I like Johnny's Seed - Seed Starting Calculator. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/e-PDGSeedStart.aspx??source=HomeSeedCalc0111. I will probably use this calculator this year to determine the planting dates and use Martha Stewart's Seed Starting Worksheet - www.marthastewart.com/seed-worksheet - to keep tract of what I do. I agree with you - I have got to keep better records of what/when I plant and when/what to fertilize. I finally organized an excel worksheet for ordering our vegetable seeds - I think I have that documented for easy seed ordering decisions. Here are a couple of photos of our soil sifter (we have rocky soil in places) - we built it to fit our wheel barrow so it does not move once I place it on the wheel barrow. It works pretty good for sifting soil in a small area. I go down the garden row and throw in surface rocks then dump the rocks in my 4-wheel trailer and dump the wheel barrow of dirt back in the garden. Thought it might also come in handy for sifting soil for the Soil block mixture. FYI RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: karin_mt 4 (My Page) on Thu, Dec 30, 10 at 12:21 I like both of those web resources for seed starting. The Johnny's one is particularly cool. I found that the hardest thing was forecasting the frost-free date inside my greenhouse so I could predict when to start plants that are destined to stay inside. And yes, a customized Excel sheet is a great way to go! I have an Excel database that starts from the very beginning of our gardens, so I have a pretty good history of what I've planted each year, where it's from and how it did. There are a few gaps though, notably which type of raspberry variety is where. I also have a little bar graph that I use to track the planting dates, exciting weather events, bloom periods and key harvests. Each year I print out the template, then fill in the bars by hand over the relevant dates. This gives a very interesting comparison of your growing climate from year to year. Maybe someday these will be key pieces of climate data? The note-taking is also helpful for reflection - it helps you firm up your thoughts. Now, your soil screener looks like a very nice tool. I like that it fits firmly on the wheel barrow. What do you do with all the rocky stuff that is left over? Maybe you'll have enough for a stone border? Do you have alkaline soil too? Do you find that your soil gets clumpy, even when it's nice soil? That's something I've noticed lately. Even though the soil is beautifully textured (not clay), it forms hard clumps. I am wondering if this is from alkalinity and the particles being inclined to stick together. RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: 7000feet 3 (My Page) on Fri, Dec 31, 10 at 10:40 Your method for keeping notes is helpful! The Salt River runs through our property (a mild to raging stream depending on the runoff and irrigation needs - so I return the rocks to their rightful owner - the river. We have great soil because we are on an ancient river bed but the bad part is the top soil varies from 0-36" depending on the swells. We tried to locate our garden on deep top soil but still had to haul off large rocks in the beginning and now sift the soil as we plant and haul off the small rocks. I haven't tested our PH but is alkaline soil like yours. It does get clumpy but try to keep it moist during germination and use a lot of mulch to keep the walk areas dry/walkable. We add manure every fall before plowing the garden. We purchased sifted top soil for the GH and added a lot of vermiculite, peat moss & compost - not problems with GH soil. Here is a photo of what works well for us to remove rocks from our garden. I purchased this wonderful dumping trailer that hooks on my 4-wheeler. I rake the rocks in a row and use a manure fork to throw them in the trailer - then dump the rocks on the river bed with their cousins. RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: soonergrandmom Z6 Grove (My Page) on Sat, Jan 1, 11 at 16:26 I have used the mini-block maker for years. I use either Jiffy Mix or ProMix with it. With ProMix you may have to throw out a small stick or two, but it holds together fine. I didn't know about the attachment for the medium block maker that makes the hole for the little one to fit into until several years after I bought mine, and I never remember to order it. So I don't use the two blocks together. Some things grow so rapidly that they need to be started in the medium size, but I start all tomato and pepper seeds in the tiny block and pot up to small containers when they get their first real leaves or when they appear to be a good strong seedling. Some things I don't need to plant 20 of, so I write the name on a popsicle stick, lay the popsicle stick between the row of blocks and slide the blocks over in groups of five to a small piece of foil. I crimp the foil up a little to hold the stick so I don't lose the name. I don't make real plant markers until I am sure I have good transplants. I make the permanent marker at the time I put them in their first small container. I am much more likely to plant 5 seeds of 4 varieties of tomato than I am to plant 20 of the same kind, so it works well for me. RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: ngrrsn 7 (My Page) on Tue, Sep 11, 12 at 1:33 Would like to know more about the tunnel construction; why the wire mesh instead of pvc or waterline pipe? What is the mesh sizing? Is this welded wire? What size is the wire (#10,12,14)? How easy is it to form the wire? Is it fairly strong, or does it bend easy? Why the gaps between sections of wire? How is the wire secured to the ground? What is the height of the tunnel at the center line? I am very interested in this. RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: Hudson...WY 3 (My Page) on Fri, Sep 28, 12 at 9:09 The mesh is 47" 12 1/2 gauge Field Fence available at most farm supply stores - a full roll is 330' but most stores have smaller rolls as well. I cut the fence in 6' lengths with small bolt cutter or wire cutter and cut the vertical wire such that there is 6" of wire on both sides of the hopes to push into the ground to anchor the fence. The center height is approx. 24". I plant in wide rows of 30". The mesh size is 6" squares (for easy reach-in, weeding etc.) although the bottom couple of rows are a bit smaller. I gap the fence in the rows approx. 