None of the ones listed are here yet but I'm prepping for them! But they all ship pretty promptly. So I'll sow the onions and arugula, everything from ST except amaranthus, and the monkshod the minute I get my dirty hands on it! Even the lupin (an annual kind) I'll WS that, too. Direct sowed some last year all flopped and died, it's an annual kind, and just curious about it. Petunias (blue wave) I sowed just one pkt prob too early. The cosmos, all other petunias, amaranthus (both kinds) will wait until the end of March or early May. Even though I've read the faq more than once and multiple posts, can't remember every detail how people were successful with what so just started sowing madly. Will know better next next time. The delphiniums I will winter sow two kinds this year I have from ST, but that special one, one seed per cup and might wait timing wise like I did successfully for my delphs last spring. Will sow all the pansies and violas ASAP except maybe hold 2 pkts back for next year, bought a lot of what I hope are blue because if all the different kinds I sowed grow and reseed, they will cross like you said. I want to keep the blue ones true if they turn out that way for me, don't want them to cross. Have already sowed lots of violas and have some Challon? pansies I don't particularly like (bonus), will sow when I get to it. The runner beans my inclination are to direct sow when frost past as I successfully grew some Scarlet ones years ago, didn't fuss too much about water even, just about every seed germinated, and they go pretty deep IIRC. But I thought my grandson might have fun sowing them in some of my cups (later then) and then planting somewhere himself and watch them grow. Saved your instructions, so appreciate the advice, wish I'd asked about some of the others sooner. Now one more teeny weeny question. Just mixed up a big batch of soil and have to burn some more drainage holes which seem to be much better than slits like I have done in the past in the BOTTOM. BUT should I put about 4 slits in the top of those lids to snap on the cups or burn a couple holes instead? I have been burning holes in the tops of most, and they're a good 1/4" diam and may let things get too drenched. You have your cups uncovered in the hoophouse; I have to cover mine, they're white and about the translucency of a milk jug only thinner. Well one more question. Do you plant your love lies bleeding in the soil or container? The seed photo showed a container high enough so they could hang. The other amaranthus looks quite different. A watched container never grows. Maybe that's why . . .I can't help the temptation to peek when it starts warming up, haven't looked at one thing out there yet. Thanks much; obviously you and some others have lots of experience.

I was told when I purchased Le Creuset in a hardware store in France that the pieces with black interiors just have black enamel instead of white enamel and do not need to be seasoned. They should be treated like other Le Creuset pieces. I have a few of these, but they are 32 years old and I am not sure today's black interiors are the same. I have indeed always treated my black ones just like my cream-colored ones. I just went and looked at a couple of them and there is no variation in the black surfaces. I am wondering if the problem you note is due to a defect in the enamel. Do you have your original packing? I would contact Le Creuset and see what they say about this.

So Woodie, you want my disaster to be your entertainment, huh? LOL.... My mother always tells of how her pressure cooker blew up and plastered split peas all over the ceiling, so I've tried to learn something from that story. (No, she didn't take a picture!!)

This is the vertical storage of my frypans, of which I have many (doubles of four sizes plus a large wok, chicken fryer, and paella pan). This is a 30" base cab on the RH side next to my range: The pots and other lids are in this cart which serves as a center island. I don't have a photo of both doors open, sorry. The blue 'stackers' are cloth/foam starburst forms that allow you to stack non-stick. I never stack more than 3 pots high anyway as I'm always grabbing one of them! The closed door side has a small-lid organizer on the inside of the door, and a shelf. The shelf holds vertical organizers for the big heavy lids that fit various frypans. The bottom (floor) shelf holds a duplicate stewpot and duplicate 3-qt saucepot, again stacked with the blue cushioning. My kitchen is a U-shape with the range at the center. With the base cab and cart holding all the cooking pans, it's just a step or two to grab whatever I need. Baking equipment and roasting/cookie sheets are in vertical organizers in both upper and base cabs to the left of the range, as my baking ingredients are in the left corner Lazy Susan. The KA mixer, blender and food processor are hidden from casual sight by the refrigerator (you can just see the very edge of the refrig on the far LH side of the photo). I can keep them plugged in and ready to use, without having them in the way of my prep space. Our kitchen, which we remodeled originally in 1989 and then updated again in 2003, is large for the size of the overall house. This is a small 2 bd cottage and when we redesigned the 850 sq. ft. main floor into an open plan, the kitchen was expanded to a 9x13 U-shape. The room is another 4' deeper but we keep that as open aisle space since it leads to a back staircase we use all the time. This photo shows how the range, RH base cab and cart are all within a few steps of the sink and DW.