Suggestion: Upper Midwest Regional Forum?

Hey Kelly! I'm with you...K.I.S.S. is the *only* way. And I say if we can get enough people for the "Upper Midwest" forum...we let Dave give it to us...and (LOL) let everyone else debate the regionals they are looking for. (I'm ducking and running again. :-D)

~julie~

julie,,,,

u better,,,,LOL,,,your liable to get all kinds of garden scraps thrown at u,,,,tis the clean-up season,,,around here anyway. ROFLOL

Kelly

Well, if you get your own forum, will you promise to come out of it once in a while to chat with the rest of us?! :-)

tabasco,

No Way! LOL J/K

I think we'll all (I know I will as I'm sure others will be also) still be going to the Specialized Forums, ie Hosta, Irises, and which ever ones we participate in now. We have friends in "our" forums.

Kelly

Maybe we have reached a point where we can't really go further here.

I suggest it be a "Voting Booth" question.

If you were to participate in a "Midwest Regionial Forum", would you:

a. Prefer the midwest was all grouped together, for example: ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, MO, WI, IL, MI, IN, OH and South Central Canada

b. Was broken into seperate forums, for example: West North Central: ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, MO. And East North Central: WI, IL, MI, IN, OH.

c. Was only defined as "Upper Midwest" for example: ND, SD, MN, IA, NE, WI, IL and South Central Canada.

d. Was broken into zones.

e. Wouldn't participate in a regional forum like this.

f. Other.


Or ???

Edited because I forgot NE for "C", oops.

This message was edited Oct 23, 2005 8:26 PM

I'd vote for "C" (Upper Midwest)

~julie~

I wish there was a way we could do polls in the threads, other than the weekly one on the home page. It would be handy for this situation and for other new forum discussions, and for the contests (like over in brugs), for the voting for banners for the forums, for the photo contest and I'm sure many other uses.

The votes would be anonymous, which is nice in contests I think, and also, the results are easy to see right in the first post with commentary and debate afterwards.


Rachel

I'd have to choose "C" Upper Midwest, looking for similar gardening experiences. Legit

My vote would be "C" Upper Midwest

Kelly

I would vote for C

I have to vote for A. Second choice is C.

Even if someone gets an Ohio River Valley forum going, they're always welcome here too. As is anyone feelin' in a 'Midwesterly' way. :)

As for a name that might pique the interest of our Canadian friends ~ MidContinental? Heart of the Continent?

Corn Belt??

A or C Not real picky .... I know it's over used .... but...... The Heartland.....?

Heartland is good!

I'd pick C, as in Julies first proposal. I don't mind the name Midwest, it is not unfamiliar to me. The way I understand it, Julie just needs twenty people to agree with her proposed idea and Dave will do it. I think she has three Canadians from Manitoba and one from Saskatchewan so far. I'm sure she won't have a problem coming up with rest of the twenty.

I thought that maybe it should be left to those who actually live in the regions under consideration to work out just what they want and so I didn't say more after my first post.

That being said, I'm not sure I agree with Sanannie about zones being the best way. As I recall Todd Boland is in a Zone 5a like me, but his weather in Newfoundland would have little similarity with mine in Ottawa. And I find the value of a Canadian forum is camaraderie with other Canadians and exchanging information about Canadian sources but my gardening would have few similarities with those in Edmonton or BC. But I look at the number of people who guess at their zone and aren't really close; so either there is a lot of wrong info out there or people don't really care.

BTW, I live in the EAST end of Ottawa (actually about 1 1/2 hours from Montreal if you've got a heavy foot). It's almost exactly an hour from my house to Sanannie's - up the valley west of Ottawa. And note, it gets colder as you go up the valley. She's a 4B while I'm a 5a (or even 5b in some sources).

Ann

Count me in too, but I hope this doesn't include Iowa! : ))

What????

Not that far to Eau Claire...hmmmmmm...ROFL

ROTFLOL @ duester45...I *know* where Eau Claire is!
:-D...that's like saying we live in LaCrosse and don't want members from MN.

Kooger *don't* pay *any* attention to that remark...we LOVE our Iowa neighbors!

I like 'MidContinental' it FITS!! (Thanks Moby!)

~julie~
(who's *Still* lol)

When I suggested the Northwest Forum I was thinking climate type rather than zones. After all, parts of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana are all in zones 2 & 3 because of mountains. But we all have the same type of climate - Mediterranian, where we have warm to hot & dry summers (that's why the cool climate forum won't work for many of us as I found out) and our water shows up in the late fall, winter and spring. Most of the rest of the country gets the bulk of their water in the warmer months with snow in the winter. Dotti

duester45, better not judge until you get to know some of the people.
My wife & I attended the Iowa Roundup in DesMoines last May. We met some very nice people from all around the "Midwest". A few even came from Wisconsin. (By the way Packers went home empty handed today!)
I like C better than A, but it should include Kansas & Missouri. I don't know about Canada being in the midwest. Northern Minnesota doesn't even qualify. I've visited parts of No MN where they can't grow anything, it freezes every month of the year. I was born & raised in Brainerd, MN. Supposed to be Zone 3, but that was pushing it. I experienced a night in January of 1961,(I think), when the temperature hit -45º. Even hardiest perennials have a probelm in that.
Bernie

Yeah Bernie, the Pack lost, but it was one heck of a game!!

A Chicago Bear fan, a Minnesota Viking fan and a Green Bay Packer fan were all in Saudi Arabia, sharing a smuggled crate of booze. All of a sudden Saudi police rushed in and arrested them. The mere possession of alcohol is a severe offense in Saudi Arabia, so for the terrible crime, they were sentenced to death! However, it was a Saudi national holiday the day their trial finished, and the extremely benevolent Sheik decided they could be released after receiving just 20 lashes each of the whip. As they were preparing for their punishment, the Sheik suddenly said, "It's my first wife's birthday today, and she has asked me to allow each of you one wish before your whipping."

