Your All Things Plants weekly news: January 11, 2014

There were 13 new gardening ideas posted last week:

By dave January 11, 2014 The January Not-A-Raffle Raffle! We kick of 2014 with a new raffle! Come in and check out our lineup of prizes. (372 words - Read the full article) (6 comments)

By RickCorey January 10, 2014 Peas Are Cold Weather Crops My Favorite Snow Pea Pod and Snap Pea Pod Varieties (780 words - Read the full article) (19 comments)

By bitbit January 9, 2014 Choosing the Right Broccoli For You This winter garden staple has so many varieties that it's easy to get overwhelmed when you look at a seed catalog or well-stocked nursery. Here's a summary of a few varieties I've grown, and the pros and cons of each. (297 words - Read the full article) (6 comments)

By abhege January 9, 2014 Brassicas for Early Spring Planting As we start planning our spring vegetable gardens, one of the first crops we plant may include members of the brassica family, such as cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli. (267 words - Read the full article) (7 comments)

By dave January 8, 2014 ATP Podcast #41: The Podcast is Back! Today our podcast breaks dormancy as we begin a new year full of new podcasts. Come on in, listen and get caught up with what's been going on around our farm, and see ATP's top 5 most successful ideas from the past 2 months. (55 words - Read the full article) (7 comments)

By bitbit January 8, 2014 Plant for Your Zone and Harvest All Winter Even in the coldest areas, there are usually some plants that will survive the winter and allow you to have garden-fresh produce despite the weather. (280 words - Read the full article) (3 comments)

By chelle January 8, 2014 Cold Season Crops? Yes, You Can! Whether you like to get outdoors a bit each day despite the weather, or you just don't care to brave icy roads searching for expensive fresh produce, growing your own crops on into winter definitely has its benefits. (322 words - Read the full article) (3 comments)

By bitbit January 7, 2014 Avoiding Loose-Leafed Brussels Sprouts Sometimes your Brussels sprouts form loose, leafy heads instead of the tight ones you expect. Why does that happen, and how can you prevent it? (143 words - Read the full article) (4 comments)

By farmerdill January 7, 2014 Better Than Snowballs When I was young, the winter months were quite dreary. Food was minimal during the depression and was mostly dried beans and canned fruits, as well as vegetables and root crops stored in the ground. Fresh vegetables were rare and coveted. In Piedmont Virginia at that time, that meant kale, rape, parsnips and white mustard. I despised parsnips, and still do to this day. Dad would look me straight in the eye and say: “Better than snowballs when you are hungry." (698 words - Read the full article) (11 comments)

By RickCorey January 6, 2014 Spring and Fall Crops With cold-weather crops, your first garden harvest could occur weeks earlier next year! (675 words - Read the full article) (16 comments)

By Newyorkrita January 6, 2014 Bok Choi Bok Choi is a common ingredient in Asian Cooking. It can be stir fried or added to soups. But did you know that it is easy to grow your own from seed? (89 words - Read the full article) (8 comments)

By bitbit January 5, 2014 Harvest After Frost for Best Flavor Many cold weather crops actually taste sweeter if you harvest them after a frost instead of right before one. (85 words - Read the full article) (one comment)

By dave January 5, 2014 Winter Vegetable Gardening for Mild Climates Most people consider winter the time when the gardens go to sleep and there's nothing to grow, but for those of us who live in fairly mild climates, there's a whole new kind of gardening that can only be done during those cold months. (1,164 words - Read the full article) (6 comments)

The most popular images last week from our plant database: Photo of Intersectional Peony (Paeonia Keiko) by Cem9165: Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Static') by floota: Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Jay Farquhar') by diggit: Photo of (Chaenactis douglasii var. alpina) by growitall: Photo of Iris (Iris 'Broken Heart') by diggit: Photo of Poppy (Papaver somniferum 'Dark Plum') by Alya:

