What a post! Would it bother you if I copied it and sent it to my greenhouse teacher? From working at a garden center: "What are these?" -"Fluffy seed pods from a Clematis" "No way, they never had them before!" -"Yep, that's what they are." "I want a SECOND opinion" -"Sure, hey ... do you happen to know what these are?" *Quizzical look at me* "Clematis seeds..." *Some more argument from customer on the subject* "Well, they're hideous." Yeah, that was an interesting one. It's not uncommon to have customers ask for a second opinion on an insect problem or something like that when they don't like the answer. I was really taken back by this one though. Many conversations begin with: "You know that tree in that yard by the church on ivelivedhereallmylifebutneverheardofit street? What is it?" You can never own too many pairs of Crocs. Keep pennies on hand for the kiddies to throw in the fountain. Harry Lauder's Walking Stick makes a wonderful conversation piece next to the cash register. When ordering petunias, if it doesn't say "wave" don't bother. People have no idea what they're exposure is like. -Use words like South and West, then ask them questions like, what time they eat dinner in the summer and where. If the answer is 5:30 on the back deck, ask them if they have to wear sunglasses or a sweater and go from there. If customers start a pile of plants next to the register, organize them by price. There is one customer every day that wants you to landscape their entire yard 10 minutes to closing. Know and accept this fact. Know plants in this order: -Vague description -Culture requirements and common name(s) -Deer resistance -Scientific names

Indeed the garden forums are a wealth of good information! I had also tried using 2% milk on mildewed roses, it worked amazingly well ... it also had a bit of an effect on the aphid population, many of the buggers had gotten stuck down in place and died :) Marigolds are doing great this year, just hope that hail stays away!

Thanks for all the positive feedback, it's nice to hear. :) Well, I have now started in on the pressure canning. I did get 12 pts. of Katie's Roasted Tomato and Garlic soup last week and 8 pts. of beef stock yesterday. Today/tomorrow it's chicken stock and chicken soup, then next week apple sauce and apple pie filling. It's kind of a relief to be away from the tomatoes for a while. :) And I am getting more comfortable with the pressure canning. I got the Presto 23 Qt. and the optional weighted pressure regulator. My gauge seems pretty darn accurate so far, but I love the ease and consistency of using the weights; I'm glad I spent the extra $20. I probably will can more tomatoes next year - I'm just a glutton for punishment! :) But I will probably spread it out and not do it all 6 or 7 days in a row. Since I don't really grow enough tomatoes to can, I buy them when I want to can. There's a great organic farm the other side of town (Petaluma, CA) that has been selling tomatoes $1/lb or $12/crate; I've gotten over 20 lbs. in a crate! They also sell the overripe tomatoes as "sauce tomatoes" for $5/box (about 20 lbs). So it's very reasonable cost-wise. I don't get the satisfaction some of you do by starting from seed, but it's still pretty darn satisfying. And as several of you have commented, it sure is all pretty to look at too. We're just wrapping up a kitchen remodel; my husband is about to start on the shelves in our small walk-in pantry. I can't wait to see all my jars and jars on my new shelves!!!! Kathy

I hardened the plants off much more successfully this year than last year. I basically put them out in the shade after I came back from work every day for a week. At the end of the week, I started giving them a little of the sunlight just before the sun set. Then I let them stay outside over night (day 7 or so). The next day, I would leave them outside, but in a shady place so they did not get straight sunlight (during the day, but they got all the afternoon sun). I let that go for a couple of days, then I let them experience full sunlight both in the morning and during the day. So, all in all, about 10 days of hardening off (while not affecting any of my time at work). I guess, the key is to start very slowly and be patient. Last year, I almost managed to kill several plants (I did seriously stunt a couple). Luckily, I caught my errors in time, but this year, was a much better experience. But, I believe the big lesson I got this year were: if I expected to have 42 plants, then plant at least a 72 tray full and keep the strong and willing ones. Let the stunted ones go. Next year, I'll definitely seed a couple of 72 cell trays and just keep the strong ones (eg, planting lets say 18 Golden Habanero plants even if I only plan of keeping 6-8). So I plan on planting 144 seeds next year, and keep about 40. I will transplant the strong ones I do not plan on keeping into styrofoam cups for give-aways and finally pitch the ones that look like weak performers (I am guessing probably 40 will be in the "will toss" category). Another lesson I learned: If using styrofoam cups, make sure to put them on a rack on a tray, such that they are easy to pull in and out of the rack. Keep some plastic or something, so you can catch run off water. It was a pain to carry two and two cups to the sink when watering (I had holes in the bottom and since I watered them in the living room, I had to protect the carpet). They were also prone to tip over if I was a little to fast (dumping soil on the carpet and exposing plant roots more than necessary. I have the Chrome wire shelf unit referenced in another thread. Tipping cups are not a problem if you have solid shelves). When I built the trays, both problems went away.