The Bears fan was first in line (he drank the least), so he thought about this for a while and then said, "Please tie a pillow to my back."

This was done, but the pillow only lasted 10 lashes before the whip went through. The Bears fan had to be carried away crying like a baby. The Viking fan was next up (he almost finished an entire fifth by himself), and after watching the scene, said "All Right! Please fix two pillows on my back." But even two pillows could only take 15 lashes before the whip went through, sending the Viking fan out crying like a little girl.

The Packer fan was the last one up (he had finished off the crate). The Sheik turned to him and said, "You support the greatest team in the world. Your city and fans are the greatest. For this, you may have two wishes! "Thanks, your most Royal highness," the Packer fan replies. "In recognition of your kindness, my first wish is that you give me not 20, but 100 lashes."

"Not only are you an honorable man, you are also very brave," the Sheik says with an admiring look on his face. "If 100 lashes is what you desire, then so be it. And your second wish? What is it to be?", the Sheik asks.

"Tie the Viking fan to my back."

GO PACK!

LOL I don't know, Bernie.....

There are some really fantastic lily growers up in Canada, and I'll bet you a donut they grow a few other things too. :)

I would be interested also.

If we were to get regional forums, I'd like to see an Ohio River Valley one...... if not, then I *might* hang out on the Midwest one that included OH. I do have my specialized interests, and probably post there more than anywhere else, and I am too partly afraid that "regional" forums, or Zone forums would discourage people from reading the threads, thinking thay wouldn't *belong* there. (until they realized that Daves's is a really open friendly place) but I don't want anyone ever to feel excluded. (I know you can't make everyone happy all of the time)

Just my 2 cents


Janis

Hi everyone,
I just scanned the posts quickly this morning, and I'd like to see a forum for this area. I'd vote C Upper midwest in the poll booth. Thanks for asking. Jill

ViolaAnn & Baa - Point taken about the zones. As you say, same zones could mean very different gardening climates. I guess I was interpreting regions as States, not climates. So...now I think I'll hop into the back seat 'cause I'd like to see you guys get your new forum.

LOL Do you have another joke about the White Sox?

I vote for C. Linda

I'd vote for C - Upper Midwest. Zones are out. I have a friend who gardens in zone 3a in NH, and she can successfully grow many plants I can't here in zone 3b MN because she has reliable snow cover on the East Coast which we do not necessarily have here in northern MN.

Having grown up in the Chicago area, gone to college in mid-MO, and lived here in northern MN for more than 25 yrs, I'm pretty well acquainted with Midwestern climates. MO (and I assume KS) has very little to do with MN in terms of climatic or season-length similarity, so it doesn't make sense to me to include it in an Upper Midwest forum. Most of IL wouldn't even be a fit, though the northern portion would be.

This thread was started by someone looking for a forum which specifically addresses the issues faced by those of us in the northern, cold-climate, short-season Midwest. I believe that creating a forum with a name like Upper Midwest (as opposed to simply Midwest or Corn Belt) will alert forum users to the more specific focus of the group and create a forum which more closely meets its intended purpose.

Of course no one will be prohibited from using the forum, regardless of their location, if they have an interest in the topics at hand. That said, I believe the Upper Midwest region, for this particular purpose, would be best defined as including The Dakotas, NE, MN, IO, WI, northern IL, and areas of Canada with similar growing conditions. I would have included the MI UP if MI didn't already have its own forum.

Just my two cents worth,

Laurie

This message was edited Oct 24, 2005 8:19 AM

I like the idea of Regional Forums, especially for south east Iowa.

Just got here! This has been a most interesting read.

I think we are trying too hard to not make anyone feel left out. The forums for Canada, Michigan, California, and Texas appear at first glance to be quite area specific, but I am sure they have 'others' who post. I know that there are ties that bind and we don't want to appear exclusionary and therefore are having trouble defining our area.

All of these forums are open to all subscribers and I hope that anyone at all interested would feel free to hang out with us.

I cast my vote for C, but pray that anyone who feels midwestern will 'come on in and join us'

Sure, I'd be interested in a regional forum.

Diann
IA 5a

I'd be interested in a midwest forum too, since I've only lived here (in Iowa) for 3 years and have only had a proper garden going for 2 of those. I need regional help sometimes! I would agree with the "C" option, but I'm not fanatical about it, I'd be happy with A or B too, or even the zone idea "D". I'm such a fence-sitter! But regardless, it would be nice to have a regional forum.

Is anyone *counting*?
:-D
I've already lost track (I think I managed to remember 3...and if I'm not mistaken they were Canadians. LOL)

Thanks for all the support (And the funny jokes!) everyone. We need to start thinking about what all we're going to talk about. I have my list ready and am anxious to get this 'show' on the road.

So have we made the requirement yet?

~julie~

I agree with Laurie. I think there should be two separate forums - an Upper Midwest and a Lower Midwest/Cornbelt.

I'd like to see a mid west forum also. I like the heartland.

I would be interested in the Midwest forum
I live in West Des Moines

Jon

I would be interested in a Midwest Forum, C or A above would be fine with me.

I'm not a big fan of state or regional forums (I just don't see that many region-specific questions in Garden Talk, Veggies, Iris, Roses, etc.) - but I know that train left the station a while back ;o)


How about we start with one forum: "Upper Midwest Gardening"

If there's so much activity that one forum can't contain it all, we can always add a second forum later on.