Here's my two cents: Allium family (onions, shallots, garlic, chives) Onions and Chives have WSed well for me. Haven't sown the others before. Beans-- I have WSed them, but kinda debate which is easier for me, to direct sow or WS. But they WS great. Beets -- Definitely. Brassica family -Spinach, Kale, Collards WS like crazy for me. Broccoli worked for me last year (but I lack the knowledge of how to grow it. Didn't get a decent enough head on it, perhaps due to very wet summer. Carrots--I will probably always WS these. It's easier for me to separate the seedlings and plunk them in at a particular distance from each other than it is for me to seed and then thin out. They WS great for me and I can pull up carrots even in the dead of winter. I am a BIG FAN of WSing root veggies Celery- haven't yet, but am doing this year Corn- I only did an ornamental type, which did WS well. Curcubit family-I have WSed them, but I personally prefer sowing indoors or direct sowing. Only because I have a hard time putting a small container of seed outdoors and having it survive. Herbs-- this is probably your most variable category. It depends on the herb as to how it will WS for you. For me, it's down to timing (whether I put the seeds out in winter or in spring). Leafy Greens-excellent. Lettuces,Spinach, Chard, Bok Choy...they do fantastic and are often the first things to sprout for me. Nightshade family (eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes - from real seeds....not "seed potatoes" ;-) No experience with potatoes, but eggplant and peppers I sow indoors because our season isn't long enough here. My tomatoes, however are outside right now. They WS great. Parsnip- as a root veggie it probably would do well. Rutabegas are in that family and they did very well for me last year. Peas- These I direct sow...it's easier for me. Radishes- They WS very well Spinach- Most definintely WS's well. Linda

Hi lovetogrowflowers. I don't think you are bothering anyone. Lucy is right, try not to stress yourself out. Take deep breaths. LOL. I think your plan for the two potted ones are perfect. I read in one of your earlier post asking about if the crawl space was ok and someone I believe said yes. For me, I WOULD strip the leaves first. The brug will be trying to take care of the leaves instead of useing its energy to go dormant. Plus you wouldn't want bugs to sneak in on a leaf and spend the winter eating your brug. :( As for the one in ground...well people cut back or don't cut back for different reasons. One of the biggest I think is for safety and the health of the plant. During the winter the brug branches will freeze so they cut them back so there is less of a chance this will happen. Who wants a mushy rotting brug in spring? How tall is the brug you still have in the ground? How close to the ground is the Y? The experts can chime in if this is a bad idea, but how about if you...1.Stip the leaves. 2.Cut off only the top green tips. (Save them) 3.Mulch as high as you can get it, at least to the Y if it's close to the ground. 4.Cover the brug with a REALY big rubber trash can or tub. 5.Maybe even cover that with an old blanket. Or would that be over kill? The cuttings you could take in and root them. Hopefully none of that was bad advice. Me and Lonny are newbies too. This will be our 2nt winter. We killed one of the two brugs we had last winter. But that was because we brought them in and tried to keep them growing. This year we brought all in again. This winter we have many more, plus young ones. We made a Brug room and have been learning lots. So we are going to give it a try. If they had been bigger, we would have left them out in ground to go dormant. Now that I have writen a novel.(sorry, long winded) Try not to worry, you brought them back to health and they are doing well enough to be around to overwinter, so I think you are doing well. Kim

