Update: 03-08-09, I just can't bellieve it, the last 2 days have been in the 80's! So, here is another update on the Winter onions. Hope you can notice that they have put on some growth. They have received 2 feedings of 1/2 tsp Miracle Grow and 1/2 gal of stored rainwater since last posted. just had to unravel (the leaves get tangled by the wind) the longest leave I could find and as the rule shows, it reads 14 and 3/4 inches. Also, the lettuce, what there is of it, is turning greener and putting on growth as well. Gardening with love, Kiee

Kendra, I grow lots of onions from sets and seed. This year, I'm again growing a few from plants. It's all good. Sets (dormant immature bulbs) are great for really early scallions. The varieties grown are also usually very suitable for allowing some of them to mature and then use out of storage. Yes, they are inclined to flower so keep an eye on the onion patch and harvest those with flower buds as scallions before going on to the others. Onions from seed are a little hard to deal with because the seedlings are so small. I start them in the greenhouse and then transplant out of the flat into the garden. Transplanting early will help avoid shock but youÂre dealing with something the size of dog hairs . . . Sowing seed directly in the garden works okay. Small onions are very vulnerable to weed competition and trying to get the weeds out without uprooting the tiny onions, is tuff. Other vegetables also react to cold weather early in the season by curtailing their growth and flowering. There are "windows of opportunity" for planting and sometimes they are small and the Spring weather is unpredictable. More than one variety and seeding more than once can increase your chances for success. Also with onions, you've got sets, plants, and seed. Life is good. Steve

trigger: I'll be in/out of the GH no later than 8 am, and no earlier than 10 pm, many hours after the sun has gone down. Please understand, that what works in your climate doesn't, up here. When a strong Canadian front comes whipping down and across our flat Illinois cornfields, it can drop our temps from a balmy +40, to -10, in hours, then settle in for 0 to +10 deg. days that can linger. My first winter with my GH will be as much experimental as for intended use, and while I'll have tanks out there, it isn't won't be fish at first, just plants. If an aquatic plant dies down to it's roots, it will come back, but once a fish bellies up, it's premanently dead. Nevertheless, I have learned so much from communicating with so many different people here on the GH Forum, and as result, believe I've avoided many mistakes that would have been impossible to mitigate without tearing it all down and starting over; a dreadful thought. Which makes me wonder how many backyard GH's have been abandonded, simply because their owners didn't have access to so many different ideas and experiences, from so many others who have made their own mistakes, learned from them, and have come here, to share their knowledge. I really am, very, VERY grateful.

Frost can get under the slab and footings and heave them up. Depending on how much insulation and hay was put down will determine how much frost has gotten under the slab. Was there foam installed under the slab before the pour? Soil condition also control how expansive the soil is when introduced to frost/freeze. There is no way to tell how much frost is in the foundation and if there is any damage until you clean up the blankets and hay. Then, you exposed the foundation is subject to frost/freeze heave while the framing is going on. I would get it capped off as quickly as possible, and some sort of temporary heat n the basement while the upper level is being framed.