Even tho she lost some of hers, Anne (Poochella) still shared Tubers with Gardenwebbers and friends last fall. And I just received a box full of wonderful varieties from her too! Regarding planting - I'm taking her advice. Will spend at least a few more weeks doing other things and studying up on each variety. Her suppler on a recent purchase says wait till May 1 to plant Dahlia tubers. Last year the ground was cold in Oregon well into May...and Lord knows there is enough to do, to pot on, and plant out other veggie and flower seedlings! And there is more Winter-Sowing, and indoor sowing and Direct-Sowing that can be done too - so I'll probably let the Tubers rest, except for fantasy-land photos on the Web. I do see one tuber sprouting however - photo below- so i feel your pain. It looks like this one wants a head start. So I may pot it up in a few days in a light sterile mix - and avoid soaking the soil, and still keep it in a fairly cool place. Then I'll try to tuck the entire contents of the pot carefully into the ground when it warms, to not disturb roots that may form. Thanx Anne - for getting me started - and for labeling everything and providing information - the photo below shows evidence that you're a GardenWeb Goddess! btw - The color on the Tuber is just ink from it's label - my little Web-camera takes blurry pix, sorry! Anne even highlighted the Dahlias for me that may get extra tall - to help with my planting plan. My neighbors are gonna love AnnP too, every summer and fall. Hopefully I'll be able to add an AFTER photo. Anne's photo album is inspiration enough to get started - that's for sure. Here is a link that might be useful:

So you are drawing a general conclusion about Spring in New England based on the temperature of March 24? Your credibility is taking a serious blow. when the sun shone, the water sparkled, and one walked hatless outdoors in an open vest over a flannel shirt. The peepers were going like an extraterrestrial chorus downhill in the wetlands after dark. Skunk cabbage is starting to boil up out of the ground. Many perennials are sprouting. The tenants of our birdhouses are flying in from the south In what part of the US is this not true? Just substitute "skunk cabbage" with one of the prevalent plants of a particular area and that same statement could be made anywhere in the US. A few years ago, I had a picture of a fall scene in my office complete with a covered bridge and blazing fall foliage. A few people asked me if the picture was taken in New Hampshire. Their jaw dropped when I told them it was from Tennessee. If you are referring to D.C as the South, then you are seriously mistaken. As an Alabamian, I would never consider that area to be part of the South. It's hard to generalize anything about the South anyway because the states are huge compared to here. Most of New England would fit into Alabama. I doubt seriously that you have really taken enough of the South to draw any general conclusions. I will be the first to admit though that summers down there are unbearable. It's the main reason why I moved away. It's amazing the number of people here that talk about Southern people being disingenuous with their actions. Southerners are known for their friendliness and warmth. Since that trait is so rare for the people of New England, they really don't know how to deal with it when they encounter it. It makes me sad that people like you are so uncomfortable around genuinely good people. Claire, I would be one of those Southerners that thinks the beaches here are too rocky. The beaches in Alabama are very wide, the sand is snow white, and the beaches are raked so they don't have all of the rocks, shells, and seaweed to mutilate you as you walk across it. The water is warm and the breezes are refreshing. Here the ocean breezes are cold and strong and uncomfortable on all but the hottest days and the water is freezing at all times of the year. I think several of the beaches in New England especially in Maine are picturesque but not for frolicking.

"Please tell me it's too early for late blight" Sorry, no can do. Although it is called late blight it can occur any time from spring to fall if weather conditions are favorable. :-( Late blight prefers cool wet conditions. It is a fungal pathogen. BTW, an interesting historical fact is that late blight was the cause of the Irish potato famine (it affects several members of the Solanaceae family - potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, etc.) Good luck. Randy

boogers. now I can't find it on their site at all. I think they pulled the article. ahhhhhh. seems I saved the link...duh. it's not a "craft" it's in ENTERTAINMENT. This is a Hanukkah bag for treats, but the directions for making the pouch and embossing it are GREAT, and of course, you can create your own design for embossing. http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/VelvetBags_09282001.xml&categoryid=/templatedata/bhg/category/data/sc_1425.xml Here is a link that might be useful: embossed velvet bags