Your All Things Plants weekly news: March 1, 2014

There were 7 new gardening ideas posted last week:

By dave March 1, 2014 The Top 25 Tomatoes and Peppers, Selected by ATP Members It's the week we've all been waiting for! Let's open Tomatoes and Peppers week with a look at the most popular varieties, as determined by the number of individuals who have posted comments and photos to the entries in our database. (2,528 words - Read the full article) (3 comments)

By dave February 28, 2014 ATP Podcast #48: Questions, Questions, Questions and Answers! Today's show will be a non-themed show where we'll just talk about a variety of gardening topics we've wanted to cover. We'll answer a few questions we've received from the listeners, along with some timely tips on early spring gardening. Is pressure treated lumber safe for raised bed gardening? What about compost made from biosolids? Listen to find out! (7 comments)

By LarryR February 27, 2014 Larry's Obsession About three months ago, I began an odyssey that took me to places that, in my life long journey as a gardener, I never would have imagined. It all began with a daylily seedling. (2,973 words - Read the full article) (14 comments)

By mcash70 February 26, 2014 How To Get Indoor Amaryllis/Hippeastrum To Bloom I have heard a lot of folks say that they cannot get their Amaryllis/Hippeastrum to bloom the second or third year, and I was very surprised to be told by a saleslady at a garden center that she was unsuccessful. (705 words - Read the full article) (30 comments)

By flaflwrgrl February 25, 2014 Protecting In-Ground Plants When Unseasonable Ice, Sleet, Snow, or Freeze Conditions Present I sit here writing this on 1/28/14 while we await abnormal winter weather to strike this evening. Here in the south our perennials are showing signs of tender new spring growth, but the weather is predicted to give us a beating for the next 2 days in the form of unseasonable ice pellets and mixed winter precipitation, to include snow or sleet. (209 words - Read the full article) (22 comments)

By Oberon46 February 24, 2014 Composting over Winter in Cold Weather Composting can be a challenge in Alaska, where the weather is cool in summer and very cold for a long time in winter, but I think I have finally found a wonderful solution so I won't have to pitch out my kitchen scraps all winter and will have a hot compost ready for spring. Note black compost bins buried in the snow. (349 words - Read the full article) (no comments)

By CarolineScott February 23, 2014 Recycle Those Paper Catalogues Many of us use online catalogues, but the paper copies still keep coming. They are useful to others who do not use technology, so we should drop them off at a senior center or other book exchange place. Our grocer has a bookshelf at the exit and I drop the paper catalogues there. (4 comments)

The most popular images last week from our plant database: Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Lala Fabulosa') by Anne: Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'That Voodoo That You Do So Well') by shive1: Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'The King is Coming') by lyle627: Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Lacy All Over') by Anne: Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Plum Perfect') by profesora: Photo of Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Red Chile Rendezvous') by lyle627:

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

Noteworthy acorn tips given this week:

11 people gave for the idea "Larry's Obsession" by LarryR 8 people gave for the idea " How To Get Indoor Amaryllis/Hippeastrum To Bloom" by mcash70 7 people gave for a post in "Banner for February 26, 2014 by dirtdorphins" by dirtdorphins 7 people gave for a post in "Banner for March 1, 2014 by mcash70" by mcash70 6 people gave for a post in "Banner for February 27, 2014 by Newyorkrita" by Newyorkrita 5 people gave for the idea "Protecting In-Ground Plants When Unseasonable Ice, Sleet, Snow, or Freeze Conditions Present" by flaflwrgrl 4 people gave for a post in "Banner for February 23, 2014 by Calif_Sue" by Calif_Sue 4 people gave for 4 people gave for the idea "Recycle Those Paper Catalogues" by CarolineScott 3 people gave for a post in "There Be Goldfish!" by JB

The most active threads this week:

Subject	OP	Area	Replies
Trip to Portland Oregon Home and Garden Show 2014	valleylynn	Sempervivum and Jovibarba forum	50
Garden pun fun	purpleinopp	All Things Gardening forum	43
Goat Heads	Cassews	Ask a Question forum	42
Better to cut or cover?	Seedfork	Daylilies forum	36
Request for a badge and emoticon	Lavanda	Site Talk forum	29
Good information	quietyard	How To Get Indoor Amaryllis/Hippeastrum To Bloom	28
Succulent Containers 2014	webesemps	Containers forum	27
Banner for February 27, 2014 by Newyorkrita	Newyorkrita	Site Banners forum	20
Thanks	greene	Protecting In-Ground Plants When Unseasonable Ice, Sleet, Snow, or Freeze Conditions Present	19

Some new recommendations from our members:

beckygardener recommended The Whitinger Seed Company and wrote: Nicely packaged, generous amount of seeds that are very reasonably priced!

plantladylin recommended The Whitinger Seed Company and wrote: I highly recommend this company. Generous quantities in each packet, great packing, and fast shipping!

Some numbers from last week:

• 52 new members.
• 148 new threads.
• 4,128 new posts.
• 933 new images to the plant database.
• 53 new comments in the plant database.
• 18 new Multi-Plant photos.