I've been offline for some weeks due to a sick computer, and it finally truly crashed. The hard disc was lost, and in a last-ditch effort to save the last 5-6 years of info, I did a major backup. Nearly everything survived BUT my file of saved info from this forum!! All of your excellent years of teaching me, gone. I suppose I should be grateful for what was saved, but grrrrrr.... Yes of course I use the search function for the forum, but still, those were my favorites! Ah, well. Glad to be back as we go into our rainy season - soon I hope - and glad to report the gingerroot that I planted according to the advice here has so far done well. We never frost; do I have to take it in or can I leave nearly the only thing green in my garden out there for the duration? Lemon verbena and rosemary survived the scorching summer, lavender on its 7th year and looking poorly. But DG wants to sell the house, and we'll probably be out by next summer. If I take really good care of the garden and make it look really worth something, maybe the buyers will leave it and love it instead of ripping it up for a patio or something. Batya