April, forgive me, I was out of town when you posted the question above and just happened across it when looking for something else on the older pages. There were several factors in my decision. First of all, I was working alone, which makes for long hours if I wanted any harvest at all. I tried some temporary part-time employees and (although one of them was wonderful) concluded I didn't want the headaches. The second was that I wanted my life back. I worked long hours in the hot sun and had NO spare time. Starting in late February, I couldn't go away for more than a day at a time or seeds/seedlings/plants would die. Earnings weren't good enough to justify taking up every minute of my life, and didn't make up for lack of sleep from Thursday through Saturday night in market season. The biggest factor was probably the climate I had to fight. We have NO nights over 55 degrees, which makes quite a few flowers impossible (zinnias and celosia come to mind, but there are plenty more). Cold nights cause things to grow very, very slowly. For example, we can't get a harvest of Early Girl tomatoes or dahlias most years - they're too slow! Our long, cold, wet spring causes some things to rot badly - tulips, for instance. Our frost-free season is very short, from roughly early June to early September, 90-100 days. Calling ANYTHING frost-free here is a joke, as we do get some light frosts in midsummer every year. There are NO annuals that bloom here before mid-July, even though started indoors and grown on in the hoophouse before planting out. Even with all the season extension I could possibly do, and all the perennials and bulbs I grew, there just wasn't that much to take to market until the second half of July. Then nothing but asters survived the first frost around Labor Day weekend, so I couldn't make much then, either. I had the high-end market tied up, but you can only make so much in six or seven weeks! I sold out, or close to it, every week at market, but I could not get any more flowers grown and harvested and arranged and to market than I already did, in those six or seven weeks. I'm not sure there would have been enough customers to buy more, but who knows? - it wasn't relevant! My total income just was not worth the time, effort, and exhaustion. Also, I have an outside job in a hospital (I'm an RN) that makes way more money for way easier work, and in an air-conditioned building, yet! Of course, there were many other things I could have done, besides quit. I already had planted TONS of perennials that would have made for more to take to market earlier, and therefore extended the profitable markets. They hadn't reached maturity yet. I could have tried hiring more part-time help. I had quit my nursing job once, for one season, to focus more on the flowers, with no better results, just less income, so I went back. In the end, I think I just lost interest in fighting the climate, all the time, and having no spare time or money at all. Being a nurse is much easier. I gave up at the end of last season and have been much happier. Now I'm working at the hospital more. I'll grow some flowers for cutting just for myself and to take to work. I kept so many peony plants and lily bulbs (just couldn't part with them) that I might find myself going to market as a day vendor a few times, but maybe not. I don't need to if I don't feel like it. I've given away or sold most of my lily bulbs and many perennials. I'll also be growing veggies for the first time; my CSA provider is moving to Missouri, and I have quite a bit of raised bed space available. My little hoophouse will grow mostly fast varieties of tomatoes, some basil, maybe a few cucumbers and peppers (none of those produce much of anything outdoors here - they don't like our cold nights). I envy you folks with a nice, long, truly frost-free season and warm nights, for what you can grow, but I LOVE winter and cool weather and mountains and lakes and our cold nights, for myself. I live in a very beautiful place, in the Rocky Mountains. Selling flowers was never a big dream or life goal for me, just something I thought I'd try, so it isn't at all heartbreaking for me to give it up. I will still be growing flowers but there will be NO pressure, no 16-hour days, no working outside in the hot sun, no severe sleep deprivation on market weekends. And I'll be able to go away for weekends. Jeanne

You should have a full length understock-seedling, however, I've had stuff happen where I've grated on individuals exactly like that. You have plenty of time. Neither the understock or scion may break this year (and still be fine)... or a combination of either or. I've waited two seasons sometimes for a graft to to finally break and grow. With as little energy that your understock now has, it just may take a year for something to happen, so caution to the safe side and just keep it alive, if so.... Dax

Hi, FW! Welcome to the forum! I am so impressed by your wonderful garden! It's great that your whole family gets into the act, too. Mark will help me with the heavy work, and does a little bit of planting himself (mostly bamboo), while I do the flower beds, and basic garden layout stuff. But his biggest and most important contribution (besides earning the green stuff that lets me buy the OTHER green stuff, of course) is in brick-laying. I'd be lost without him to create my paths and edgings. I know you will have many years of enjoyment...and delicious meals...from your garden and your time spent there. And I hope you will also get a lot of enjoyment out of this forum and the good folks who post here. It's a great place to learn and share, for sure. Marcia

Hi everyone, glad to meet all of you. I too just found this forum, Im usually on the gardening forum but I have been busy scrapbooking for the past month! Glad I stopped in! My name is Pam and I live in the Chicago area with my husband Glenn and dog Snickers our only Daughter is away at College. Glenn and I are both retired but still work a couple day a week as consultants. I started scrapbooking about a month ago and have become totally addicted ......worse than my gardening addiction!!!! And that's bad! But I love it, hubby asks if I'm going to take my scrapin stuff out in the yard during the summer to work on both hobbies...I laugh and say... maybe :o). But I can't believe how much money I have spent on supplies etc. But I will definately use everything I have. I started with my Daughters baby pictures and am working my way up thru the years. Some of the picture are pretty bad (due to my photo taking skills at that time) but I have gotten better over the years. My main objective is to get to the heritage photos but that will be awhile. Well happy scrappin to all of you, hope to visit again soon otherwise I'll be scrappin away!!!