I put moss rose in the zip lock bag, close it and give it a few shakes, seeds fall to the bottom. Milkweed can be tricky, I pick up the pod with seeds holding them both together, then place inside the baggie, hold the seeds and pull them off the "silky stuff" before it unfolds and flies all over. I used to open each of the white seed pods of Night Blooming Jasmine to get the black seeds , but have been told it is best to let the pods with seeds dry out naturally. Easy to germinate no matter. Trying to think if there are any sticky ouchy seeds to gather, nope...Guess I don't grow it if it isn't easy. later Bea

mla20fus, my favorite flowers are perennials, so I don't have to plant them every year. I also love Holihocks, (sorry, every plant needs loved by someone :),especially by an old outhouse or shed. I plant very few annuals, but I truely love breadseed poppy, especially the bright red ones. They bloom with the Shasta Daisy and really make a show. The daisies were all volunteer, but now that I know how they look with my poppies, they can stay. I also plant gypsoia (sp?) and moss rose every year, they too are worth the effort. Are your fall Asters the deep purple ones?

I'm growing greens in large stock tanks this year on a deck, so can get some free from slug and vole predations for the first time. The lettuces are perhaps too crowded to form big heads, the arugula and the baby bok choy is bolting. An unusual green I'm enjoying is Brassica juncea, Ruby Streak and Golden Frill, from Evergreen seeds. The Ruby Streak is bolting, but the Golden Frill is larger and not bolting yet. It is making long leaves with lots of frill, finely divided, so it is quite crisp, yet still tender. I'm going to have to keep trying on the lettuce. I've found that some greens like Wild Red Kale, and turnips left in the ground for spring greens, need to be planted by July 15 in order to get large enough to make it through the winter. I had some excellent bok choy one year planted in the fall, but can't seem to duplicate it. It won't make it during the winter, though. A wild green I enjoyed up until frost last year and in early spring this year is Sheep Sorrel, for a sour lemony taste.

It's said to be more useful if applied in the autumn Dan, for that very reason. Nutrients have all winter to break down. Part of the ideal, whether spring or autumn, is not necessarily focusing on feeding the plants, but rather feeding the soil. Feed to the soil life, which is in much more abundance if not tilled, and they feed the plants all the mineral and nutrients they need, that is otherwise harder for the plant to get in the soil when tilling due to less of that soil life, thus the need for more of those nutrients in regular feeding schedules. You COULD just use a thick, heavy mulch of primarily hay and leaves or some other organic matter, and I am doing that as well as the compost, but the compost provides a stronger start for a brand NEW garden due to a space to sow seeds into, transplant plants into, as well as give a quick feed to the soil life. Not to mention it's also full of soil life, which, if taken care of, can possibly provide some long term nutrients to the plant in a brand new garden as that. Its going to be a very interesting experiment. I have some beds tilled to compare of course. I would recommend checking out Charles Dowding if you are interested. I am largely following a combination of his and Ruth Stout's methods. He has website with bi-weekly updates on his market garden as well as all of the experiments he runs. It's a very neat concept. Of course, he is in the U.K. so a bit different climate, making this an even more adventurous experiment.