User talk:Ddsack

I grow in northern Minnesota, in a small cold pocket that used to be seen as a separate hole on old U.S. plant hardiness zone charts. I've just considered it zone 3, since it was never clear whether I was in zone 3a or 3b, and in any case when you are in zone 3, it won't make much difference to tomatoes anyway! I am lucky, in that living next to a lake, I always miss several early killing frosts due to the lake effect, but the reverse is true in the spring, and air temps stay cooler longer if the lake ice pack melts later than usual. Other gardening challenges are the deer, groundhogs, rabbits, skunks, chipmunks and squirrels that stop by for snacks. I do have electric fence for the deer, but by mid-September, they go into their fall feeding mode and jump or break through the fence they have respected all summer. I am thankful for our normally warm to hot, and sunny summers which especially in recent years have allowed me to grow and ripen most large heirlooms. I hope to finally have a nice, permanent 8x16 polycarbonate greenhouse by spring. It's on order, and will depend on our busy builder neighbor having time to put it together. My favorite garden produce is tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and beans. My favorite flowers are the large dinner plate dahlias.