Susan, "I find I often have to do a lot of replanting of zinnia seeds, and I'd appreciate knowing how you good zinnia gardeners handle this. I assume direct sowing is better than starting them indoors?" If you are growing a limited number of zinnias, starting them indoors gives you a several weeks headstart and if you repot them to let them get large enough to be immune to cutworms, you can eliminate that problem. There have been times in the past when cutworms were a serious threat for me. But if you intend to grow a lot of zinnias, it simply isn't practical to start them all indoors. Planting the zinnia seeds directly in the ground outdoors is a lot less trouble than starting them indoors. You will lose some to cutworms and such, but just do as you have been doing, and replant to fill in the bare spots. If you want to go to the trouble, you can grow zinnias indoors to the flowering stage, or even complete the generation to indoor saved seeds. I do that as part of my hobby of growing and breeding zinnias, but it is more trouble than necessary for normal zinnia gardening. ZM

Well, I try to ease the plants slowly over a few weeks to toughen them up for the brighter sun and warmer temperatures. The first ones to go out: cymbidiums, dendrobiums, some oncidiums, miltonias, and other plants that have overgrown their areas or ones that I cannot bring myself to throw away since I have so much time invested but the plants are ugly or reluctant to bloom. These are usually end of April or early May, depending on the weather. The next ones are the cattleyas and other plants that appreciate intermediate temps. The last group are the prized vandas, phals, and paphs which go out by mid-May. Since my daffodils and other bulbs literally just shot up, its going to be longer since we ahve been slow to warm up. I have two areas I use for growing, an unheated spa house with windows that can be opened if the days get too warm. I also have an attached sunroom with lots of light that stays pretty much the same temp as the house unless I open a few windows for some cool nights. I am constantly rotating plants, and find it funny when I am accused of buying more plants, but in reality, they were just somewhere else, and are in transition. One thing I watch out for is persistant, rainy nights with overcast days since the plants seldom dry out. The cymbidium seems to love that, but I usually don't let it happen to the dends or miltonias. One day in the rain, 3 days in the sheltered spa house, etc.

Sounds like some form of landscape fabric to me and as others have stated, been there, done that, and wouldn't do it again. In a blackberry plot I might do it because of their growth nature, but in a perennial bed no. There is a belief that landscape fabric will permanently prevent weeds from spreading, but a couple of years ago at my parent's place we removed a whole section - about 30 feet in diameter. It was the most difficult thing a few workers and I had ever done. She had unknowingly planted a suckering shrub which started coming up through the fabric after few years. When we removed the fabric we saw the extent of the root system of this monster under the fabric and needed a backhoe to get it out! In essence, the fabric hid the growing problem underneath for about 10 years... If the fabric had not been there, the problem would have been noted much earlier and would have been dealt with much easier. My practice of mulching with organics to feed the soil which in turns feeds the plants was confirmed as being a good practice. :O) In the gardens, I mulch with mostly a combo of shredded leaves and UCGs - Used Coffee Grounds... For paths, I use sheets of newspaper topped with wood chips from a sawmill up the road. You can see one path behind the raised gardens it in the following photo.

I've got a mix of "walmart" and garage sale (some very good!) type full sized spades/shovels/long handled "stand up" and use tools and they are holding up fine, as you say. Maybe higher quality would make the job quicker/ easier, but I get by. What I find snaps on me is cheaper hand sized tools (shorter, for sitting and working). Like I said earlier, I do need about 1.5 ft of handle as I do most garden chores from a rolling cart I sit on because my knees are bad. One thing that occurs to me - - I think I've got to stand up more when I garden, use bigger, longer real tools for big jobs like transplanting - perhaps I am asking too much of the shorter ones! And investing in ONE really good quality "medium" handled digger is probably a sound idea. Hoping it arrives for my anniversary gift! Some would not think it romantic, but I do!I am too cheap myself to buy expensive items for the garden, so most really nice elements in there have been gifts from the hubby - slate installed for pathways, a fountain, a stone birdbath. He's a keeper - I just have to point him in the right direction. Nancy