Daikon: I hardly know where to begin here. It would be enough to say that planting seeds of the patented Jazz apple is a very bad idea, but I suppose some additional explanation is in order: 1. Apples always cross-pollinate. Seedlings grown from a store-bought apple will bear little resemblance to the apple you brought home from the supermarket. 2. Seedling apple trees grow 30-40 feet tall, and are very slow to bear. That means you could wait 10 years or more to find that your Jazz seedlings produce tiny, sour crabapples. Odds are, this would be the result. 3. If you want to grow apples, plant a nursery-grown tree on a known rootstock type. If you are in Northern Virginia, as I am, I would recommend Goldrush, Fuji, Pink Lady, Empire etc. There are lots of others, bur seedlings are not among them. Planting seedling apple trees from the supermarket is not a good choice. There are good reasons why apple growers have relied on grafts for about 2,000 years. 4. If you like the flavor of Jazz, you may also like the flavor of Gala, which is said to be one of its parents. Plant one. You might be very pleased by the apples produced on a Gala tree, but not on a seedling tree of Jazz or any other apple. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Righto--you have access to market pricing and values where you are, and I don't. So if you are going to be able to supply eggplant for some weeks, you start out at a price that you hope for and yet seems not too out of line with what you see (but not $10, sounds like)--if too crazy you might turn off returning customers, though being "wrong" usually isn't a crime-- and then you reduce if you get no buyers. You can also think about price per serving. When I think of eggplant and cooking it, I like to cook enough to feed several people, so that takes more than a pound. Think squash. Some folks eat the heck out of green peppers, but I use them in smaller quantities, so MIGHT be willing to pay more for a single pepper than for a single eggplant, say.

Hi @Marie Tulin: I'm flattered by your Bogartian compliment. I am most delighted that "...there's a lot more viburnums in Lexington MA..." I am fairly certain that @kevin_5 and I both posted Viburnum dentatum bloom sequences back in the day (overlapping with the life of this thread; 2003 - 2006) listing the selections that we had growing at the time. Viburnum dentatum & Friends, it was titled. IIRC, it also listed more partnering recommendations, especially among the many hybrids that are available. Someone more capable than me might be able to hunt that down. If it turns up here on the front page, I'd be happy to eventually update it with all the many clones that I've had growing here at the Valley. As far as other species, I don't think I know of other species of Viburnum with enough different clones selected to actually create a sequence - except for maybe Viburnum dilatatum. Since it is considered invasive in a good part of eastern North America where it can be grown, I don't often contribute commentary on that one. Of the ones I used to grow, there was enough spread to have very early done blooming selections setting fruit ('Catskill') when the last selection was starting to bloom ('Michael Dodge' for me).

I used to run a wilderness outpost and every week had to plan menus for 19-23 people, very picky kids mostly. Fridge and freezer but no stove, only grill and open fire. Transported stuff in coolers. Plan, and also plan for flexibility like folks have said. Here are some tips I learned. Unless you family hates it, bring Bisquick or some other type of baking mix like that. There are a gazillion things you can make with it--pancakes, waffles, biscuits, dumplings, quick breads and muffins, coffeecake, shortbreads with fresh fruit, etc. Something like that is sure to cheer everyone up, since most people like those kinds of foods. Mayo + ketchup is French dressing Mayo + ketchup and pickle relish is Thousand Island dressing 1/3 red wine or blasamic vinegar or lemon juice + 2/3 olive oil is Italian dressing--add dash of garlic salt and italian seasoning if you want. Use rice wine vinegar and soy or canola oil and you have asian dressing--add cilantro, ginger and toasted sesame seed oil and dash of chili flakes if you want. Kids like shish ka bobs. Shish ka bobs can be tofu, lamb, pork, chicken or beef meat, cubed and mixed with veggies to taste. I like green pepper, cherry tomatoes, summer squash or zuchinni and mushrooms. Marinate for an hour or more in a bottle of italian or greek dressing. I like Ken's brand or Newman's Own. If you prefer asian style, buy something citrusy or make your own, your MIL can help. Bring soy sauce or tamari, I love that for marinade. Do you have a crockpot? Shredded beef or pulled pork are dead easy and make everyone happy. Search here or online for recipes. Worst comes to worst, keep lots of pasta and bottled sauce on hand. Don't know what kind you like. I kept spaghetti sauce on hand, but you can keep ingredients for peanut sauce if your family likes asian better. Canned baked beans can be jazzed up on your own with some brown sugar, hot sauce, onion, garlic, mustard, etc. Also good and easy in the crockpot. I've got a great recipe for calico beans for a crowd if you think that might be something your folks would like. It's basically a can of kidneys, can of black beans, can of white beans, hamburger, onion, etc. cooked in the crockpot. Let me know if you want me to post the whole recipe. Potatoes keep well and everyone loves them. Fried up in the morning with veggies of your choice or not, scrambled eggs and sausage or fresh caught fish, cinnamon toast--everyone very happy!! Can be covered in aluminum foil--get the heavy kind--and baked over hot coals. Use sweet potatoes for a fun change of pace. Not too close to the heat or they will burn. Too far away and they won't cook, have fun learning the difference, lol! Crackers and chesse and mixed nuts mixed with chocolate and dried fruit and/or granola makes good snacks, along with fresh fruit. Apples, grapes and bananas travel well. See my "new uses for old bananas" if they get brown. Celery sticks spread with peanut butter and dotted with raisins makes a great snack too--ants on a log it is called. Peanut butter, crackers and dried fruit also good snacks. Carrots sticks with store-bought hummus. Lots of ice tea is a good drink to have on hand. Lemonade goes over well and is dead easy to make with reconstituted lemon juice, which keeps well on the road. Add a few fresh sliced lemons to the pitcher to jazz it up. Granola bars for the kids--easy to take on the trail. Worse comes to absolute worst--pop tarts, lol!! Instant oatmeal for late risers who miss breakfast. Kids love to roast marshmallows. Add grahmn crackers and chocolate pieces--s'mores. Don't roast on dry sticks, use green ones, or better yet buy some metal weenie/marshmallow roasting sticks. Hot cocoa if the weather turns nasty, or if lactose intolerant--hot tang or hot lemonade!! Ginger tea for the grownups. Tea with lemon, honey and whisky for the really grown up!! Sangria for a punch--cheap dryish white wine, bottle of 7-UP, glog of peach schapps or cointreau, lemon, lime slices and other fruit you have on hand. Lots of ice. Serve in clear pitcher. Rice freezes extremely well. Make in batches and freeze lots. Woks do great on the grill or campfire.