Dry all last year and the beginning of this year (except for a 2ft snowstorm in Feb) until the last week of May when we got a month's worth of rain in 1 week. Alternating cold(30's) then hot (90) then cold (40's) temps in May and June, finally got tomatoes out the beginning of June and MORE rain! Poured for about 20 minutes at dinner last night, weather.com is showing 0 inches but I'm guessing 1/4". More gentle rain overnight, clear this morning and then this afternoon another T-storm. So I'm saying 7.5 -8" this month plus the 3.5" last week of May. Tomatoes are looking sad - I started replacing some yesterday and also planted 6 I'd been holding back. Haven't checked today to see how they've held up in the driving rain (had a couple broken last week). Peppers are still in 6-packs, I guess I can say they're hardened off though they may sunburn when I can get them out, 1 is blooming. Squash looks like it's loving this weather, cukes OK (seeded before squash and they're smaller), spinach is bolting and the kale and Asian greens are just OK. I guess I'll try to harvest mustard greens, tatsoi and bok choy for stirfry mix rather than salad greens since lettuce is so far behind. Carrots are disappearing, lettuce is barely coming in after seeding twice (every time I seed we have a downpour) but the arugula in the mix is getting tall (not bolting yet). Radish bulbs are finally starting to show above the ground 3 weeks after seeding and I don't know what's happened to my chard and beets that I've seeded twice. Beans are doing OK, but I lost 2/3 of my edamame. The only thing I'm harvesting right now that is doing really well is strawberries and they're coming to an end just as market season is beginning. Blueberries and brambles are coming along though.

Oops! I forgot something. I'd like to thank you all for joining & for sending in such a nice selection! It was a pleasure to host this month's swap. I'd really appreciate it if everyone would post to let me know when they receive their seeds. Be on the lookout for the next scheduled Color of the Month Swap. April is White and I've got lots!! Thanks again. Have a good night.

OK, first, oranges, lemons and limes are sufficiently acidic that they can be water bath canned using only water, so it's not a safety issue to reduce the sugar level. I have been unhappy with results using stevia, Splenda and Equal, so I stopped using them. You can, however, make low/no sugar fruit spreads using pectin made especially for no-sugar or low sugar recipes. It's not usually interchangeable with regular pectin, you have to buy the special stuff. I normally cut the sugar in half (at least) and just cook the fruit until it either jells or gets thick, in which case it becomes a fruit butter. Low sugar jams and spreads do not keep as well, they mold more quickly after opening, they lose color and flavor and become unappetizing far more quickly. However, keeping half the sugar might alleviate that problem. I do have a problem getting citrus marmalades to jell anyway, sometimes it takes a week or longer and sometimes it never does jell, so I haven't tried a reduced sugar version of it yet. I haven't had a bumper crop of oranges yet, though. (grin) So relax, take a deep breath and step away from the jam pot for an instant. Cutting down the sugar won't kill anyone (I know you wouldn't eat moldy/rancid/spoiled jam anyway) but it may spoil quickly and you'll have to go out and get some special pectin. Annie

http://www.llifle.com/Encyclopedia/SUCCULENTS/Family/Dracaenaceae/33254/Sansevieria_gracilis It does look like gracilis to me but it also looks like pictures of b allyi. Synonyms would make sense. I hope you're able to find something, rina. I found this: "It is closely related to Sansevieria gracilis but differs in shorter stolons, shorter leaves with rough surface, distinctive colour banding and shorter inflorescence. The species was only named as S. ballyi by Len Newton in 2004, although it has been in cultivation for a while and is now reasonably common, but it is often still encountered as ‘Sansevieria sp. Bally 12681’. The cultivars 'Minnie' appears to be a dwarf form of S. ballyi with much shorter and stubby leaves and grows to about 5 cm across before sending out stolons." -http://www.llifle.com/Encyclopedia/PLANT/Family/Dracaenaceae/32498/Sansevieria_ballyi aloebot - Do you remenber the provenance of this plant? Do you remember how it got that tag? I was wanting to ask you how long you had some of these plants anyway.