Good thing I picked the last of the lettuce (no protection) last weekend before it snowed. I also pulled the last of the carrots and more beets. There are still a lot of beets that need to be pulled and put in buckets of sand. We haven't tried to "root cellar" before so here's hoping. There may be a couple of small heads of broccoli left along with some kale and turnip. Turns out my husband really hates kale and turnip and I grew the loveliest Gilfeather white turnips (really a rutabaga, I think). A potted rosemary is still surviving on the porch. Still plenty of sage and thyme in the garden. This year is my best so far in succession planting. Managed to have a late crop of bush beans (with low tunnel protection) into October. Lettuce would have done better with protection. Got a fall crop of sugar snap peas (not as prolific as spring) and spinach. Found two winter squash varieties so far with excellent eating and keeping quality. I was careful to get some hardier varieties of lettuce that could take some cold nights. I'm really happy that I started roasting tomatoes this year. I put some in a jar of olive oil in the frig. The rest are in the freezer. They provide a different kind of tomato taste in recipes. I've told "Santa" I want a light system for Christmas. There were some good plans on the internet for a DIY project. Where do you put your light systems? We have a warm but creepy old damp cellar so I was thinking putting it in a roomy 2nd floor bathroom I use all the time. Water is right there. Floor is linoleum. Only problem is it can only be 4' wide due to slopey ceiling. I've had good luck with the deer repellant spray from the farm store but didn't use it this year. Not sure if the deer have learned to stay away from the beds or they prefer the farmer's field corn next door. Worst year however for little gnawing varmits who got into my winter squash patch. In fact, I think they had a burrow. We later found a deep hole which may have been dug by a coyote. Hope it got the squash eater.

Hi. I would like to trade. I have these: Beets - Detroit Dark Red Gourd - Birdhouse
 Carrots - Tendersweet Zinnia - Thumbelina Lily - White Columbine - William Guinness I would like these: Coneflower - Cayenne Spirit Coneflower - Grey Dahlia - Rainbow Mixed Colours Fortnight Lilies Poppy - Peony - Rose Colorado Sunflower - Vanilla Ice Or, you may check out my list. If you would like to trade, please email me from your regular email since GW mail is sketchy. ~Lisa Here is a link that might be useful: Trade list

Wow nanelle that's pretty compelling isn't it? Big diff in appearance that's for sure. I just went back and looked at my potted peppers and take a closer look at the overwinters. The rocoto is the furthest behind of the five I overwintered. I guess one nice surprise when you ovwrwinter is that you will probably get an early surprise pepper which is fun. This chocolate bhut apparently ripened overnight on me. The other overwinters seem to have way more flowers on them than the new starts but the new ones seem to be more vigorous in growth. So it full be fun to see at the end of the summer who produces more.

Hi all - I jumped into this thread early in the month and then got caught up in work. Today was a good day to thinking about gardening though, with 3-4" fresh snow on the ground and more coming down throughout the day. I sure am glad I ordered the bulk of my seeds over the Christmas break. I just checked the results of a germination test with some old seeds (2014/2015) and placed a small order with Seed Savers, which is now publishing a 30-day shipping delay. These are seeds I don't have to start until April, so that's fine. I have broccoli seeds from 2014 that are still germinating at a great rate, so that was nice to see. My next big adventure will be going out in the next week or so to purchase some compost. We only started our pile last summer, and it's frozen/covered in snow, so I need some for my seed starting mix. I'm doing a homemade mix and trying soil blocks this year (the Elliot Coleman method). My first seeds (onions/leeks) should be started around February 15, and compost is the only ingredient in the mix I'm still missing. Trying to figure out where to get it (might end up at Home Depot) since February isn't exactly prime compost time in Wisconsin. @Cindy - I'm going to try germinating some Hot Portugal seeds from 2012 this year, so I'll report back on that. :) In the past I think I've only had to use seed that was 2-3 years old.