My March plans had initially included the beginning of my sunchoke harvest next week and putting in the first rows of peas mid-month... which could easily still happen. Given that we're getting our best snowfall of the year right now, that may be postponed... or require a little top-undressing before I get to the harvesting part. Sunchokes are a remarkably forgiving crop, but not necessarily worth shoveling snow to harvest, and I have no delivery obligations till Easter week-end. It's truly spring in the hoop houses now, but even they will be a bit cool come Sunday.

Mary I refer to meyer mike as the original mike. Although I do try to take his credit once in awhile,LOL The info is quite cluttered so Ill do my best to give you some good cliff notes Most important to a healthy citrus are the soil, watering habits, light, fertilizer and of course heat. You want to be sure that the soil(not dirt) drains the water well and still holds enough for the tree. Things like potting soil, topsoil, compost and anything that contains a large amount of peat or something similar will hold the water way to long and not allow oxygen to the roots leading to root rot. There are some good recipes that most of us use and have had good results. A few are known as the 5.1.1 and the "gritty mix" Mike is a master of these and can help you out there. Water needs be done so that the root zone has a chance to dry out a bit but not get bone dry. This is one thing that most people struggle with and takes time and experience to get right. Citrus are evergreen and need a good light source for at least 8 hours per day whether from the sun or artificial during the winter. A sunny window or florescent lighting is what most do in the winter. Your trees root need to be around 55 degrees F to function properly. This is no problem during late spring and summer but can be a bit tricky during the fall and winter. Even for me with a greenhouse I have to be sure that the roots are getting warm. One thing that can happen is if you put your tree in a hot window to get the light it needs if the roots arent warm and functioning you could have winter leaf drop. This is where the leaf surface gets hot and because the roots are too cold the tree will simply drop them because it can transpire water to cool them. Fertilizing can be tricky also. Everyone has their favorites ways and times to do this so I cant really bombard you with routines. I can say that they need a good source of all the major elements plus minors. When i started out I used plain Miracle grow all purpose once a month at half strength during the peak growing season( spring and summer) and added a slow release that contained minors, such as magnesium, calcium, iron, etc. Your conditions will dictate what you need to do and we will help you figure out a routine that works. This is by no means the absolute way to take care of citrus just a few things I have learned from here. Man I dont think i have ever typed that much on this site. LOL. Okie Mike.

I'm only a few days ahead of you. Our demo started this past Monday and it is amazing how fast these guys are working. Yes, it is a mess, but I am keeping my eye on the big prize! Best wishes for the smoothest sailing possible!

Josh: Yah, I did actually do it today. I only planted a few varieties however. Just twelve total starters but only 4 unique varieties. I have done around double digits in unique varieties over the past several years, but I am looking at making it a bit easier this year. I will get my HHW and a couple Cayennes from the garden centers. No need to waste growing space for the easy to find varieties IMO. I remember those Black Pearls. They were definitely a dissapointment for me that first try, but after that, I found them as easy to germinate and grow as any other pepper. Definitely a cool looking plant too. I went back to a Thai Dragon chili this year again. They were great a couple years back for drying and grinding to flakes. Seem to be a very good seasoning pepper. I did some more Carolina Reapers. I figure I have to have the "hottest" for when that smart-alec claims he can eat any pepper. hahaha Also, my Twilights. I just love the ornamental value of the plant. And the only one variety that is new to me this year is a Bolivian Rainbow. They look very similar to the Twilight, but I wanted to see how it compared in real life. So, here are pics for anyone that might care to view my meager grow this year. And here they are on their heat mat with humidity dome cover. Set for 82 degrees. (the one container on the far left is actually empty (unused).