Michael, really appreciate the update. Hope to talk more garlic with you and other zone 8-9-10+ folks in the future, as it is definitely a challenge to grow garlic well in the warmer zones, and especially in the South. Hopefully we can all learn from each other and continue to refine our techniques and variety selections. Wonder why pre-chilling for warm zone growers isn't mentioned or discussed in detail more often. I've googled the heck out of it, and there just doesn't seem to be a lot of folks talking about doing it in detail (at least that I could find anyway). And/or, the advice tends to be mixed. I briefly thought about trying it before, but didn't. In any case I am very glad I saw this thread and plan to do some pre-chilling next time. I've grown smaller amounts of garlic on and off for several yrs now, but only started to get serious about it in fall of '07 - for my harvest last spring. Yesterday and today, I harvested a lot of the garlic. Dug all the artichoke types, the one Asiatic/Turban I was growing (Red Janice), and a couple of creole types as they just screamed "ready." Not many leaves left on the ones I dug (and the ones left in are starting to go fast), so I can't leave them much longer or I might lose "storage" layers of wrapper. Unfortunately, early May weather is really hot here this yr - already 90's with heat index up to 100's. Definitely got hot faster than last May. Not good for the garlic, and also for getting much more significant fruit set on my March planting of tomatoes. I am growing Siberian this yr too, and it is still in. The "fan" of leaves is just now starting to go now, and plenty of green ones left towards the center. I can already tell though by feel of the bulbs, that this is going to turn out very nicely, large and good clove formation. Leaving in just a little longer, but will watch leaves carefully/daily. Will definitely grow this one again. Metechi (another mps) is still in, but I think it is going to be a bit smaller than the Siberian, even though I can feel that has formed cloves. It did okay for me last yr, not outstanding but "avg", but I thought I would try again because of the favorable comments on the Gourmet Garlic Gardens site - he says it is one of the very best for him, go figure. Of the Artichokes I harvested today, Red Toch, Chet's Italian Red, and Lorz turned out the best. For the most part, large bulbs (for here anyway -- 2-2.5") and good clove formation. Inchelium Red also did well, so this makes 2 yrs in a row for me of good results with this var - and another good one for storage, IME. Asiatic/Turban types have given me inconsistent results overall, I rend to get a lot of rounds. One I tried last yr that did well was Red Janice, and it managed to consistently form cloves again this time, but bulbs a bit smaller than last time. Stores well. Creole Red did well for me, as it also did last yr. Cuban Purple (also creole) did well too, first time with it. Here is a link that might be useful: garlic album

I have a husband and 2 strong teenage boys - still not one scrap of help do I get. I even mow the grass and put in rock walls myself. My husband is so averse to the outside environment that I waited for an hour yesterday stuck at the tip-top of a 12-foot ladder till he came out to get me for a phone call and rescued me. I had been cleaning out the gutters and one of the ladder legs came loose. There was no descending without toppling. I did get a nice one-hour commune with the last of the drifting leaves and scattered birds sailing in the treetops. Of course the pouring rain was not a lot of fun. Still I'd rather do it all myself and be stuck on ladders in the rain rather than abdicate my throne as final-decision-maker-on-all-plant-matters.

So far we've applied a pre-emergent to the new (last year) zoysia and done some spot weeding in the beds. All the plantings we had put in as part of a complete front and side yard re-landscaping survived the Winter well and are or have been blooming (see my posting in Georgia Gardening forum for a pix of our "Weeping Cherry's First Spring"). The bonsai will need to wait to go back out to make sure the last frost has passed, and I'm still carrying the new composter around in the back of the truck, but will at least pick a spot for it soon. The backyard, heavily treed, shady, and with a good crop of English Ivy (at least it's down from most of the trees) will be the focus of this year's efforts. We plan on erecting a fence along the back and one side (our neighbor has fenced in the other side), removing much of the ivy, creating pathways, planting some shade tolerant trees and shrubs,and leveling the one area that does get pretty good sun. Also on the agenda is moving our garden work table from inside the storage area under the sunroom to a covered patio area that is next to the area that will be leveled. Finally, we'll be looking at what to plant in a sloped raised bed area on the side of the house that was formed when we had the grade leveled and a retaining wall built along the side lot line. Our neighbor subsequently partially landscaped this area and we are cooperating on completing it. All this would probably make more sense were I to post pictures. I'll do so as we focus on the various "projects" that I've enumerated. Best Wishes--Carl

