What a great way to use your yard. I too think edibles should don all our landscapes. If you remove all your bushes for a summer garden, the area will look a bit bare when the weather gets cold. Have you thought of replacing a couple bushes with rosemary, oregano, bay tree, and thyme? All culinary and I can't live without them. They'll add winter interest and are not big nutrient feeders. In my zone, peas, carrots, and radishes are cool weather plants and can often succession-plant with the warm weather ones- tomatoes, peppers, etc. Although, perhaps this is different for Buffalo. As for the plastic, it's going to be a real mess to try to reuse what's there. Have you thought about just leaving it and poking new holes for your vegetable plants? The only problem with that is you'll have an irrigation problem if it isn't already set up with one since plastic is also a water barrier. I use wood chips regularly in my vegetable bed. Yes, nitrogen buildup will be a problem, but there's always lime. I have to use it to keep my dog and squirrels from digging in it. My digger dog doesn't like how it feels on his paws. Soil tests are used to understand not only the make up of the soil, but what it is missing for particular crops. If NY is like NC, your taxes pay for these tests. All you have to do is collect the sample, fill out the sheet form, and send it in. No additional fee. This was also true in Oklahoma when I lived there. You'll get a report back telling what you need to add for your vegetable garden. Ask your local garden center for the forms. Or call the extension office, especially since it is a county service through your extension office. (Big box store employees will look at you like you're from Mars if you ask them.) I am a big proponent of compost (veg matter, manure, etc.). I don't use commercial fertilizers as the risk of laying on too much and harming the environment is too great. Besides, what else am I going to do with those apple cores? Best of luck! And show us pics as the season progresses! Erin

If it's anything like the way the plant performs here in the PNW (where it also NOT invasive), the flowers seldom give way to berries simply because our summers are not hot enough to encourage fruit development and ripening. And that is also the reason why a good number of other plants that are very invasive in many other, hot summer parts of the country are NOT here in the cool summer regions of the PNW.

Gina, I'd say the artificial light is a good idea. Living in the midwest, grey days are more often than not..Yes, it's true on sunny days that your south window will receive more light than in summer, but if you average sunny days vs cloudy it'd probably be the same if not less sun than they got in summer. I also agree on misting, especially since there's a vent not far from the plants. I wonder if a dryer drys out air..hmm. As for your seedlings, only you can answer that, Gina. I sowed Traveller Palm seeds this summer..ONe is already 7" or so..I used 12 pellets..that was the only one that germinated..I thought..I was going to toss the rest, when I check, and 2 more sprouted. So, I now ask myself, do I discard the rest or wait to see if they also sprout. Maybe the babies need a little more heat..I don't believe in heating mature citrus, but when it comes to seedlings, that's a different ball game. Toni

'Little Henry' Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica) is a 2 to 3 ft shrub that may do well there with occasional watering. Ours needs little beyond the lawn over-spray, but is in fairly dense shade during the hottest days. Leaves are a lighter shade of green for most of the year that should look good against the dark brick and it has many white flowers in spring. Semi-evergreen in Dallas. The orange/red leaf colors in late fall and winter are very nice, and should probably still look okay against the dark maroon. May depend on how fierce the temps get near the dark brick wall during 2 or 3 hours of late afternoon summer sun; could limit the spot to really tough plants like the hollies. Here is a link that might be useful: Itea virginica - Little Henry