Yes, Katamari is the rolling stuff up game. Its really addictive for such a simple game, and theres three of them. The part I like the most is the amazing effort they put into the music. I found some of it on youtube and it ranges from techno to jazzy lounge music, swing music, Im pretty sure someone even snuck a gospel peice or two in there. While Iw as writing yesterday I stumbled across someone who had done an orchestral version of one of the themse that made my jaw drop. Video game music is constantly impressing me with every passing year. But anyway, back to gardening... Part of my problem with the space issue is theres a movement out here for the "Grow Biointensive" system. While I'm interested that they've managed to do so much with such small topsoil space, I've noticed all the beds dealing with the system need at least two feet of soil, dug down or in raised beds, and thats not what I have. My mum has been trying to push me in that direction, but I dont feel confident with it at this time since I wanted to get more of a feel for the general gardening situation since its my first time and all. Some plants still got pushed closer together than I would've liked but then none of us had seen some of these plants actually growing before. The cukes are doign better than I expected for being about 6 inches closer to each toher plant than I really wanted them to be, but we had such a huge amount of plants to deal with that I did the best I could. I think the funniest part about all this is while it is my first time growing a real garden, I've been growing virtual gardens since I was abotu 19, playing an online game called "Final Fantasy 11", which had a really complicated planting/gardening system most people didnt know about. That game system is actually what got me really focused on the seasons, when to plant, where to plant, when to fertilize, what plants grew better in what geological areas, and I even had a little notebook for a long time where I'd record the weekly cycle of my virtual plants in relation to the moon phase and exact time I made any modifications to the planting space. Even the gamers thought I was nuts, but I loved it! They'd even die off or give terrible results if I neglected them for too long, or give off better results if I got proper gardening tools, workbenches, and diffrent planters had diffrent effects too. Im getting better results with a real garden than I was in my virtual gardens though... Except for that one time I accidentally harvested 122 virtual onions. I can tell you, the cooks sure were happy with me.

This spring I'm trying a selection of the early tomatoes that are promoted as cool-tolerant with the ability to set fruit at lower temperatures. (I haven't found anybody making those claims for peppers, though. LOL) The varieties I have growing outside now are listed below, along with and my notes on why I selected them. The ones that do well, I will grow again, most likely in my fall garden. I have been growing the Bloody Butcher the longest, and it set its first fruit in early December and a #@!$%# ground squirrel just made off with the biggest tomato today. grrrr Jan Glacier Originally from Sweden. Very early (45-55 dtm), very cold tolerant, high yielding tomato. This special strain begins flowering when only 4 inches high. Expect high yields of 2-3 oz fruit, excellent for salads and slicing. The sweet, rich taste is similar to that found in larger, later season tomatoes. Potato-leaf foliage. Siberian Fruits grow to 3-5oz and are borne in clusters. The juicy fruits have a delicious flavor roundly considered one of the best of the early types. Unlike most tomatoes this variety sets fruits in cool weather, even at just a few degrees above freezing! Determinate. 55-58 days. Silvery Fir Tree Known for its carrot-like foliage with a slight silver tinge. Plants are short and bear heavy crops of medium sized flattish tomatoes with a good flavor. Along with its attractive foliage, this variety is also popular for short or late season tomato growers as it produces in just 58 days. Determinate. Stupice A native of Czechoslovakia, where its extreme earliness, tolerance to cold, superior flavor and high yields have earned it worldwide attention. Tests show an astounding average of 87 fruits picked per plant. Fruits are sugary sweet, weighing 1 to 2 oz. Cold hardy tomato bearing 3-6 oz. fruits in large clusters. Plants are potato-leaved and can grow to a few feet. This variety bears particularly well in short-seasons or cooler areas. Fruits are good-sized and have a great flavor. Originally from Czechoslovakia. 55 days. SubArctic Plenty Allegedly developed in the 1940's by the U.S. Military to provide fresh tomatoes to their troops in Greenland. If your weather turns cold after you set out plants, try this variety. Sets hundreds of small, 1 to 2", red fruits with that tart, "real tomato" flavor. Hardier than virtually any other variety we offer. Extremely early maturity. No need to stake. Bloody Butcher A small 3-4 oz cluster tomato. Fruit are deep red in color and have a nice tomato flavor. Production is really good, but where this open-pollinated tomato really shines is its earliness. It ripens in only about 60 days, making it ripen about the same time as Early Girl, but this tomato is much tastier. Northern Exposure Hybrid 8 oz. fruits are borne on ompact, semi-determinate plants which are bred specifically for cool, short season areas. Ready to pick 67 days from setting plants outside. Determinate Sophie's Choicean extra early tomato - highly productive, flavorful and large-fruited. Unlike other extra-early varieties, the fruits are flavorful and large, averaging 6 to 8 ounces and weighing up to 12 ounces. Produces large fruit on a small plant only 18 to 24" tall. Quality is best in cool climates.

Could try Blue Crown-pretty darn hardy and I've used it to pollinate Incense with a couple of successes. Although you're right Kiwinut for as many as I've tried to pollinate, I've had more fail than succeed. Not sure if maybe it's a time of day thing or what. I had 3 Blue Crowns survive last year's horrific winter in the Hi Desert of So Calif (zone 8 - sunset 11) 1 of them was on the front porch, did not lose it's leaves. The other 2 were in pots out in all of the rain, 3x normal amount, some snow, 15-25F weather for about a week. Only problem with Blue Crown is the fruit may not be particularly tasty, but you can use it to pollinate, it's hardy and is fragrant, at least mine are.

Thanks for the info. I browsed the Starks fruit tree website today and they said fall planting is fine, but I agree with you all that it's probably safer to wait until early spring for bareroot trees. Is there another website you all like better to order your fruit trees from? My garden is fairly big (at least to me coming from a small backyard garden previously) 60'x40' with full sun from sunrise to sunset on the south side of our three acre lot. It is fenced to keep deer out. I was planning to plant dwarf trees in just the corners (maybe not the south western corner due to the possibility of that tree casting the most shade) using the high density planting method which I had good success with in my previous garden in Calif. I've been tracking shade and the seasons in general on our property for one year to get a sense for other planting areas too. Right now only the southern half of the fenced garden is planted (about 1200sqft), the eastern half is empty (or full) with unlimited potential (another 1200sqft), except for a row of rasperries along the south fence. I don't think competition for water is an issue as my veggies are in four raised beds 4' wide by 10' long. They are 5 feet away from the fence across from a octagonal strawberry patch about 150sqft. The garden is kind of potager style planted close together (hodge podge sq ft gardening) with flowers mixed in. It's lovely to me and slowly becoming my dream garden. BUT, to throw all of that out the window, I am so interested in so many fruit varieties that maybe I should just do a small orchard next to the veggie garden but there'd be no fence around it. Will the deer eat the fruit trees? My aussie shep. mix dog does a pretty good job of keeping them away, actually it's her mission in life (w/lots of encouragement & treats from me when she chases them away:) We are on our own private well and to conserve I would like to water the trees with grey water and rain barrel water (that's a whole 'nother topic I know!). Anyway, now that I've written a book....one more question....what varieties of fruit trees (preferably disease resistant) can you not live without? Thanks for your time! You guys are always awesome & helpful. Charlene Here is a link that might be useful: high density planting