That is suppose to say "Please take a PEEK", Not "pee". Will I ever learn to pay attention??? :-) Carrie

Hi Dan, I just tasted my first 20th Century fruit today and it was just outstanding . . . juicy, sweet, great texture. And the Hosui I have been harvesting the past 2 weeks have been really nice. I don't know why I don't see more neighbors in my area with Asian pears! Both trees are semi-dwarf, and the main branch was cut off about 3-4 inches below a 6 foot wrought iron fence, with the lateral branches tied horizontally. Both trees were planted in late September 2011, and both have been very fruitful this summer, only 1 1/2 years later. No disease, no fruit cracking, and knock on wood no fireblight!

Jay, I grew baby bok choi two years ago here on the Western edge of Wyandotte County and it did well. I ordered several varieties from Evergreen seed. Because we have hot summers as you know, that will often go weeks without rain, I had a variety that was rated for growing all year and was heat resistant. The only problem I had was with the typical cabbage worms and maybe some flea beetles so I will use floating row covers in the future. I know I could us Bt but that won't work on flea beetles, I don't think. The baby bok choy were great for spring too. I like them chopped up in stir fries and you can add them to soups like you would cabbage, kale or greens. They are also good stir-fried by themselves with some onion, soy sauce, a dab of fish sauce and some garlic. I grew several types of salad mix that people seemed to like. They liked the Mesclun mixes. I had a French mix and an Italian mix I found at the Grass Pad in Kansas City. I grew red chard and regular Lucullus chard. It did not sell well and I started putting recipes out with it. Also, the red was so productive I would give out samples of it with instructions on how to prepare it. This is a great food because it is high in iron and calcium My sister, who is a breast cancer survivor says her nutritionist highly recommends chard due to its high phytochemical content. Kansas City has a good okra market because a lot of our population is either from the South or has close ties to the South and so most of us have been used to eating or at least seeing okra. Heirloom tomatoes are still getting more popular but I'm surprised how many people are still scared of an orange or a yellow tomato. You're not far from Ft. Riley so you may have a market amongst some of the Asian population there in Junction City and surrounding.

Thisisme, sorry for the delayed response; I've been offline since October due to a dead computer. The only yardlong I've grown that even remotely resembles a snap bean is "Sierra Madre", from the Philippines. I don't think it is sold in the U.S., unless under a different name. It's similar in length to "Galante" above (also from the Philippines), but darker green & wider. HOWEVER... I've often said that you can learn good things in a bad year, and this year I learned something new about yardlongs. There was record rainfall in my area this year. While beans struggled (they don't like wet feet) the yardlongs flourished. All of the yardlongs stayed tender to a larger width than I usually consider usable; they really benefited from all the extra moisture. Up until now, when irrigation was necessary (it wasn't this year) I've always watered everything equally. From now on, the yardlongs get more frequent watering. So I guess what I am saying is for the largest (widest) beans regardless of the variety - mulch the roots heavily & keep them watered. I don't know how well yardlongs will tolerate the extreme heat of the desert Southwest. They are tropical plants, but do their best in warm humid locations. Only one way to find out, I suppose. ;-) It may be that you would need to shelter the plants with shade cloth over the top during the hottest part of the summer, leaving the sides open. Mey, unfortunately there are both common beans & yardlong seeds that match both of your descriptions above. There are many black-seeded yardlong cultivars, quite a few of which are sold in the U.S. There are also brown or reddish-brown seeds w/white patches; the varieties I have from the Philippines share this characteristic. I'll try to post a comparative photo of some of my yardlong seeds... but if you are able to post a photo of yours, I could help with the identification.