You know wintersowing is addictive when we start talking about it in October. I just placed a seed order with Thompson-Morgan. Anyone else feel like the T& M catalog is the "Playboy" magazine of seed catalogs? I prefer 2 liter bottles and milk jugs. I usually sow the seeds I want to keep in the milk jugs and the give aways in the 2 liters. Its visually easier to separate and I can transport more of the smaller containers. Brenda does have a point about the moisture control potting soil. They can get waterlogged and rot the seeds. Especially in the earlier part of the winter when it isn't hot. I have had better luck having my containers off the ground or on a patio if possible. We had a wet winter a couple of years ago and my jugs were covered in mud and couldn't drain and therefore the seeds drowned/rotted. I start with my hardy perennials, next hardy annuals, then half hardy perennials and then tender annuals. By that time you can actually start thinking about sowing the seeds outside but I never know where I will need my plants so it is easier for me to move a jug around until I find the right spot. Plus I can't tell a weed seed from a wanted seed especially if it is an unfamiliar plant. I remember one year I pulled most of my columbine seedlings because I thought it was clover. Just remember it is supposed to be fun and relaxing. There is also a large cybernet party to celebrate the Winter Soltice- clothes and wine optional LOL. Shannon/Dirtrx

how big is this area in sq ft? when building new...this is the time to get it right. IF you have a hvac co that understands zoning then make the master suite on a separate zone. size system for whole house manual J design & size ductwork man S&D install system & duct design correctly. now is the easiest time to do so. I'm not a fan of separate units for different floors. homeowner ends up paying for multiple units more cost upfront, more cost to operate. the one system per floor is hvac co's way of covering their butts...it isn't to your advantage at all. zoned systems work, when designs are incorporated and installed according to design. several zones per system. you could have each floor on a zone, and even break the floors down into seperate zones controlled by their own tstat. at night put less hvac in kitchen living section and more to bedrooms for example, zoned systems are to adjust to how you live in the house. shop hvac co's that understand & do zoned systems...one unit multiple tstats...not multiple systems. best of luck.

Goat That furnace is a two stg 80% eff var speed XV80 model. If you expect full functionality of this furnace, then you will require a true two stg thermostat. If you use old thermostat, then furnace will run on high stg all the time. Not very smart. I did check and the system quoted is a match. 29 KBTUs cooling, 13 EER, 16 SEER. As stated furnace has two stages, 31 KBTU on low, 48 KBTU on high. I suggest upgrading to the XV95 furnace mdl for it's higher efficiency. You want a new and correctly sized refrigerant lineset and I would recommend a whole house air filter cabinet if you don't have one. BTW, what size and eff is your existing furnace? IMO

tracey - just know that a quality heat pump beats any apartment unit. Running all the time is fine if you don't hear it and with a good unit and good install, you shouldn't. I understand the worry and wouldn't try to talk you out of it - I'm guessing you would have propane for other things anyway. I don't actually understand the dirty sock syndrome... I'll give you our situation although I'm surprised that these things aren't decided yet if you are painting.... We have dual fuel downstairs and zoned heat pump upstairs. We rarely hear the downstairs unit either winter or summer. The floor vents are quieter. Upstairs we can hear the airflow - partly that is a result of zoning since the full system is forced through 1/2 the upstairs but partly it is due to a design of the vents. And partly it is due to the upstairs having lots of doors - all bedrooms. The air flow under the doors is a bit annoying at times. Why am I telling you this? In a strange way, the heat pump alone upstairs is made annoying because of our design. Downstairs, heat pump alone would be no big deal since we can't hear it. Also the humdifier is on the downstairs system so running all the time does not dry anything out. So at one point, I wished I had done dual fuel upstairs. We have NG which is usually like 3-5 times cheaper than propane and beats heat pump anytime it is less than 35 degrees or so in cost. My wife and I like it cold but the baby gets a nice warm bedroom. We never ran the upstairs unit until mid Jan when he was born. So it wasn't an issue until then. This winter was brutal but I've even considered ducting some of the downstairs unit up to the upstairs through the garage. Mostly that is a cost thing since we have NG. The vent noise really requires bigger unsightly vents and returns in the bedrooms which I don't think I can sell to the wife.