Yay, Chelle !! (I told ya the garlic was easy -- if I can grow it here, you certainly can grow it there... )

Arlene, once you kind of "get the hang" of growing onions from seed you will never go back (although I admit I still hedge my bet a little by planting some sets as well). I do trim the tops of my onion seedlings a couple of times while they're growing because they tend to get a big out of hand, and it seems to make them stronger. Maybe @Farmerdill can weigh in on that idea.

Just for a point of reference -- I start my seeds in mid February and plant out in mid May to early June.

@abhege ... I just happen to have some pictures I took Thursday to share with a friend ...



I love the Earthboxes as well ... I'm so glad I bought them when I did several years ago ... the prices have gone up so much.

Weedwhacker said:Yay, Chelle !! (I told ya the garlic was easy -- if I can grow it here, you certainly can grow it there... )

It was, and is! I took your advice and didn't even mulch it. I noticed a sunken spot with exposed pieces at one point during the winter, but I just scooped out some mostly unfrozen horse stall material and covered it over with that. Perfect!

That will probably be the best garlic in the whole bed, Chelle !!

Congratulations on the garlic Chelle! Oh, I planted some nasturtiums today as well because of your discussion. They were old seeds though but it's supposed to rain the next few days so maybe that will help.

I am still waiting on my garlic. I check it each day. Nothing doing much yet except of all things some water lilies I buried in their pots and all in one of my raised beds then covered with mulch. Who would have thought? Don't know how they will do but I find it really amazing they sent up sprouts.

Planted Bak Choy, broccoli in the garage greenhouse. Tomorrow will do three kinds of lettuce. I would still like to try plants seeds in the raised beds when the ground is workable just to see how well that works.

Guess I posted in the wrong spot, just saw that my asparagus popped up, woohoo!

Mary Stella, my garlic isn't coming up yet either (except for a few sprouts poking up from the ones I planted inside my hoop house) -- but then, the ground hasn't really thawed out, either. Our snow is gone earlier than usual (well, there's still quite a bit around, but also lots of bare areas), so I "feel" like other things should be happening quicker, too; hard to be patient this time of year!!

SCurtis wrote "just saw that my asparagus popped up, woohoo!" The asparagus and garlic are my sure signs of spring!

I have asparagus also but it is still under a bit of ice. It is already upper 30's here so hopefully another warmish day with bright sun will finish clearing off the raised beds. I really need to get the poly back over the hoops. That would help also.

Newyorkrita said:

I did direct seed outdoors. I thought it was plenty warm as I had already planted out my tomato plants but what do I know as I had never tried to seed basil before.

I don't think I am going to try again as nothing at all grew. So I am planning on just buying plants again this spring.

I winter sowed my basil last year--several different types--and every type sprouted and grew well for me after transplanting into the garden and pots. I had thai, lemon, cinnamon, sweet... I'm doing it again this year. I agree it could have been the seed...

Most of my spring veggie garden--including tomatoes--is being winter sowed or waiting on spring. Only peppers and roselle are in the greenhouse this year, veggie-wise.

I had basil self sow last year. That's a first.

chelle said:I had basil self sow last year. That's a first.

Especially considering the extreme winter that preceded it !

Maybe that's why. Constant, really deep snow cover. I don't really know, but it was a pleasant surprise.

@drdawg was saying consumers should not let companies get away with selling inferior products, so I'm letting all of you know what happened with Burpee.com when I did just that. Sorry the post is so long, but I'm hoping someone will be able to explain to me why I can't get a replacement order.
Me:
I bought 6 lulu artichokes last year and planted them in zip 75778. They died back to the ground last fall, which my son's in north CA didn't do. They have not sprouted yet this year? Do you think its too early here, or they perhaps died? Do you replace them this late?

Burpee:

Thank you for your email.


We apologize that our seed or plant did not perform as well as you expected. Your experience of this product?s performance has been recorded for review.


Burpee guarantees all of its products for one year from the date of purchase.


We can either refund your money OR provide a replacement.


Please let us know which you would prefer at your convenience.


Sincerely,



Regards,

Customer Service
www.burpee.com

Me:

Replacement please.

Burpee:
Thank you for your prompt response.

I would recommend waiting till April/May to see if there are any signs of life as the plants may still be in a dormant state. I will be happy to place a note on your order of our conversation and my recommendation. Should the Lu Lu Artichokes show no signs of life after May, please contact our Customer Service Department at 1-800-1447.

Me:
If its ok with you, i would prefer to receive the replacements as soon as you would regularly ship them. Last year i received them 4-17-14, but its much warmer this year. I have everything else planted already. If last years re-grow, i will pay you for the extra. I would like to have 12 anyway.

Burpee:
Thank you for your prompt response.

I have been advised that, at this time, we cannot replace Item 22334 Lu Lu Artichoke. We can issue a refund back onto the credit card used to make the purchase. If that card is not longer valid, we would issue a refund check. Please advise if the credit card is still active to receive the refund.

Me:
The credit card is still valid. Is it possible to get a replacement of whatever mixture of different artichokes you still have? I really want some artichokes.

Burpee:
Ms. hansen:

We are not able to replace different varieties of any plants, seeds, or flowers. We can only replace with identical replacements.

You could order the LuLu Artichoke either on our web site or by calling our Customer Service Department at 1-800-888-1447.

The refund has been issued back onto the credit card in the amount of $33.90.

So, my question is.......If they have lulu Artichokes available, and they are exactly the same price, why won't they replace them? It's all left me with a very bad feeling about burpee, as they offered replacement or refund, then won't replace them. I don't sell products, so maybe I just don't "get" why they can't send me whatever artichokes they have.

lovesblooms said:

I winter sowed my basil last year--several different types--and every type sprouted and grew well for me after transplanting into the garden and pots. I had thai, lemon, cinnamon, sweet... I'm doing it again this year. I agree it could have been the seed...

That is interesting. Never though of winter sowing basil or any of my more cold hardy veggie seeds. My winter sowing is limited to things like annual vines like morning glories and things like that. Nasturtums also, those come up when they are ready.

On the artichokes, I'm thinking possibly they have them but are not very big yet so they want to wait to ship out orders and that's why they are putting you off but since you insisted on that particular artichoke and wanted them shipped now, they did the refund. If you order the same kind they probably will ship them later. That's my guess anyway.

I didn't insist on the same artichoke, and I didnt insist they be shipped now.

That is not a good experience, TK !

I knwvm jumping into this discussion late but when I saw the basil comments I had to share. I'm a basil nut --- grow four - five different kinds each year from seed right along with tomatoes. Still have pesto in the freezer.
Basil seeds that are 1 to 3 years old will sprout in about 5 days indoors . It's the first plant that comes up when I grow seeds indoors. However, since basil seeds need a lot of moisture I never ever direct seed outdoors. It would mean watering two or three times a day. I have had a few volunteers self seed in pots occasionally so cold doesn't kill the seeds and I could see the potential of wintersow ing because that would keep the seeds moist. Anyways basil is incredibly easy to grow from seed if started indoors. So save your money and do a packet of seeds. Also the lettuce leaf basil, lime basil, cinnamon basil etc are hard to find in garden centers but easy to find seeds mail order or in seed swap. Just call me basil aficionado. Or basil freak.