Maybe the curl is wilt? LOL! J/K. I don't know why I keep this plant around, habit and sentimentality, it's been through most of my life with me. Just because it's indestructible doesn't mean it isn't fussy if one wants a good-looking one ALL of the time, yet in a too-small pot. I guess it's just like one of those bad kids a mother loves anyway, overlooking the bad behavior and unkempt appearance. Why don't I just stop trying to cram it into the same little hanging basket? Also forgot to mention that the number of individuals in a pot would affect how quickly the pot fills with roots. There's 5-7 in that trimmed clump in my hand. That's a lot for such a small pot and I know that. A single plant in the same pot would "last longer" but I like the appearance with a ton of leaves and many babies, even if it causes the plant to decline more quickly and repotting to come more often. If it was in some dark stuffy corner, it wouldn't grow as fast, there's that too. There's a whole gray area between just up-potting undisturbed roots and the drastic pruning from my pic. One could choose to trim less overall, or just remove the biggest "carrots." Or separate individual plants and just trim the roots of one. Braid them. (Just seeing if anyone read this far.)

No fear, Dsieber! Remember the zone designations are really just a Jumping Off Place to get you in the Right Neck of the Woods when you're looking for things to grow! There are so many variables, that it's all pretty much a guessing game. There's the fact, as others have said, that the USDA map is old, and we've been warmin' up in recent years, there's the terrain in your immediate area, and then there's Digit's "growing days," which, I think, have more to do with food crops than with flowers! This map shows me in 5b, but I don't even bother with the a/b part since it's such an imperfect "science!" I just think of myself as being "in" zone 5---and then it doesn't take much at all for me to try things that are "said to be" zone 6 plants----and, well, it it's something I REALLY want, I'll even try zone 7 things occasionally! And besides how imperfect the map itself is, there's also the quandary of what "zone" any particular plant actually is anyway! If you pick a specific plant and start looking around, chances are you'll find people with all sorts of different ideas of what zone it'll grow in---like the Crocosmia that came up on another current thread! Good luck finding any consensus about what zone that one is! So go with your z5, and then go out and buy yourself some z6 things and find out what happens! Experimenting can lead to all sorts of worry-------and LOTS of fun! Grow, Skybird

i am convienced i need new seed for AGG. **** Tom, you've got my e-mail address. Just send me your home address, b'c it would take me too long to find it again, and I'll be glad to send you some AGG seeds. I think they're probably 2003 or 04 but germination has stayed good. Not a general offer folks. Sorry. AGG has been one of my faves since Chuck sent me the seeds lo those many years ago. It's always one of the latest for me and has always loaded up wonderfully. I remember one year in the past where I had two plants and picked a half bushel off each plant at one time. And don't anyone ever tell me that yellow/gold tomatoes are bland until and unless you've grown AGG. LOL It was a lucky find for Chuck and in the back of his mind he always wondered if it was an OP derivative of a hybrid. He got the seeds from a friend in VA and apparently his friend knew nothing more about them. But speaking for myself I don't know of any other yellow/gold that has that taste. Which of course is a somewhat meaningless statement since I'd have to have grown all the large yellow/gold PL beefsteak varieties known and that's an impossibility. LOL Carolyn

I will definitely try your hummus recipe...it sounds great. This is a fairly simple one from a blog called Smitten Kitchen. It's also very good! Smashed Chickpea Salad Inspired by Âwichcraft 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 2 tablespoons pitted, halved and very thinly sliced black olives 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley Zest and juice from half a lemon (if youÂve got one of those sad, juiceless lemons, use both sides for juice) Couple good pinches of salt A few grinds of black pepper A few glugs of olive oil (the original is quite oily, like bread-soaking oily, I went a little lighter. Both ways are delicious) Mix everything but the olive oil in a small to midsize bowl. Very lightly smash the chickpea mixture with the back of a fork or a potato masher. YouÂre not looking for a hummus-like puree but something closer to a coarse chop with a few smaller bits to hold it together. Add the glugs of olive oil, mix it lightly and enjoy. This is also awesome as a sandwich on toasted bread, and it needs nothing else on it. But, if you want to doll it up, here are some ideas: A slice of roasted red pepper (as they do at Âwichcraft), watercress (ditto), a slice of pickled garlicky red pepper (our way). We schmeared the bread with a tahini dressing, which was just tahini, lemon juice and a minced garlic clove thinned with water, but if youÂve got some harissa, I bet that would also be delicious.