirloom tomatoes planted in a group of 6. in an area 6 X 4 kinda two rows of 3. So they each have 4 foot square to grow and they seem crowded. Hubby says this is a good thing in this heat. The only tomatoes forming are deep inside the foliage. The outer blosums drop off due to over 95 degrees every day. Only 2 plants are large now, the other plants are only like 1 foot tall, as I planted them much later. Any attempt at growing basil and borage at the end of the 10 X 4 bed, did not take. Some plants sprouted but died in our 100 degree weater. I heard tossing a tomato on the ground will sprout next year. I might try that one. Still want to try new varieties though. If I can ever figure out how to sprout tomato seeds. It can't be the company I got them from as I got seed from three different sources. Tomato fest and 2 different seed saver exchange individuals. I was thinking of either giving the plants 3 foot square space next year or leaving the same area, but planting alternating with basil and borage. back row tomato, borage tomato borage tomato front row basil tomato basil tomato basil Possibly replacing a few of the tomatoes with eggplants. I would put tomatoes in back and eggplants up front. I guess because I thought eggplants were more tolerant of the heat. But I am not sur eon that one. I have the back row getting more afternoon shade. The bed is up against the house. The whole garden is shaded by 2 pm. The beds by the house a bit earier. this 4 X10 bed is paralelle to the house and closest to the house. Hope this would give the tomatoes more room. I have a bamboo pole every 2 feet. Kinda like each plant gets a bamboo square. I have jute twine strung between the poles, to sort of cage them in. Twine runs up each side, and the center. I lashed in cross beams of bamboo between plants. Where the stems rub on the twine, the plants have a mark there, so I thought of replacing the twine with lashed bamboo. Plants seem healthy and producing a small number of tomtoes, so hubby says don't fix it if it ain't broke. So far only found 1 bug on the plantes. it was a tomato horn worm. Anyone have ideas?