The eggplants have started growing thankfully. Even a couple of my okra plants which looked done for have come back to life, and a few of the eggplant I transplanted from indoors that looked totally shot have come back, if they all make it through production I will have way too many eggplant. If all my squash make it through production and get pollinated I will have way too many of those too. But that's ok!! I will freeze or give away. My peppers still look like crap though. I tried giving them a little (just a little!) chemical fertilizer and have apparently burned them now. I already have a few small peppers, but the plants themselves are tiny with pale thin upward curled leaves that now have burns on them. I don't think they have done well with the heavy rains and cold start to the season. Don't know what else I can do but go buy another large fresh transplant and hope for another outcome, maybe leave it in a container. I really was hoping for a bountiful pepper harvest most of anything. I did put a couple tiny transplants from indoors in containers that look like they might get big enough to produce in time, they are the only ones I got that look nice and healthy. My onions made tiny bulbs I would not waste my money on sets again unless I only wanted some quick scallions. The red onions I bought did make very nice pungent scallions though.

My sister, who lives year-round in FL., took some friends from Canada to the airport, yesterday morning, for their flight home. (They'll return in Nov.) Anyway, the temp for Ft. Myers was forecast for 90 degrees; (it reached that figure later in the day). When the Canadians got home, they were greeted by a "blinding" snowstorm! Of course, their home is a considerable distance from FL, but gee whiz, it is the middle of April!

Shipping is easy when used correctly and the average reseller (especially ebay types) do not understand shipping. I will ship this coming week USPS two day service without problems. Only the most remote areas have ever taken three days. In the last two years I have not had a single customer complain of an orchid damged by cold and I ship fully open Cattleya flowers all winter long. I warranty the flowers and buds and have not had one claim for credit for blasted buds. Customers only need to email they had flower damage to get the credit no proof is necessary. It is easy to make slight errors in addresses that will delay delivery. When you use the USPS on line mail system this does not happen as they edit the addresses against valid addresses. Heat packs though are a waste of your money. They only last 4-8 hours and then then are done. With two day shipment most of the time you do not have a heat pack even if you paid for it. If the heat pack is removed from the plastic liner completely the heat may only last a couple of hours. For longest effect the pack should be left in the plastic liner with only the end ripped open. I have shipped orchids and before that live fish for thirty years. I have used thousands of heat packs and the use was mostly to reassure customers since they really did not do much. They had minimal value when shipping air freight and had delivery in 4-6 hours. As I said longer times and the heat pack is dead anyway. It is not a matter of cost since the high quality heat packs I buy commmercially only cost 0.60. They really do not do anything but make you feel better.

I'm so sorry! Who would have thought about ducks doing that. They must have been looking for a heated swimming pool, I would never think about them being smart enough to figure out how to break in.