Susan Mené

Timothy Norton wrote:I consider anything above the Hudson Valley to be considered 'Upstate'. There might be better sub-categories of upstate such as "The Adirondacks" or "Western NY" but I consider it all falls under the umbrella of Upstate.

Riona Abhainn wrote:Planted lettuce and spinich:
I got my lettuce and spinich planted in containers, like everything for now.  Also my garlic babies sprouted, I helped my good friend who lives next door plant a garlic clove too so she can get a bulb later in the year she grew herself, she is in the infancy of learning how to garden.  I planted 2 cloves, one per smallish pot, but they're big enough to grow a bulb.  I'm getting to where I know enough to start helping others learn.
I think my mint is dead, as hard as that is to believe.  It died off early last year, around August, and there's no sign of new growth, I've had it for a few years and divided it last year in springtime, so presumably some of it is still growing where I guerilla planted it outside my last apartment, but none is growing in the pot I have, I thought mint was nye on impossible to kill.

My friend gave me her strawberry container from last summer which fruited for her, but which I'm afraid is royally dead and is showing no signs of green leaves.  I have experienced strawberries lasting a few years when happy, but apparently these aren't happy enough, they did get ignored after they were done producing for her, but I assumed they'd come back.  If they show no sign of new growth by the 1st they're getting mulched.  Another friend of mine whom I visited earlier this week showed me his strawberry plants and many of them are coming back with green leaves, hence I know mine are likely caput.

The upstairs at my dad's house is coming along, a lot has been cleared out and the mini-kitchen is almost completed so we can move in come June.

Elizabeth Frp wrote:Hi OP, what did you end up finding most successful for holding up in the end? I’m planning to do the same with our playset! Thank you

Trace Oswald wrote:People here call traffic lights "stop and go lights".   It took me going into the military and enough people making fun of me to break me of that.  Also, people here eat breakfast, dinner, and supper instead of breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  We also drink "pop", not soda, and water is heated with "hot water heaters".  Shouldn't they be cold water heaters?

Kim Wills wrote:

Susan Mené wrote:Hi.
My profile is a little different:  I live on Long Island on a shy acre, working with nature to "create a better world in my own back yard".

Hi Susan! I'm currently in suburban NJ. Technically it's considered urban, but as you know, there can be big differences between a downtown of a city and its suburban outskirts, though statistically it all averages out to be called "urban". I think you'll find lots of people here in populated areas and with small parcels. It's the perfect place to figure out how to maximize your space and prioritize. I'm in the process of moving to a more rural area, but in my previous car-sized garden I started out with the typical tomatoes, cukes, etc, but soon realized that everyone around me was flooded with them at the same time, even offering them to me, lol. So I decided to grow more expensive things that would not be as abundant, like bell peppers of all colors besides green, green beans which I'd ferment in jars, etc. I know you'll learn a lot here, I sure am!


EVERYONE in NY, please help me with the definition of "upstate":  
I'm slowly moving to the Southern Tier region of NY. I grew up in NJ calling all of NY state "upstate NY", simply meaning "as opposed to NYC". Some people seem baffled when I say the place I'm moving to is actually west, above PA. Perhaps this is because people from NYC and NJ usually just go north when they visit NY state, and are unfamiliar with anything west except Niagara Falls and Buffalo?

What do all of you long time NY'ers mean, or think someone means, if they say "upstate"? Should it only refer to the regions directly north of NJ & NYC (which are up, on a map, from NYC)? Or does it mean all regions that are in northern NY state? Or am I ok using it to generally mean NY state?

David Huang wrote:I was invited yesterday to write a haiku as part of a visiting artist workshop.  I've never done this before, but in thinking about it this morning I realized the process also has me seeking out and contemplating a subject that I'm grateful for.  Here's my attempt:

Wide smile bright eyes
fuzzy butt wiggling fast
I am welcomed home