hi , I'm in Edmonton zone3 but i would be glad to help you out as I have learned a few good tips to help in our cold and very short garden season. Your plants look very happy so you have the ''green thumb'' .The first rally good advice I was given was ''dig a hole 3x what you need then fill that hole with 1/3 to 1/2 of really good compost and 1/2 of garden mix '' this was the best advice I ever got !!!! I grow all my plants from seed right now I am soo busy transplanting as well as trying to finish all my seeding, room is always an issue ,their never seems to be enough!! I must fly Tomatoes are calling . Brenda (k9)

Meo , renea is thornless. I work with it bare handed and never worry about it . I also have a toddler running around and I cringe when I see my thorny roses !! Just the other day she was about to crawl behind darlows enigma to get to my dog . I almost had a heart attack! I bought some wirefence to kinda rope it off . Lord help us! :)

Thanks for the feedback, lazy_gardens! Don't worry I won't strip the forests down if I do gather some from there. I've got an old cabin that I've been working on for *years* and the grounds around it really need clearing. Also, a clear-cut down the road has a lot of waste (don't they always!) that I could gather some from and wouldn't make a dent in it. We'll see... :) I was thinking that cutting the 50' rows in half with a path *was* creating a shortcut to the other side of the rows. ;) The idea of a stepping stone mid-25' row might work, though. Thanks for the idea! As for the irrigation line... I'm figuring on having two lines going down each bed hoping that will be enough. If that's not enough I can add another line. What I'm torn between is whether to go with poly-tubing drip-line or to go with drip-tape. They both have their pros and cons. The tape would need to be replaced more often but it is much less expensive and replacing it would put all new emitters into play. But, the durability of the tubing is attractive, too. It appears that the 1/2" tubing has a much longer run/flow to it than the 1/4" tubing does. It seems the 1/2" would be stiffer and a bit more trouble to position but probably(?) more durable and is capable of longer runs. Looking at the quantity of tape/tubing I figure I need 400' to run two lines per bed. The package that I linked to at Berry Hill has 1000' of tape which would give me a "spare" application of lines plus a couple of hundred feet for repairs/additions. But, I certainly don't need a SFG size kit...it will have to be a sizable one. Paths...I've thought of the cardboard and pinestraw....seems until the cardboard gets good and wet that might be a slippery surface. :) But, I may end up going that route. I'm also thinking of trying some Dutch clover between a few rows and see if that works out...our heat might do it in, though, during the middle of summer. Deer... Well, I tilled an "apron" around the garden proper yesterday...a DMZ to combat the bahia that will inevitably attempt invasions. Overnight the deer had to check that fresh ground out. I'm afraid that the row covers would simply be an amusement for the deer...something to scratch their ears while they dine on fresh veggies. I think I'm going to need a physical barrier for them...8' fence. Or, maybe a shorter double electric fence. On a bright note...I started pressure canning meat last year...I've done beef, chicken, and pork. It might be getting time to try deer. ;) Ed

Welcome to the forum... That is not Echeveria (but often confused with it), it is Sempervivum. Hanging over the rim is no problem with these plants. It could actually look very nice with many of them doing it :) If they grew toward one side of pot, it was probably side receiving best sunlight - and perhaps bit more water from rains? They are very hardy Alpine plants and typically grow in big patches (IMO, that is how they do and look best). That is really big pot and quite deep. There is nothing wrong in keeping them there, but such deep pot hold way too much soil. These plants will grow even in vey minimal amounts of soil, or drape/crawl over bare rocks. If you like the pot, you can use it. If mine, I would fill half or even more of it with empty, capped plastic bottles to take some space that is not needed for the plants. You could use upturned plastic pots, some ppl use packing Styrofoam peanuts and so on. That would make pot also lighter and easier to move if wanted. Plants look quite OK, perhaps little thirsty but alright overall. To tidy them up, you can take all out of pot. Do not worry if any offsets fall off, that is normal. Use same pot or different - it is up to you. Make fast draining soil mix: adding lots of perlite (up to half of total volume) will work well. Don't skimp on it, it helps drainage but just a little doesn't work. You could take off all dried up leaves. Any offsets could grow on their own - I usually leave them unless they fall off. Your choice. They are attached to 'mother' plant by a stolon that is bit woodier and could be short or long. If separating offsets (referred to as 'chicks'), you can cut stolon to about 2 - 4cm and just stick it all the way into potting mix. They will eventually grow roots just from bottom of rosette. If you leave them attached, stolon will eventually withers. It is not needed for ever, I think of it as an 'umbilical cord' :) You can pot them into few pots - there are quite a few plants and I am quite sure they will grow and multiply happily after repotting. They should be watered approx. 1x/week, unless it rains. Pls. do not overwater - I am just suggesting bit more often than they likely received before. It also depends on how well potting mix drains; if you let them sit in wet soil, they may rot - as other succulents would. You can always check the mix using bamboo skewer or chopstick, inserting it deep into pots. Bit more watering than they were receiving will help to keep them from drying too many leaves (some old leaves dry naturally, and that is OK). They should do just fine in your location with morning sun. If part of any container doesn't receive enough sunlight, you should turn the pot - maybe 1/4 turn every 1-2 weeks or so. I keep mine in full sun, whole day long. BTW, these are monocarpic plants - if a rosette blooms, it will die off after flowers are spent. That is normal, and plant will grow many offsets before to replace itself :) Pls. ask should you have any further questions...