Hi Sancho Panza, First, let's dismiss the notion that there ever is a dumb question. There are no dumb questions. Not here. Not ever. Every single question is an opportunity for each and every one of us to learn something or to look at something in a different way. When the OSU fact sheets specify a range of planting dates, those are the dates that they recommend a plant or seed should go into the ground. The advantage of using a plant that is transplanted into the ground is that it may give you a harvest that is 3 to 6 weeks earlier than if seed is direct-sown into the ground at the recommended time. If you want to sow seeds in flats to raise your own transplants, your normally sow them 4 to 6 weeks before your targeted transplant date. Keep in mind that these are recommended dates only, and adjust as needed based on what you experience in your location. That is something you learn only with time and experience. With the recommended planting dates, you will see they come in a range. For the winter/spring planting dates, the earlier dates are for far southeastern OK and the later dates for far northwestern OK and the rest of us can pick a date in between the two extremes based on our location within the state. With the recommended fall planting dates, which really begin in summer, then it is the opposite. The earlier dates are for NW OK and the later ones for SE OK and the rest of us fall somewhere in between. Take the dates, too, with a certain amount of healthy skepticism or, let's say, be willing to exercise some flexibility. Unfortunately, plants do not grow by the calendar. It is we humans who use calendars to simplify planting times for ourselves. I don't blame OSU for giving us dates at all. It is very useful information. Plants, however, could care less about dates on a human calendar. They grow, or not, when the air temperatures and soil temperatures are right for them, and when they have adequate nutrition, moisture and the right amount of light. Make sense to you? When OSU gives us dates, those dates are generally the time when the soil temps and air temps are in the right range for a specific vegerable. It is just that our weather is highly erratic so we gardeners have to take recommended planting dates with a grain of salt. I think that, with some things, we can be fairly flexible when we plant them. I want to use broccoli as an example. In the winter/spring, broccoli can be planted in March. I am very far south, so ought to plant in earliest March. However, I'm in a low-lying creek hollow in a low-lying river valley, and cool air sinks into those low areas, making them prone to late freezes and frosts. From experience, I have found it is better if I plant broccoli transplants into the ground near the end of March and not the beginning. So, in that way, I am not following the OSU-recommendation exactly, but it is what works for me. You have to be willing to be flexible and adjust planting dates based on what you learn from planting and growing in whichever part of the state you're in. Tomatoes are an interesting vegetable in this regard. They will tolerate soil temps in the 50s and will survive air temps (without frost) into the 30s, though they will freeze at 32 degrees or can suffer frost damage even at 36 or 38 degrees. Thus, we get away with planting them earlier than recommended if we protect them from an occasional cold night. Tomatoes are very flexible in some ways and you can use that to your advantage. I transplanted the earliest tomatoes in late Feb. 2012 in containers, and started parting tomato plants into the ground March 12th and continued transplanting more through the first week in May. That's a huge range. All of them have produced fruit. The ones that were transplanted in late February or early March produced many more fruit per plant and they produced it earlier than those that went into the ground later. So, even though you can plant them through at least the end of April, I find they produce well most years when planted earlier. Why not just wait and plant them between April 10-30 as OSU recommends? Because with many tomato varieties, fruit set stops once really high temperatures arrive. Don't be afraid to push the limits a little with dates, or even sometimes a lot. If someone here thinks anyone is jumping the gun and planting way too early, we'll usually speak up and try to tell you why you ought to wait. Another consideration is that sometimes our weather is just wacky. This year is a perfect example of that. Sometimes spring temperatures arrive early and stay abnormally warm. In a year like that, it really can pay off to plant early if you can. When February and March are "hot" compared to their usual temperatures, I start pushing myself to get everything into the ground early so the plants can beat the heat. Sometimes, being willing to push the limits and plant early like that will pay off a great deal, as it did this year. Under similar conditions in a previous year, I planted early like that only to have a three week spell of late cold weather, including sleet and snow, strike after I had all my peppers and tomatoes in the ground and had to go to extraordinary lengths to save the plants. So, when you decide to ignore the recommended planting dates, you are doing so at your own risk, but it can pay off (or not). When it gets hot early like it did this year, if you wait and plant cool-season crops "on time", you may not get much of a harvest because the heat's early arrival shuts down their production before it can begin. That's why there are issues with relying on dates, and always will be, but it is the best method we have than can be succinctly described in a relatively brief listing. Hope this helps. If you have questions about a specific vegetable, ask them. We know from experience which ones tolerate being planted sort of early or late and why. Dawn

Worthy, yes, that is what we're facing. Our land is just north of Ottawa in southern Quebec. Most cottages in this area are built on rocky slopes, so no doubt contractors will know how to deal with the situation. I just want to make sure I know enough to have an intelligent conversation with them. Most cottages on slopes here have walk-out basements too (finished or not). Annie, like in Worthy's picture, we have a far amount of exposed bedrock right at the site(s). If we do end up with a walk out I'll have to consider the radon issue I guess. Our home is on bedrock too, it was built in 1877 and we just a 4' crawlspace, but it is well ventilated and sealed (now post our reno anyway).

It was a common practice to place, in block letters, on the garage slab, at the entry of the house from the garage, that, that was the condition of the slab. Included may have been "do not drill or cut", or words to that effect.

Depending on what kind of floor unit comes with the shed, you may be able to put the shed on blocks with 4x4 Stringers that the shed floor would be placed on. Depending on the shed floor unit you may need to place a 2X6 system with joists on a 16" center. then cover with 3/4" plywood. This all should be pressure treated. I have a 10 X 12' shed. It is a stick built, on on two 4X4 12' long. A 2X6 floor with joist on 16" centers and covered with 3/4 plywood. All pressure treated. We live in a much wetter area. and we have a clay loam soil. The shed is about 12 years old.