PREPARING FOR FALL: You should be doing what is needed to get your soil ready for fall. In my garden, that might include adding compost (purchased or from one of the older working piles), composted manure or Plant-Tone plant food to any areas from which I've removed a spring crop and am planting a fall crop. You also should remove all sprouting weeds and grasses because they'll compete with your crops. If you don't have mulch, you should be saving it and stockpiling it so you can add it to beds after you've transplanted plants or after your seeds have sprouted. You indicated that Mel's Mix didn't work for you, so now is a great time to add to it to correct what you think is wrong with it. If you aren't sure what to add to correct whatever problems you had, let us know and maybe someone will have some suggestions. I am not sure if you found Mel's Mix to drain too quickly? too slowly? Was it lacking in nutrition? We have to know what was wrong with it in order to help you figure out how to fix it. TOMATO SEEDS: It is too late to start tomato seeds now since your fall tomatoes need to go into the ground in July. I'm planting my first fall tomatoes in the ground this week from seeds started 5 to 6 weeks ago. It will take me about 3 weeks to get all the fall tomatoes in the ground since I am putting them in, one by one, to replace other plants that are finished. For example, the small section of Texas Honey June Corn is done now and I am going to put 9 to 12 plants in the area once occupied by it. For the rest of what you're planting, I'm going to give you the dates I would most likely plant them here. If you are in OKC, you probably should plant about a week earlier than me. If you are further north than OKC and have an earlier first fall freeze, then plant up to 2 weeks earlier than I do. LEMON CUCUMBERS: These grow great here, and I'd plant them here in southern OK between August 1 -August 15. Be sure to pick them while they are a bright yellow. If they start turning an orangey-yellow, you've left them on the vines too long. KENTUCKY WONDER POLE BEAN: I'd probably plant pole beans for fall anytime after July 15th, and probably in your case as closely to that date as possible. SEQUOIA BUSH BEANS: Aug. 1 - Sept. 1 here SNOW PEAS: Sept. 1 Oct. 1 GARLIC: Sept. thru Oct. SWEET POTATOES: As soon as possible since they take roughly 85 - 110 days to mature and you need to have them harvested before freezing weather arrives. COW PEAS: Now. Anytime from now through August 1st. BLACK-SEEDED SIMPSON LETTUCE: Aug. 15 - Sept. 15 BUTTERCRUNCH LETTUCE: Aug. 15 - Sept.15 BUTTERNUT SQUASH: Anytime in July TOMATOES: July 1-15 is best for tomatoes with longer days to maturity, and by the end of July for tomatoes with shorter days to maturity. The earlier you get them in the ground in July, the larger and more ready they'll be to flower/set fruit when cooler fall temperatures arrive. Summer-planted tomatoes need more water to get established and grow than spring-planted tomatoes, so keep a close eye on them and keep them moist but not soggy. CARROTS: August 15 - Sept. 15 CHIVES: These are more of a cool-season crop and I usually only plant them in late winter or early spring. To start them in summer, I'd start them indoors in a flat or in paper cups in a sterile soil-less potting mix in a cool room (approx. 60-70 degrees) that doesn't especially have a lot of bright light. That way, they'll think it is early spring and will sprout. Pre-soaking the seed will help it germinate more quickly. Once they sprout you can move them into light, and gradually expose them to outdoor light and harden them off before transplanting them into the ground. I probably would start the seed in early Sept. and hope I could get them into the ground in late Sept. or early Oct. Or, if you know someone who has chives and will give you a clump, you can divide them and plant them anytime. Just cut back the tops by about 60-80% when you divide them. They'll regrow just fine. Mulch can be anything that covers the soil surface to keep it cool. Well-mulched soil can be 20-30 degrees cooler than bare, unmulched soil in our summer heat. I use whatever I can get my hands on because I have a big garden and it takes a whole lot of mulch to cover all the ground. I add mulch just about weekly. You can use bagged mulch and it is one of my favorite kinds of mulch. It looks nice and it decomposes into the most gorgeous dark brown compost that enriches the soil. Just be sure you use it on the surface of the soil and don't work it into the soil. If you work it into the soil, it can tie up oxygen so you want to avoid that in general unless you're adding extra nitrogen to the soil to compensate for what wood chips will tie up. You also can use straw, hay, grass clippings, compost, shredded paper if you shred your old bills, junk mail, etc. I like to put down a layer of newspaper or cardboard around the larger plants and pile mulch on top of that. The paper or cardboard will keep weed seeds that sprout from working their way up (if they sprout beneath the cardboard) or from working their way down (if the sprout in the mulch). As the paper and cardboard decompose, they turn into compost which further enriches your soil. Do you see a pattern here? Every bit of organic (with organic in this case meaning "once alive") matter than you use as mulch will decompose and enrich your soil and you don't even have to use a trowel or mini-tiller to work the compost into the soil because over time, the rain and earthworms will carry it down into the soil. In the fall, you can ask your neighbors to save their raked/bagged leaves for you. Then, stack up all the bags and save them for next year and use them as mulch. If you want for the whole leaves to be decomposing into leaf mold, shred or chop them, put them into black leaf bags, wet them down good, tie the bags shut, and poke several air holes in them. Pile them up in an out-of-the-way place and let them sit there all fall and winter. In the spring you'll have lovely partially decomposed leaves to use as mulch. Conversely, if your soil needs improvement, you can till them directly into the soil in the fall (chop or shred them first or they won't break down), but then you'll need to be stockpiling something else to use as mulch. When we mow (and we mow anywhere from 1 to 4 acres most of the time so we get lots of clippings), we catch the clippings in a grasscatcher and dump them wherever we need more mulch at the moment. We mow the acre around the house weekly, and the other 1 to 3 acres closest to the house anywhere from 1 to 3 times per month. For us, clippings are our primary mulch during grass-growing season, but I use more hay, straw and wood chips in spring, and chopped or shredded leaves in fall and winter. If you will heavily mulch your beds this fall after your crops are done, and by heavily I mean several inches, that mulch will keep weeds from sprouting in your beds all winter and early in spring, and the mulch will start decomposing and 'feeding' the soil, so it is a win-win situation. Dawn