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I do much as Rich does. I use a seed starting mix of: 1 part sifted peat 1 part vermiculite 1 part sifted top soil 1/8 part slow release, 17-17-17 fertilizer I normally use peat pots or lozenges, but I am just looking around for something else. I like re-purposing so the newspaper idea...

And honestly - I like digging to a degree. Much like Steve here, I aint as young as I once was. But digging is a time honored method of getting it right. You KNOW whats down - there because you put it there. It isn't something that needs to be done constantly, but at some point in time, the...

Okay, Ive tried the Origami Paper-Pot Boondoggle. Not so great, if you ask me. I thought it would be cool: no tape, no staples, nothing but paper. But by the time I fuddle through that exercise, I could make three of the rolled paper type. In fact, I lined the first origami type with the hair I...

Pick the best fruit of the bunch and take the seeds from that. Wash them and let them dry a day or two, in the sun if you can. That's it.

Whatever works, Pat. When I remove soil it goes back in. I only move it out of the way to get the goodies down deep. It isnt too hard in the worked beds, since they are loose. I recently learned about a guy who doesn't dig at all. SO there is some meri to what you are saying. Its just that my...

I snagged me some "Collective Farm Woman" and "Chanterai" melon seed the other night, from Sustainable Seed. I went looking for "Passport" originally, but who can resist a name like "Collective Farm Woman?" :)

This is what I meant. Sorry I wasn't clear. Now, I'm a believer in deep amendment. Just pushing stuff around the surface layer is of limited benefit. Many of the garden plants we love are deep rooters, feeding well below the surface layer. Tomatoes, for example, run roots as deep as 18." The...

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. There is nothing that validates your efforts quite as much as a tended tomato patch in full growth. A true force of nature!

Ive had a devil of a time getting Catnip to sprout, recently. As for the rest of your methods, I cant see anything that leaps out at me. It may remain a mystery... Are these fresh seeds?

I love this! Inspiring!

Smoothies, cobbler or on vanilla ice cream. With only two cups, it has to be an all out effort. Don't try to string 'em out, but go for max satisfaction.

Nice problem to have. Just trim the growing tips of each fruiting branch. This will force the plant to feed the fruits and start new flowers, instead of adding more foliage. Just a thought...

I'm in SC, Steve - melons do well here. I haven't any that have failed to produce. THe biggest problem here is wilt and fungal problems. But I think I'll have a go at your Passports and I'd love to try some chanterais - ugly, but so beautiful inside. I still say you need a greenhouse...

I do it just because I love it. Any produce from the garden is a separate, and welcome, side benefit.

The weight gain is all the muscle you've put on!

Yes, to everything. Remember, the plants deplete the soil, so you add back what they absorb. This works out to a few shovels full of compost per yard. Not all that much really. You don't have to remove the soil unless you want to. You can shift it over to one half of the bed, amend the dug...

details details. What sort of fixtures, pots etc. What sort of seeding soil, temperature, etc?

Ooooh, oooh! Me, too! A melon seed exchange... :weee I have Israeli "Sun Jewel" and Armenian "Tigger" melons this year. I may also get a few banana melons if things work out. I will gladly send you some of all of these, from the best fruit I gather. I also have reg'lar old cantalopes and...

I joke with my friends that I would rather be talking to my tomatoes than doing much else. :gig

Thanks for that. It's 'cause I'm an ancient relic, with the dust of ages clinging to me.