You can use most any growing mediums you want. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. Some hold moisture better, some hold more oxygen, some provide better drainage etc.. For my drip systems, I cover the bottom drain hole with a screening filter (that I cut out of a cheep replacement furnace filter). Then I add a layer of rock I get from my back yard (though any river rock or fish tank rock will do). That I wash to get all the dirt off, and sanitize by soaking it in bleach water for an hour or so. I use the rock to add weight so the plants don't become top heavy and blow over in the wind (I grow outside). However the layer of rock also provides excellent drainage properties, holds the furnace filter screen in place, and takes up space so less growing medium is needed. Then on top of the rock in the bottom of the bucket, add the growing medium. I like using coco "chips" myself, because it's fairly inexpensive, holds moisture very well, and while still being able to allow the roots to be well aerated. 2 cubic feet of coco chips is about 15 gallons when expanded. With the layer of rock at the bottom (about 1/3) of the bucket, that's enough to fill 4, 5 gallon buckets. Coco fiber is the same material as coco chips (made from coconut husks), just smaller particles, so it dosen't aerate as well as the "chips," but still does a good job (chips just do better). The chips are about the size of small wood chips for your smoker, and the coir (fiber) texture is about like peat moss. Here is a link that shows some different typical growing mediums Growing Medium, I haven't used lava rock, though I understand it works well also. What ever growing medium you use, you'll want to rinse it off well first. The coco chips (or coir) will color the water at first, but wont hurt the plants at all, and eventually rinses out. Treating water (like water filtration systems), or nutrients to use? Sounds like you meant what type of nutrients to use. Miracle grow dosen't make a line of hydroponic nutrients that I know of, and I'm not familiar with "pro teck," "Lanka," or "super thrive." But you want to use nutrients designed for hydroponic plants. Fertilizers that are for use in soil don't contain the micro elements (elements used by the plant in small quantities) needed for healthy plant growth (because soil contains enough of them). Soil fertilizers generally only contain the macro (elements used by the plant in large quantities). Hydroponic nutrients are designed to be complete, and provide all the mineral elements (macro, and micro elements). So just make sure their made for hydroponic plants. I have used both the General Hydroponics Flora Series nutrients, and the Verti-Gro nutrients. The GH flora series is a 3 part nutrient (that needs all 3 parts to work correctly), and because it's a 3 part nutrient, it allows more flexibility in mixing them for your specific plant needs. However if you grow enough it will get quite expensive, making about 390 gallons of nutrient solution from the 1 gallon concentrate jugs, and costs about $100 (shipping not included if you need it). The Verti-Gro nutrients are a 2 part nutrient that needs both parts to work (the fertilizer, and calcium nitrate). They come dry and are mixed separately in water jugs to create a liquid nutrient concentrate, that are generally mixed evenly into the nutrient solution. The 4 lb combo special (fertilizer, and calcium nitrate, SKU#: FCombo) that includes shipping and runs under $40, and makes about 500 gallons of nutrient solution. The 25 lb quantities make about 5000 gallons for about $130 (shipping included). Here are a few others that are priced similar to the Verti-Gro nutrients that I haven't tried yet, but plan to test out in the future. QuickGrow nutrients J.R. Peters nutrients (I especially want to try these) P.S. If you want to send me a e-mail at; rocketman1022000@yahoo.com with the title "drip system" I can send you complete directions on how I built one of my drip systems. It's in PDF, is easily printed out, and contains many pictures of the build. Even if you don't build it, it will probably give you some good ideas.

malorn, Zoning can be confusing. You are correct though in figuring it out that if a plant is labeled as "Zone 5"...it's hardy in all zones up to & including Zone 5. Most tags will say something like, "Zone 4-8". But, as you've just discovered it's not as uniform as we'd like. Also, those ratings do not take into account heat tolerance...only cold hardiness. For instance, hostas perform beautifully in the northern tier of states & some can even handle considerable sun but in the south they are not the workhorses we enjoy because of heat, humidity, & more intense sun. Some nurseries provide heat tolerance information..I think White Flower Farms does. Recently, the zoning maps have changed. The southern coastal regions of New England have been bumped to Zone 7 from Zone 6. Some of interior New England has gone from a Zone 5 to a Zone 6. It's a global warming thing. As with many other things in life, change comes hard. Many on the New England Forum are sticking with their old zones. I live on the SE Connecticut shore just feet from the water which moderates my climate so I'm experimenting with zone pushing (inexpensive plants). The Zone 6(b) notation came about as an attempt to further define different areas...for instance, there are cold Zone 5's & warmer Zone 5's; hence, Zone 5(a) & Zone 5(b). So, what you're seeing is that you are somewhere between a Zone 6 & a Zone 7. The zone maps are based on 7 out of 10 winters being within the zonal range for your particular location. They are not cast in stone. They are imperfect but do provide a reliable "guide". This past winter was weird. I'm a Zone 7 yet lost a perennial rated for Zone 4! There's a lot more to hardiness than minimum temperatures such as wind, snow cover, ice, & timing/duration of weather patterns. As you continue to garden on your site you'll learn it's particular characteristics through trial & error. Use the zonal information as a guide. For instance, for more expensive plants, trees rated for up to Zone 5 in your area should be reliably hardy with a little room for variance from one winter to another. For perennials that are less expensive, planting for Zone 6 or even Zone 7 gives you more variety & offers a reasonable degree of risk. Hope this helps. Tricia