18" to reduce the cost and because the row cover does not sag with the gap. I like the fence because it will last many years and I live in a climate where we have had snow every month of the year and periods of hail or strong wind. The fence does an excellent job holding up the weight of the snow and withstanding the wind/hail etc. It pulls out easy at season end and stores by stacking one inside the other. I have never tried PVC pipe so I am not in a position to compare. I am sure this fence method is more expensive but I like the way it performs. RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: Hudson...WY none3 (My Page) on Fri, Sep 28, 12 at 10:44 This Years Broccoli using the tunnel method - keeps out the insects too. I usually plant veggies in the garden with the row cover the 1st week of may or earlier if I can work the soil. Without the row cover, there is a threat of frost until the middle of June and after the end of August. Well worth the effort! RE: Row Cover Gardening Posted by: ngrrsn 7 (My Page) on Fri, Sep 28, 12 at 17:18 Thanks! That helped a lot! I Appreciate the follow up. 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I see both perspectives on that. Like Molie said, just thinking about how many hardships there were for settlers before all our modern conveniences, is very sobering. I have always found that lifestyle appealing and in younger days would not have considered it so far fetched to live that way. As I get older and see how much harder it is to take care of every need even with modern conveniences, I can see why their life expectancy was so much younger. (g) But I also agree with the point you've made, Dee. They didn't know any better. They were used to living that way and of necessity had to constantly be in a state of readiness and self sufficiency. And I think that families and neighbors and communities had a greater awareness of their dependence upon one another and expected to help each other out in times of crisis, to a much greater extent than we do. I wonder if people on GW, who I assume have a deeper connection to the natural world, would have a higher percentage of people who would prefer the pioneer lifestyle over the modern day lifestyle, than the general public? Or at least imagine they would?

Jo, I've had the 'you ought to sell at Farmer's Markets' discussion with many people over the years. I've figured out from going to Farmer's Markets that many people don't care if the market grower makes a fair living....they just want the cheapest produce possible. I'd suggest those people grow their own produce for three years and see if it changes their mind. When we lived in Fort Worth and I was in my late 20s or early 30s with a small child, a full-time career and very little sunny space for a garden, I shopped at Farmer's Markets often....often driving over an hour east to the Dallas Farmer's Market or an hour west to the Parker County (Weatherford, TX) Farmer's Market, esp. for melons and Parker County peaches. At that time, I felt like many farmers charged too much for their produce, but I paid their price and didn't try to bargain them down. As I 'matured' as a person and as a gardener, I learned exactly how hard it is to get a good crop of anything in any given year, and my viewpoint changed completely---I realized that when you consider the costs of raising produce and the amount of work that goes into it, the average market grower doesn't charge enough! I still feel that way. When I raised food more for fun and gave away lots of the 'extra' instead of freezing more of it or dehydrating it or caning it, I always enjoyed giving it to people. However, once I became focused on raising as much of our produce as possible, I stopped giving away the extra because my goal is different...I'm not growing for fun or pleasure (although, to me, gardening is fun and it is a pleasure)....I'm growing to provide us with the freshest produce raised in the most healthy manner. If other people that we know want produce like that, I urge them to raise their own, find a CSA or frequent a local farmer's market and build a relationship with growers/sellers they trust. I tell them, as nicely as possible, that I'm not their farmer's market. I've gotten that point across to people who live near us, but my DH has not been as successful in getting that point across to his coworkers, some of whom have enjoyed produce from our garden, on and off, for almost a quarter-century. Carol, I know what you're saying about the sewing. Most people don't want to learn though, do they ?....most just want someone else to do it for them. My favorite tomatoes of all shapes, sizes, and colors are those eaten fresh in the garden with the juice dripping down your chin. (Obviously that's not possible for folks who spray chemicals on their plants...they ought to wash the fruit first!) Sometimes I think it is a wonder that any tomatoes make it to the house. Guess what, y'all....it is really clouding over now. We've had clouds for a couple of days, but the air is cooling and I'm hoping the Gulf moisture sent north by the journey of Alex through the Gulf coast and inland will bring us rain. Real rain. The kind that falls so hard that it drives you inside. Lately all we've had is wimpy, misty stuff that doesn't even wet the ground. I have two big stockpots of plums cooking down on the stove, cutting my 'stockpile' in half. I'm almost home free and clear. Two more days and I'll be plum-free, in terms of having piles waiting for processing. One of the best 'gardening tools' I bought the first year we moved here was a set of four huge stainless steel stockpots with lids. They're in graduated sizes and nest within one another for easy storage. During veggie and fruit harvest season I use the heck out of them. Dawn

Just heard that Oklahoma City got hit bad by this storm with the airport, schools and businesses already closed. Are you doing OK, Oakley? It started snowing here around 3:15PM yesterday and, although we don't have a huge amount of snow, we do have several inches with more to come today. The roads are icy everywhere and DD's school is on a 2 hour delay, but will probably be closed. I'm sitting here waiting to hear that my DH has gotten to work safely. (Sigh) There's always sick people and so he always tries to get in. I worry so much until he gets there and then I worry on his drive back home again. Anyhoo, hoping all of you in the storm's path stay safe and warm. Lynn