Thank you everyone for the support! I've passed along your thanks to my brother, who was very appreciative of the gratefulness. My brother actually lives in Europe, so I'm afraid he can't help out all that often at the new place. But I did encourage him to go commune with nature for some peace and quiet. He seemed to like the idea. Vilkas is a handful already! He's incredibly intelligent though and a fast learner. I'm excited to see how him and I will grow together. I'm starting on his training this week, and if all goes well he'll start to learn how to track by the end of June. As soon as the lawn is mowed and everything is trimmed up I'll throw some pictures up here! The spring flush was nothing this year, since not much has been in the ground long enough to so much of anything. It's all growing happily though so I can't complain! Josh

I want to grow Anaheim peppers, jalapenos, serranos and vegetables. I haven't decided on which vegetables yet. You can grow all sorts of things here quite well, actually. Follow the recommended times for planting on the planting calendar linked below. Peppers go in now. I have three pots I painted white that are about four feet across and open bottomed that will sit on the ground. I was planning on putting them on the east side of the house and using porch poles as vining support for things like peas and beans. I could put them on the west side but am t hink IMO ng morning to noon sun is better than noon to sunset sun. I hope so because I prefer sitting on that side of the house. :) The east side is definitely better for the plants that will grow through the summer. I have lots of neighbors producing lots of manure they would love to be rid of and a corral out back full of it that's been sitting for at least a year with no fresh added. I am considering using compost tea as fertilizer. Using the aged manure to make compost tea is a great idea. Most of my knowledge is from books and magazines which are no substitute for experience. I would enjoy any advice and discussion and want to post as I go on this forum. I don't know any gardeners here and could definately use advice. If you are interested in taking some classes to help you get a kick-start, consider looking for help through the Desert Botanical Garden (dbg.org) and the Valley Permaculture alliance (phoenixpermaculture.org). Here is a link that might be useful: Urban Farm Planting Calendar

Hi Dave, welcome to Gardenweb. I don't have answers to these questions, but wanted to suggest you might get more responses on the organic or Alabama forums. Good luck!

I agree with FM on 1 and 3 but think that 2 is an aster, what used to be called Aster cordifolius , but is now called Symphyotrichum cordifolium AKA heart-leafed aster AKA wood aster. It's a common wild plant here in New England that blooms with a froth of pale purple/blue/white in the fall and then seeds around everwhere. Easiest to pull up when still young.