Fruitnut, I don't know how long the scion would remain viable...there was a surprising amount of frozen sap at both the top and bottom of the girdling, so the tree is already losing water...hard to believe if I cut wood now it would hold until suckers are ready in early summer...??? Harvestman, I can't be sure it was voles. but the damage was all very low and I believe only under the short snow cover we had during thanksgiving. Rabbits have started to become a problem here over the last couple years. There were none and then we had a neighbor let some "pets" go....now I commonly see tracks/scat and have lost several young grapevines, and an apricot to them....entirely possible they did the peaches too. Olpea, I appreciate the offer on budwood and may well take you up on it. I am pretty limited on what cultivars have a fighting chance up here and I know most of those are not "choice" for you folks who are in a more appropriate climate. but if you have some candidates I am open to suggestions. Generaly it seems like only 4-5 get brought up again and again..Reliance, Veteran, PF24c, Mckay,..possibly contender and redhaven.

Growers are continuing to come up with new lower care varieties, these are my current interest. Unfortunately, I learned that two of my older plants in one bed have been sporting crown galls (Agrobacter) which means at least part of the property is infested. Today I bought this one, on account of the divine fragrance it wafts. Contrary to its depiction there were (already!) some spots on the leaves - we'll see how it goes after it gets in the ground. Roses displayed here in pots at outlets, growing in soil-less potting media often manifest fungus infestations that you don't see (at least to the same extent) on the same kinds when they are in the ground. Since there is supposedly a nutrient deficiency involved when blackspot, mildew or rust become well developed, that could explain the difference. The one I bought did have a palish looking base color to the leaves, as though needing much more serious fertilization. A new cultivar of grandiflora rose, Rosa `BAIsme`, characterized by its clusters of double flowers that are a blend of rosy-pink and apricot in color, its upright mounded plant habit, and its abundant flowers present in May and June and recurrently throughout the season over medium green, satiny, foliage that is resistant to rose blackspot and powdery mildew. The new variety is readily propagated on its own roots and hardy in U.S.D.A. Zones 5 to 9 Here is a link that might be useful: United States Patent: PP18506

I don't much care for Heidi fresh, but it is better than nothing, I suppose, in hot weather. I use them for salsa. I make tons and tons of Annie's Salsa every year because we give jars of salsa as gifts to oodles of people, including our entire VFD and Tim's coworkers. I usually get my seeds for Heidi from whichever seed company I'm ordering from at the moment. I think the last time it was TomatoFest. I also really like the tomato seeds from Victory Seed. They always have really high germination rates and are great quality seeds. I have some hot weather faves, but none of them are as good as the regular tomatoes that produce in milder conditions. One heat-setting hybrid that has set fruit for me even when the high temps were over 105 (up to 110-112) in August is Phoenix. I also like Merced, but its seed has been off the market for almost a decade now. Every now and then I can find a Merced plant in Texas at a nursery that either stockpiled a lot of Merced seed before the seed company dropped it, or they are saving seed and have dehybridized it. Some of the standard varieties that have set fruit well for me in hot weather include Arkansas Traveler, Burgundy Traveler, Traveler 76, Sioux, Super Sioux, Homestead 24, Rutgers, Mortgage Lifter, Carmello, Dona, Chocolate Stripes (I remember it set fruit all summer long without ever slowing down in 2008 and 2009), Orange Minsk, Jaune Flamme', and Black & Brown Boar. I think that I got the seeds for most of those at TomatoFest, Victory Seeds and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. By the way, if you remember Dona and Carmello from decades past, I am not completely convinced the current ones are exactly the same variety those were back then, but they are close. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Early Girl. While we always plant it as an early variety, it often produces all summer long, including setting fruit in August, for me. Sometimes it starts looking kinda tired and "done" and so I'll cut it back by 50% and feed it and sit back and wait for it to cycle back into production. One note about the effect of heat on tomato fruit set: we all know that high temperatures inhibit fruit set but I think we often do not pay enough attention to the effect of relative humidity. In a hot, dry summer when our relative humidity often bottoms out daily in the teens or lower, the tomato varieties I listed above will set fruit sometimes in July and August even when the temperatures are well over 100 degrees. They do not do the same thing in a hot wet summer when the relative humidities are normal to high. So, I think almost any tomato has the capability to set well when we have a combination of high heat/low RH values. I first began to understand the role that relative humidity played in fruit set at high temperatures in about 2003 when it was ridiculously hot (108-110) in August and the fresh new Big Boy tomato plants I had set out in early July for fall tomatoes started blooming and setting fruit. They set fruit like crazy throughout August, despite high temps over 100, and our relative humidity was bottoming out in the single digits in the afternoons. I had put six Big Boy plants in the ground and I bet every one of them produced at least 50 lbs. of tomatoes. When the first freeze was due to hit, I sent bags and bags of green tomatoes to work with Tim for one of his coworkers who wanted to use them to make and can chow-chow. I later learned that fried green tomatoes he made were the big hit of his extended family's huge family reunion. Anyhow, after that incredible performance by Big Boy, I began to understand why my dad grew it every summer without fail and always had great fruit set. It is likely the relative humidity in north Texas wasn't as low back then because those were wetter years, but it must have been low enough for him to get good fruit set because he always had tomatoes all summer long. Since we have had so many drought years since then, I have been able to observe and note over and over that I get better fruit set in July and August in periods with low humidity than I get in identical temperatures with higher humidity. In general I am not a fan of the tomatoes bred specifically for setting fruit in high temperatures. Whatever it is that they do to make them set fruit at high temperatures seems to destroy the flavor genes. That explains why you won't see most of the heat-setting types like Sun Master, Sun Leaper, Heat Wave, Heat Wave II, etc. on my grow lists. Yes, some of them set fruit at really high temperatures, but they are so poorly flavored that I won't waste space growing them. When those types first hit the market, I'd grow every one of them for a year or two after it was released, hoping that maybe they finally had bred a heat-setter that was worth eating. They never did and I quit trying them. Phoenix was the first new heat-setting type I'd tried in a long time, and it has decent flavor and definitely sets in high temperatures. I agree on the seeds. There are plenty of seed companies that have lost my business because the costs per packet and the shipping costs have increased so much. Have you looked at Wilhite Seed? I don't know what they have in the beet department but I am fairly sure they always have a golden beet variety. Since they are a regional seed company based in Texas, everything I've ever purchased from them has done well for me. The amount of seed they include in each packet is astonishing...in a good way. They ship pretty quickly too. I'll link them below. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Willhite Seed