The most popular Multi-Plant Photos from last week: Multi-plant photo by goldfinch4: Multi-plant photo by wildflowers: Multi-plant photo by ge1836: Multi-plant photo by Paul2032: Multi-plant photo by Paul2032: Multi-plant photo by Paul2032:

Noteworthy acorn tips given this week:

7 people gave for the idea "Better Than Snowballs" by farmerdill 4 people gave for the idea "Spring and Fall Crops" by RickCorey 3 people gave for the idea "Cold Season Crops? Yes, You Can!" by chelle 3 people gave for the idea "Brassicas for Early Spring Planting" by abhege 3 people gave for the idea "Choosing the Right Broccoli For You" by bitbit 3 people gave for the idea "Plant for Your Zone and Harvest All Winter" by bitbit 2 people gave for the idea "Bok Choi" by Newyorkrita 2 people gave for a post in "Banner for January 4, 2014 by Char" by Char 2 people gave for a photo of Hellebore (Helleborus Winter Jewels™ Harlequin Gem) by NJBob 2 people gave for a photo of Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans') by wcgypsy

The most active threads this week:

Subject	OP	Area	Replies
Show Us your iris with Veins and Stripes	tveguy3	Irises forum	55
Favorite Images Of Your Garden	Seedsower	Daylilies forum	49
Antidote for the winter blues (blahs):: seedlings	diggit	Irises forum	45
Important Request Are These Daylily Seeds?	bearsearch	Daylilies forum	41
Any idea of what this rose could be?	Cem9165	Roses forum	34
Larry Grace's 2014 Introductions!	Betja	Daylilies forum	34
Quest for Black	diggit	Irises forum	33
sub-freezing temperatures	drdawg	Tropicals forum	33
Shady Rest Gardens---A Spring Garden Tour	Casshigh	Daylilies forum	31

Some new recommendations from our members:

RickRickman recommended Steve's Leaves and wrote: I have ordered from Steve's Leaves several times. They have the best plants I have ever seen for the money. Very nice size at reasonable prices. This company has the best communication you can ask for,. Questions are usually answered within a few hours. Very personable. If you find a plant in their catalog that isn't available, they will propagate to order. I have used this service twice. I praise Steve's Leaves every chance I get. If you enjoy unusual tropicals, variegated plants, begonias, and unusual cacti & succulents, you should check them out. And as I say, you can order with confidence. You won't be disappointed.

901Bertwood recommended Kawamoto Orchid Nursery in Hawaii and wrote: I have ordered from Reid and Jocelyn Kawamoto for almost 4 years now. They have taken over from Reid's parents, Les and Carol Kawamoto, who are still active in this 80-year-old orchid farm. The orchids are frequently in low bud when received. In other words, you get far more than what you pay for. They carry a large variety of popular choices, but also carry unusual and hard-to-find items, such as award-winning clones that you might have wanted for ages. Give them a try. Most of the export business comes from eBay store.

LindaleeS recommended Northern Grown Perennials and wrote: I was looking to add more doubles and minature daylilies to my garden and found this site. That year it was wet and it took a while to get my daylilies but boy were they healthy. Very big roots! I also love their sense of humor in the catalog. The description of Jurassic Park Hosta was hysterical. So needless to say, even though I am not a hosta person, I had to include one of those as well.

LindaleeS recommended Browns Ferry Gardens and wrote: Brown's Ferry's was my very first catalog order of plants. They have a nice catalog and even show pictures of the more economical daylilies. Every plant I got was very healthy and grew well. They are nice people to work with and I highly recommend them.

LindaleeS recommended Crintonic and wrote: I love Curt's daylilies. I love his choice of names, quite humorous. And his lilies stand out well from others.

Some numbers from last week:

• 41 new members.
• 119 new threads.
• 3,308 new posts.
• 438 new images to the plant database.
• 127 new comments in the plant database.
• 31 new Multi-Plant photos.