i live in zone 4 and within 3 wks i'll be starting onions to grow to full size, not scallions, and next peppers and sweet potatoes. the sweet potatoes will just be half buried and let sprout, then as the vines grow just cut off slips, root them, and each one will be a plant. to answer some of the other things folks have said i presprout peas in a wet paper towel some where warm ( top of fridge ) or a heating pad for people on low, then carefully , so as not to break off the little roots plant in the garden in shallow trench. they can take pretty cold after they germinate but they will rot otherwise. i plant spinach for early spring 3 wks before frost in the fall which is labor day here. they get to be about 3 in. tall and then go dormant and survive -0 temps just fine even without cover till spring. just be aware that as soon as they start growing plan to start cutting as they will bolt to seed fast. if the temps are warm in spring put seed in freezer for 2 wks before sowing gee i'm kind of long winded but have been growing several acres for over 40 yrs and still learning happy new year

Too late for today but I visited the Chichester NH garden on Gavin Hill yesterday. My husband enjoyed seeing the buildings. The early 1800s brick home was originally a hotel. Kitchen garden was enclosed by a wonderful tall hedge (owner has been gardening for 30 years) with a gorgeous climbing hydrangea covered entrance. Deep perennial bed. Wonderful views. Nice beds lining the final part of the driveway. etc. The owner said the garden is also on the Chichester garden tour which will be held 7/20, rain date 7/21. The Lane Garden in Canterbury is wonderful with strong Japanese influence, exposed ledges and lots of granite. It might be on the local garden tour which is how I saw it the first time. The owner gives a guided tour. Fortnam gardens is an extreme garden with lots of tropical on a fairly typical small suburban lot. The owner is a wonderful artist and photographer as well. The water feature alone is fantastic plus I love her garden accents. I think she has over 300 pots planted in addition to her landscape. Not much lawn left. She now has to use space in a commercial greenhouse to winter over plants. Used to just use her basement. I'm not sure if she posts on the perennial forum anymore. Stunning would be an apt word for her garden.

Well, you are just going to have to sort that out yourself, Bonnie. (Personally, I will advise tearing up lawn grass if a neighbor's yard isn't a possibility ;o)?) We have talked about wintersowing before and my decision to not even attempt it. I've posted a link to a Department of Energy map to show how little annual sun there is here. You can just delete one state's name and type in another (like Colorado) to see the abysmal difference between here and other places. I couldn't find anything on "winter" sunlight - the info would be even more depressing . . . probably compare to the Puget Sound . . . I mean, there is plenty of summer sun! But, I'm having real trouble here in the south window finding enuf sunlight for the seedlings. They will have to go out to the greenhouse soon. Not that there's more sun out there - just that I can run the temperature lower than "room" so that they aren't encouraged to grow in this "under a rock" late winter/springtime environment! Steve who shouldn't really complain since this isn't march of 2012 by a long shot Here is a link that might be useful: State Maps, Solar Energy

Very much what it has looked like around here for the past 6 weeks, Bonnie - not very deep but a cover of snow. Except after the temperature finally rose above freezing on Tuesday morning . . . it hasn't dropped below freezing since! No high temperature out of the 30's but still! We will now go back into the fog, the forecast says. Hey, there was actual sunshine y'day afternoon! With the sunlight and 35o, it felt like we were in the growing season, despite the frozen ground! I am getting more and more excited about the growing season. The excitement will need some tempering, however. I've been in major difficulties several different years by sowing seed indoors during mid-February. Maybe it would help to start some petunias & violas. Oh yeah, the first sowings of onions can go in flats; I'll just have to protect them from freezing in the greenhouse, is all. Steve