I built 4 more bluebird houses this week only to find out they are territorial and will claim up to 2 acres for themselves. So if anyone in their range wants a box, let me know. I've got 2 I'll send out if you pay postage. :) I had a pair nest in the one box I built last fall. The males tend to nest and mate near where they were born. The females are more nomadic. Babies!

90% of the fig trees in Louisiana are either Celeste or Brown Turkey....but mostly Celeste. They usually ripen their main crop around the fourth of July. They do not need much fertilizer. Here is a link to LSU's fig bulletin that will give you more specific information. Dan Here is a link that might be useful: LSU Fig Bulletin

Jeanie, I agree 100%. And what I keep telling others and myself. I'm starting some seeds earlier than normal but will also start some at the normal time. Also have invested in some larger pots I can pot up to if I need to hold the early ones longer. But if they get froze after they have been in the ground for a while I will have those started later to replace them. If I don't need the later starts I will either sell or give them away. And I'm not starting my whole amount either. I always tell someone gardening is a gamble but never put all of your eggs in one basket especially if starting this early. I posted on another thread about my visit with my friends and favorite greenhouse owners this past week. He said they've been receiving requests to start seeds for people for a few weeks now. They want the plants ready to transplant no later than April 1st. That is way to early for this area even with protection. I have set out April 10th and with protection the plants have survived and did well. They warn those who order plants so early but they grow for the public and if that is when they want them then they start them. One order was for 100 habeneros for a small market grower who wants the first peppers and tomatoes at his market. The quest for the earliest fruit will never end. My lean to greenhouse along with my cold frames allows me to start plants earlier and to protect them if needed. I plan to build another frame also. Any of us who have been around a few gardening seasons know full well that pushing the envelope carries certain risks. And in the end many times the results aren't any greater. I won't push peppers or ora at all. I'm going to push a few tomatoes hoping to get set before the heat arrives.Jay

Merryheart, We only had about a half-inch of rain in the gauge when I emptied it yesterday. Today it already has almost that much in it again. It has been raining but the sky is lightening up to the east, so maybe we will have some sunshine in a while. There are so many bugs around right now that my guineas are working themselves into a stage of exhaustion. When they get tired of chasing and eating bugs they put themselves in their house or pen and I close the door. Before the bugs were so abundant, they would stay out until dark, searching, searching, searching. Now they are usually back in their pen or house by 2 or 3 p.m., and sometimes even earlier. The chickens, on the other hand, will stay out until the coyotes start howling around sunset. Consider yourself patted on the back for waiting out the rose problems without resorting to pesticides. Pat, pat, pat. Vickie, Isn't the humidity awful lately? For us, it has been quite a while since we have had to deal with much humidity. During the drought of the last couple of years we had extremely low humidity, but we are paying for it now. Dawn