I've been experimenting with pre-sprouting peas this year too. First I put the peas in a plastic container and then fill the container with warm water. I let the peas soak for about 12 hours. During this time they absorb lots of water and come out of dormancy. Then I drain off all the water and cover the container with plastic that has a few small holes poked in it. This allows some transpiration but keeps the seeds from drying out too fast. (I have a wood stove in my house so my humidity is very low and everything dries out rapidly.) Next I place the container somewhere warm. (In the room with the wood stove for me.) Given these conditions the seeds will visibly start to sprout in as little as 24 hours and can then be planted outside in the soil. If you need to hold them for several days just rinse and drain them twice a day to keep them hydrated. The following picture, taken 48 hours after the 12 hour soak, shows some peas I am presprouting. The next pictures show some leftover peas from a batch I started pre-sprouting on February 8th. (22 days ago) I planted most of this first batch on February 15th but once my raised bed was full I still had these left over. I still haven't gotten around to planting them but they look pretty healthy and are about to unfurl their first leaves. I think I'll plant them on Wednesday, after the current cold spell breaks, and treat them like seedling transplants (plant with leaves above ground) rather than mere pre-sprouted seeds. I never intended to sprout these leftovers for so long out of the soil but now that I have I kind of like the idea. It's kind of like raising seedlings for transplants but without all the mess of soil and pots. I keep rinsing them every day with tap water and they just keep growing apparently satisfied for now with the nutrients remaining in the seed. What do you think of that?

Mike, you're lucky living east, in the US of A..(S) People I talk to who live east, even the same zone as I, z5, start hauling plants out about a month before Illinoisians.. Planting season in Z5 used to be, (8+ yrs ago) April 15th..they changed the date to May 15th.. I figure, if it's warm enough to sow seeds, or set out fragile seedlings, citrus and 'most' other tropicals will thrive.. Njoasis comment regarding spring rains/storms in true.. One reason I'm happy my citrus are potted in plastic tree containers..and well-draining soil.. On the other hand, because soil drains fast and water seeps out of drainage holes, it can be scary..weeks of full sun, without rain, then the city says, Water Restriction Time..If they catch someone watering, they'll be fined. Mike, you can bet I'm praying for spring..LOL.. I understand you wanting to set citrus outdoors ASAP..You'd think fresh air and humidity would kill those little devils. About 3 years ago, I had a Whitefly problem..thank God that was the one and only time..I brought plants in, (after cleaning/hosing) and within a week, almost every plant was covered with whitefly. It was then a nursery, Gardens Alive sent a catalog and happened to sell Yellow Sticky Traps..(I don't use chemical insecticides) The traps worked, not only did they kill WF, but quickly..hundreds of WF landed on the traps..it took 1-2 week/s after attaching traps to plants, before all signs of WF stopped..In the meantime, I figured out the source..the host plant..we planted a hardy Hydrangea bush out front..while weeding, I'd seen flying insects hanging around the hydrangea, but never thought twice about it..figured it was some summer flying insect..after a thorough inspection, I ID'd them as whitefly..Since, I started hosing its foliage every other day, which seems to work. I bought extra traps, in case the WF return. Even bought a can of the glue used on traps, Tanglefoot, in case I run out of traps..They're also sold on Ebay, at a much more reasonable price, so that's something to keep in mind.. Mike, did you say you've used yellow traps for fungus gnats? If not, why not give them a try? There's many posts from people who use traps to catch gnats; they swear traps work wonders..it's a thought. Once your citrus are outside you can start hosing foliage..w/o aiming at soil. That should help..I hope..:) Mike what type of soil do you use? And what size pots? Toni

We had the same kind of temperature drop - record temperatures of 80 on Wednesday and into the 20's by Friday night. Welcome to Nebraska, eh? Western and northern Nebraska had as much as 8 inches of snow, and as close as 2 hours west of us there was snow last week. We just barely missed it, but I'm now happily enjoying a belated fall. Sadly, I was out of town for the one single week that my Japanese maple decided to turn red. It must have turned and dropped all its leaves in that week, as it's now bare. Ah well, planning plenty of mulled cider and yes - hot herbal tea - for the weekend. Like Seil, we went from iced tea to hot cocoa overnight. It FINALLY feels like Thanksgiving, which means I'm allowed to stay inside and hibernate looking through rose catalogs now. All but a few hundred bulbs planted and that'll be done while the turkey cooks on Thanksgiving. I agree with you Carol - I wouldn't want a winter without some snow. I'm OK with not having any yet, since first snow is supposed to be a 1" dusting on Christmas Eve in my ideal scenario, but I'd miss snow if it weren't there. I'm surprised that North Texas got as cold as that so early in the winter, but that's the Central Plains for you I guess. Happy fall - finally! Cynthia

My plants all sit on a table that's right in front of two big windows, I have some supplemental lights on the table, especially for those that need the most light like some of my echeveria. I do have a few on the windowsill. I am ever so slightly concerned about the cool temps in the winter here, even though it doesn't get super cold just because my room is the coldest in the apartment in the winter (and the hottest in the summer). Seeing what other people have said though, it sounds like mine should be okay (it's my first winter with succulents). Without the supplemental lights, some of mine would definitely be getting etiolated as evidenced by the times before I had the lights and the fact several have started to stretch when too far from it. As the sun has shifted inthe fall I get a little less direct light to my room. There is a post somewhere on this site where I posted my setup.