Happy - I wish I could take credit for the "cage" but the DH is the one who thought it up. He is just full of bright ideas. Here is a picture of his latest - We can it the "Water Wagon". I use alot of manure tea, fish emulsion and water soluble fertilizer and usually end up hauling buckets around the garden. Well, the DH decided that was too much work so he took parts from an old dollie and a rusted out wheelbarrow and built this for me. It holds 25 gallons and is much easier to roll around than it is to lug buckets. sharbear - The Red Cascade is a good rose to start with if you have never grown roses before because it is so tough. But beware! Roses are like potato chips - You can't have just one! Flyingfish - To tell the truth I have had the peach tree for 4 years and have never really done much pruning. It has always been a small tree and had a bad year when the moles undermined it so much I thought I would lose it. I, too, have read that you should prune the middle out but then I would lose half the tree. But if we are going to have to cage it to get any peaches then I may have to. Anna - I admired the Oakleaf for a long time when I lived down south. It was one of the first plants I bought when we moved up here.

The cross of the white seedling is out of Leonard Sauter x Beautiful Edgings. This is an old seedling of mine that traveled with me from Maryland. Form is certainly heat dependent. When it gets really hot, the sepals tend to twist and have a slight curl. On cooler days, it looks like the picture. I really have not been too nice to this plant, as it is not in a great spot. I plan on moving it in the fall to a sunny location and wait. It typically has 2-3 way branching with 15-18 buds.

Thanks for the post. This gives me something to do with all my Jalapenos!! Here is a link that might be useful: The Pepper Guy's Blog

cozy: Oh no...I figured you'd have a response to this. ;-) LOL...just messin'. I'm also hoping for a growing season dried up a bit, not like last year (unless you meant that I need to try up a bit, which won't happen...hahaha)! That month long of rain over a good bit of the US severely impacted a lot of people's gardens. I'm going to try and keep the legginess under control, don't worry. Hehehe...I think i've also made my decision on a hot house that i'm gonna buy towards the end of next week to put them in once they start to take over the house in Marchish. =) Hosta: In your zone, i'd definitely not start your plants outdoors or even put them outdoors at all before that show. Might be advisable to harden them off for a week or so before the show by putting them outside only in good temps (minimum 55-60) in a mostly shady, but warm spot. Then, for the last day or two keep them outdoors in a bit sunnier of a spot. You don't want people taking them home from the show and putting them outside immediately to only have them die within a few days because they are not used to outdoor conditions! =) The cold frame will obviously help with this scenario. Keep a close eye on the environmentals in it though (temp, humidity, etc.). Idealy for the fat stems you are seeking, you'd probably want some type of indoor lighting system to grow them in. They can also get leggy in that situation though by reaching for the light, so take that into account when figuring out how long to keep the light on them. Filtering it somehow with a shade cloth of sorts wouldn't be a bad idea. Most gardening supply stores or hardware stores carry greenhouse poly covering that will filter varied amounts of light through it. Anyways, I could go on forever...lol, but that should give you a starting point. =) My seedlings usually start a bit leggy, with my system, before I transplant them to their 2nd home (semi-translucent plastic cups), then they just grow out more than up afterwards and make up for it. I never use any artificial light, but have heard many good things about lighting systems from others on here. They do cost a few $ though. One other point, if you start the seeds 5 to 6 weeks before the show, you will have some small seedlings, which you may already be aware of. I put my blog as the "This link might be useful" thing below so you can get an idea of what size they will be at that age, and it also has a great link to catman's page, Grow Your Tomatoes, which has a lot of useful info too. woodcutter: Yea, I was lucky enough to get them off a seed trade! I'm really looking forward to seeing how they do compared to some normal 'cheapie" Burpee seeds or whatever. Let me know how yours do. - Steve Here is a link that might be useful: Steve's Garden