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Couple of years. I would not say they reseed like crazy. They reseed tolerably in a fairly minor way: planted four plants in 2008, they became about six plants by end of 2009. But then again, I have mine in a fairly shady spot, so maybe with more sun they'd be more aggressive? Don't know. They...

I have Alpine strawberries, and planning on more this year. Haven't tried those two varieties, I have Alexandria and was planning "Golden Alexandria" for spring. Mine don't get quite so cold as yours, but they do fine outside and tolerate a reasonable amount of shade. Yes, they re-seed well...

True, I don't like either of them. Used to live near a DuPont polymers plant, and they are not a nice company, for sure--they polluted like you wouldn't believe, in residential neighborhoods full of families. They kept the Cleveland Clinic busy with respiratory diseases. But "everybody else is...

Yeah, that. It went from "doesn't look too bad, maybe they will pull through" to "oh crud, I'm outta luck for tomatoes this year" in less than a week. Locally-purchased onion sets came out lousy AGAIN. This year, I'm going to order the proper breeds and fertilize the heck out of em. Assumed...

ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS EXCEPT EUROPA. ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE. Wait, what? Where am I?

I don't happen to eat pork, and I need to do about three loads of laundry before I can do anything else, but will be making some sort of sauerkraut-type dish (venison and sauerkraut?) and beans. Can you believe it, the stupid grocery store was out of blackeyed peas, bread yeast AND cinnamon...

Oh, jeez. What kind do you like? Just put in whatever you think you will use. Only rule is to keep the mints separate, as they will happily take over anything they are planted in. Other than that, it's whatever looks/smells/sounds cool in the catalog or garden center. Herbs are easy, don't take...

Seed Savers Exchange did pretty well for me last year. OK, anyway, most things grew with average germination rates (50-75%), and the descriptions of the veggies were accurate--more accurate than I've ever gotten from Burpee et al. I've not had as much luck from Seeds of Change. Found their...

Generally, all those boxes will be happiest on the sunniest sides of the house. Herbs like a lot of sun. Not a whole lot likes northern windows, I'm afraid. I have an aloe plant that is sort of straggling along in one, but mainly I keep African violets and shade-loving orchids on the north...

It's OK, you don't have a proper winter. :P In the north, zucchini, scallopini, etc. die by the time October (or September, sometimes) rolls around. So they are "summer squash," because they only grow in the summer, cannot tolerate even a single frost, and do not store well--must be eaten...

For beans, how about scarlet runner beans? They look nice, plenty of pretty flowers to attract hummingbirds, the beans are large blackish soup-type. I always plant scarlet runners, and they are fairly reliable things, normally get a very reasonable yield. For single-serving squash, I planted...

Nourse Farms does excellent berry plants. I have "Anne," and it was surprisingly good compared to other yellow raspberries I've tried.

Speaking as a Big Huge Mega-Pharma scientist, I feel pretty qualified to say that if I did not have a business model in place to guarantee a decent return on investment for a patent and development proposal, I would not invest in such a technology. This is how capitalism works, I'm afraid. Many...

This year, Udmalbet was the only one that survived the Blight Of Doom, so I'll be planting that one again. Other varieties included Rosa Bianca, Japanese Pickling, Black Beauty, and Snow White, none of which survived to produce so much as a bloody flower, so won't be doing those again. My...

I used to grow some dug up from DH's alma mater's flower beds--they had originally planted it in a botany demonstration garden, and it had escaped to seed the whole campus. That should give you some idea of how invasive it can be. Yes, it stinks to high heaven. Yes, it really will put you to...

In defense of the Brother series, I have a Brother Pacesetter 6000, which I got used from a relative in exchange for some tailoring--she had bought the sewing machine with the idea that she would sew some clothes, and she was told that it was easy to use and learn with. However, she didn't know...

You're not kidding. Many of my colleagues used to work at Monsanto. They have nothing nice to say about the company, and lots of bad things. Even if you don't think GMOs are so bad (and I know many scientists, although few of them actual industrial crop scientists, who think that GMOs are gonna...

I have Autumn Britten in Massachusetts, and mine turned out great despite the cool summer--although you said yours was dry? Ours was very soggy and cold. I suspect mislabeling as well though, because my Autumn Brittens were definitely NOT tart at all, even when picked seriously under-ripe in...

Yes, another vote for the ag extension service. You can rehab old trees, but you have to be veeerrrrry careful and it tends to take a lot more cutting than most folks feel comfortable with. It depends on how bad the damage is too, what type of damage it is; with older trees that have not been...

I've had horrible celery experiences as well. The seedlings that didn't damp off, croaked in our clayey soil. When I lived in PA, there was this one farm, Hodecker's, that did the very best celery ever. Tender, crisp, not at all bitter, just incredible. Apparently the trick is getting an...