I feel like a semi-expert on DW, lol. Of course I went as a child several times, but have taken MANY trips there in the past 10 years, mostly bc of sporting events my kids were in at Disney’s Wide World of Sports venues. Anyway...for the type of trip you are doing, all first timers and multi-generational...definitely stay on site. Not only is it more “magical” for the children (lots of “hidden mickeys” in the rooms and resort properties,) but so much easier logistically! An older person can just take a quick monorail or boat ride back to the hotel to rest if the others are still going strong. There definitely is a big difference between the highest and lowest priced Disney resorts! I’ve stayed at the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary, and the Caribbean Beach resort. The Grand Floridian was by far the nicest. We stayed there when my parents took us & the kids (the kids first time.) It was magical, really, for them. Dd was 4 and truly felt like a princess staying there, lol. The Contemporary was nice, too, but not quite as nice as GF. Both, plus the Polynesian, are on the monorail which means no buses to monorail station...you go straight to park. Caribbean was fine, I guess...I stayed there for cheer competitions a couple of years. Rooms were not that great, but the tropical setting was pretty. You had to take Disney shuttles to monorail station, but the buses are frequent & if you don’t really care if your room is small they are less expensive. I have not done a Disney Cruise, but a friend has done both. She said the cruise was great...but NOT better than DW for young kids. She recommends it for families with slightly older kids who love Disney but want a different experience. I second using a Disney travel agent. There are travel agents who specialize in just Disney 24/7. There are also websites completely devoted to Disney trips. Warning...they can be a bit frightening if you are new to Disney stuff...these people are really into Disney and use all sorts of abbreviations and lingo! I’d just let your agent handle all of your dining reservations (if you want meals with characters, which is a very big thing, you need to make these a precise # of months in advance.) Not worth the stress of doing yourself, agent can do it for free. I used Marvelous Mouse Travels which I think is nationwide. You literally can tell them your budget & when you want to go...and they can give you options, and explain all of the crazy details (like FastPasses, which still confuse me but are essential!) Good luck & have a blast! When we went that first trip when the kids were little it was right after New Years. The GF still had some decor up and oh my, it looked so gorgeous! Christmas really seems like a lovely time to be there!