Hello -- I live in the West Bloomfield/Orchard Lake area -- we're practically neighbors! Um, there are quite a few things you can start now -- early, cold tolerant things like lettuce, escarole/endive/Asian greens for spring crops, peppers and eggplants certainly, early crop tomatoes, most brassicas (hold off on cauliflower another few weeks, they bolt if planted out too early), artichokes.

According to Deno, it needs cold followed by warm to germinate- and he got one seed to germinate after a month. So you'll have to keep your pot outdoors throughout the fall and winter and might get germination next spring.

This is a very, very easy fix. I have used homemade compost to sow seeds in. Compost is great, it's rich in nutrients and retains moisture very well. The only drawback is that it can also contain plenty of seeds. It's actually really easy to kill those weed seeds. I fill a 5-gallon bucket halfway up with compost (or you can use whatever container you have on hand that you think is fine.) I have that bucket of compost on the patio outside my kitchen door. Inside the kitchen I've got a full kettle on to boil. When I hear the kettle whistling I take it off the flame and take it outside and pour that boiling water into the bucket of compost. Then I put a lid on the bucket....it doesn't have to be on tight, it's just to help hold the heat and steam in as long as it can. The boiling water and steam will kill the weed seeds. If you don't have a lid for the bucket then use a large piece of aluminum foil, or you can even use an old towel or blanket draped over the top. I let the bucket of compost sit overnight so it's cool when I use it the next day. I can now use the compost for sowing seeds confident that the weed seeds have been killed. Also, another benefit of the boiling water treatment is that it will kill any soilborne diseases that might exist in the compost. Good luck with your seeds! Trudi

I think it would be best to explain what a "good posting" is by showing an example, and then breaking it down and showing "why" it is good. Let's pretend that "Gardener_Jane" has made a post that she has seeds to offer for trade. The following is her post: "Here's my list! All these seeds came from plants that were Winter Sown or reseeded in my garden. They are all hardy, beautiful, and easy to grow". *Perennials* Aquilegia (columbine, grape colored flowers) Aquilegia mix (columbines, nice selection from my garden) Asclepias Incarnata (swamp milkweed, pink flowers, will grow in dry dirt) Campanula Latifolia (mountain bells, purple flowers) Campanula Medium (Canterbury bells...nice mix) Coreopsis Mix (1'-2' mix of strong golden flowers) Hibiscus Militaris (halberd-leaved marshmallow) Inula Helenium (inula) Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry' (fountain grass "black moudry") Tanacetum Parthenium (feverfew) Tanacetum Vulgare (common tansy) Vernonia Gigantea (giant ironweed) *Annuals* Cerise Celosia (celosia...candle type, cherry pink flowers) Cosmos Sulphureus (bright lights cosmos) Daneborg Lace poppy (papaver somniferum, red and white flowers) Morning Glories (lavender) Nicandra Physaloides (aka shoo fly, apple of Peru, black pod) Nicotiana Rustica (Aztec tobacco, greenish-yellow flowers) Nigella (blue flowers, nice for drying...weird pods!) *Veggies and Herbs* Italian Parsley Bok Choy Ruby Beets Bright Lights Swiss Chard Soldier Beans (12 seeds per pack) I'm looking to trade for other flower varieties I can Winter Sow in my zone seven garden. I am also interested in growing oriental veggies, ornamental grasses, and roses from seeds. I usually mail seeds out within 48 to 72 hours after making a trade, and I send my seeds protected with bubblewrap. I'd like you to do the same for me please. If you need to make other arrangements all it takes is an email...I'm very flexible. Thanks for looking at my list! Gardener_Jane Okay! Great post Jane ;-) Let's break it down to see exactly why Jane's post IS good: "Here's my list! All these seeds came from plants that were winter sown or reseeded in my garden. They are all hardy, beautiful, and easy to grow." Jane gives some vital introductory information. Her seeds are hardy for Winter Sowing, and she says they're lovely and easy to grow. ----------- *Perennials* Aquilegia (columbine, grape colored flowers) Aquilegia mix (columbines, nice selection from my garden) Asclepias Incarnata (swamp milkweed, pink flowers, will grow in dry dirt) Campanula Latifolia (mountain bells, purple flowers) Campanula Medium (Canterbury bells...nice mix) Coreopsis Mix (1'-2' mix of strong golden flowers) Hibiscus Militaris (halberd-leaved marshmallow) Inula Helenium (inula) Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry' (fountain grass "black moudry") Tanacetum Parthenium (feverfew) Tanacetum Vulgare (common tansy) Vernonia Gigantea (giant ironweed) *Annuals* Cerise Celosia (celosia...candle type, cherry pink flowers) Cosmos Sulphureus (bright lights cosmos) Daneborg Lace poppy (papaver somniferum, red and white flowers) Morning Glories (lavender) Nicandra Physaloides (aka shoo fly, apple of Peru, black pod) Nicotiana Rustica (Aztec tobacco, greeny-yellow flowers) Nigella (blue flowers, nice for drying...weird pods!) *Veggies and Herbs* Italian Parsley Bok Choy Ruby Beets Bright Lights Swiss Chard Soldier Beans (12 seeds per pack) Janes list is organized well, it's in ABC order, and she's included both the common and botanical names of the plants. "Soldier Beans (12 seeds per pack)" Jane lets us know that this seed pack contains just a dozen seeds because the count is under the GardenWeb suggested miniumum seedpack amount of 24 (two dozen) seeds. "I'm looking to trade for other flower varieties I can Winter Sow in my zone seven garden. I am also interested in growing oriental veggies, ornamental grasses, and roses from seeds." Jane has suggested what she would like to trade for. She does NOT state that she is ONLY LOOKING FOR THOSE SEEDS so she may be open to other suggestions....you can still initiate a trade even if you don't have what she's looking for and she'll either say yes or no. Never take a trade decline personally. Jane may have a small garden so she only has room for her favorites. "I usually mail seeds out within 48 to 72 hours after making a trade, and I send my seeds protected with bubblewrap. I'd like you to do the same for me please. If you need to make other arrangements all it takes is an email...I'm very flexible." Jane is letting us know what she does and what she expects. "Thanks for looking at my list!" Okay....Jane is friendly and she seems to know how to trade. Initiating a trade with Jane will be a good trade experience.