Okay...JUST got done putting the new ones in bought on clearance a month or so ago. THOSE were the ones I was really concerned with because they aren't established. Here's all the info. I don't think I ever told the whole story. It's a raised bed about 6" high. Built it Nov/Dec before all this cold. We had too much rain and too muddy to plant in regular garden so figured, hmmmm -- "raised bed" -- stick new plants in, throw in DRY soil around them and good to go. BUT -- sh-t happens, THAT never happened, & I ended up with my current problem. That being said, I guess there's some variables that might come into play with what you guys have to say. These ARE new plants from big box stores which gardengal's info seems to relate to -- young roots on outer part of rootball are vulnerable. And I noticed them (fresh roots) when I planted them. BTW, great wealth of info, gardengal. TKS !!! And BTW, all the rootballs were very wet. One had that that funky, too much water stench. Msk3 -- I get what you're saying, too. Somewhere else on this site (before I got myself into this trouble & was looking for solutions) there was a post all about overwintering pots outside, on their sides for drainage, etc. and people seem to do it all the time. But it was mainly Northern areas and I got confused because I don't really know what 'overwintering' is with regards to doing it ouside??? Does that mean you dig up established plants?? And, not coming from your sort of weather (I see youre in MI with lots of snow, Im sure) -- why do you do it versus just leaving them in the ground? I'm not being a smart-ass, just uninformed. Because I CAN see where that may make a difference (established plant vs- new in pot). Around here, snow is such a big deal that the city shuts down. Literally. I'm serious. So plants around here are 'sissy' plants...ha ha ha. Does snow have anything to do with it? So mxk3, you could help me understand more by explaining about overwintering and why its necessary for you? TKS !! You can even email me if you wanna. NOW, for my current dilemma -- I was able to put plants in bed with an inch of existing tilled soil mixed with store bought (bagged) compost/manure. BUT -- didn't have enough soil to fill whole bed and cover plants properly. So I teased out bottom roots (and with some, pulled off a chunk of soggy roots) dug down 1" or so, set into place then dumped what little soil/manure compost I had into the bed and mounded enough around each one so crowns & entire root ball is covered. The mound is about 3 - 4" wider in circumference than the root ball. Had hoped that was enough protection. Soooo.considering all that these plants have been thru, should I still go back out there and fill the bed with leaves? They arent mulched leaves. Just raked up leaves. I ask because presently, it's only 32 (30 on Weather Channel) but we are expecting snow (ha ha...maybe, since we never get it this close to the beach. But it DID snow a little before Xmas). Tomorrow it will be warmer, but will drop into high 20's in evening for next few evenings. However, tomorrow I plan to get more dirt, mix with my many bags of compost/manure (that I 'thought' I could use in place of soil) and fill in the whole garden, weather permitting. Pretty much, these plants are planted properly but just with spaces in between each one. Didnt want to use my mulch yet since I still need to put more dirt in the entire bed. Right now, it looks like what I imagine groundhog mounds look like (I dont have that problem, so I dont know.???) All this being said (& I apologize for it being so long) what do you guys think NOW?? Especially about putting the leaves down? Gardengal...I'm really thinking about what your info said about how I won't see the effects until AFTER things start growing (or not growing). As it stands, the foliage is still alive and healthy. But I see what you mean about the root damage. It's like hitting your fingernail with a hammer. It looks fine until it starts to grow out and then it can be funky for 6 mos. to a year...ha ha ha.

My three favorite GD shows all featured men. Two where gardeners from the Atlanta area. One was particular, one was a cottage gardener...the other was a gardener called Dirt from (I think) Mississippi. Dirt also has a gardening radio show with Felder Rushing. Dirt, who was transplanted for a time to my hometown of Toronto moved back to care for his mamma and her southern venacular garden. He's right by the railroad tracks and still lives in mamma's house and tends her gardens. His is a junk garden filled with crazy things and lots of "cemetery" roses. Dirt is real people, and the show he did with Erica is precious. She is down to earth and quiet. He is down to earth and crazy in that fun loving oddball "southern crazy" sort of way. A real character. Their personalities just "clicked"! Although Dan Cleveland's garden is OK, it's not my cup of tea. It's more of a traditional "Atlanta" style of garden. Not that there is a single thing wrong with that. I am actually jealous of winter greenery (which I don't have much of out front). But I LOVE flashy summer color, and "Atlanta" gardens are more 4 seasons of various shades of green than splashes of psychedelic freakouts dotting the landscape. My garden would probably give poor Dan the horrors!! GGG

The buyer's premium is added to whatever you bid so if you bid $100 and the premiuim is 10%, then at check-out you will pay $110, plus sales tax if there is one in your area. You will find out the buyer's premium when you get your auction number. It is also probably noted in the circular advertising the auction. If not, just ask. Also be sure you're in a place where the auctioneer can see you. Pay attention during the bidding on something you want. Don't be afraid that you might inadvertently bid on something by scratching your chin or something. Auctioneers are good at telling what's a bid, and what's not. And if they are in doubt they will confirm it on the spot. If you've never bid on anything at a live auction before you might plan on bidding on something small early on to get used to the pace of it. I usually don't make the first bid on something I really want. It's very exciting to bid; the first couple of auctions I went to I was in such a stew, I felt sick. At the first auction I was keen to buy some large mill stones, but was afraid I'd screw it up. I was flabbergasted when I won. When the auctioneer said, "sold to the lady there" and pointed to me, I blurted out, "You're kidding?" And that really embarassed me, so much so that I nearly forgot to bid on the next stone! I've found that auctioneers are quite tolerant of newbies. After all they certainly want to have lots of people come to auctions so they go out of their way to make it a good experience. Good luck. L

I wing-it for mushroom and spinach so no real recipe. I just gently 'sweat' them in a covered saute pan on the stovetop with a bit of onion/shallot. 20 minutes/half hour low slow heat. Uncover with the heat off to cool, then wrap/roll in a clean kitchen towel to remove excess moisture. Can be refrigerated overnight or go ahead and cook in your frittata till firm but 10-15 minutes shy of fully done. Re-heating next day covered, top with some cheese uncovered for 10 min a frittata will be just as good as freshly baked. Just make sure your egg dishes prepped ahead, day before, are not oven hot into the fridge. Let rest, even chilled on a tray of ice cubes before resting in the fridge. Cover with saran or foil when cold. I winged a garden harvest veggie Mexican lasagna-ish dish last weekend using tortillas and chilis, roasted tomatoes, lots of veg, greens, mushrooms....using my new ceramic bakers. So much ingredients on hand I ended up making two full bakers. One I took one out early and was excellent next day re-heated and toasted on top with some fresh cheese and cilantro. It was supposed to be a shallow dish with eggs cracked on top but my typical over-abundance of garden harvest like every Fall I had to whisk my eggs and make something different. A Mexican frittata lasagna. Looks a mess but delicious.