This is my third year with raised beds and I love them. I used decorative, self locking concrete blocks (no mortar needed) and built them myself. It was a BIG, dirty job, but I was able to do it by myself, and that's all I wanted. The first year, I made my beds two blocks high. Then last year, I added two more rows when the blocks went on sale. I had good gardens both years, but you should see the beautiful carrots I grew this winter in those deep beds! I planted my summer vegetables today and it was pure joy to work in that soil. It started out as a mix of very heavy wet (native) clay, compost, and horse manure. Everytime I replant (3 times a year), I add more organic material and turn and mix it. The hard work has paid off. Today was positively EASY. You might want to check out the potager forum. Most of us there use raised beds and arrange and plant them in such a way that they are ornamental as well as providing food. I enclose photos of last year's garden during the early part of the season. Here is a link that might be useful: My potager

Evergreen bunching onions are like those green onions you find in bunches in the supermarket. Sometimes they're called scallions. Shallots are like garlic but the bulbs are bigger. They make a bulb that's divided into cloves. Then there are pearl onions....they develop small bulbs that get a paper skin. And finally there are potato onions. They multiply into small round groups of onions and have a papery skin. Oh I forgot, there are Egyptian walking onions too. Sometimes called topset or walking onions. They look like potato onions but they grow baby onions on top of the green stalks.

Evergreen Y. H. offers 11 varieties as well. In 2006, I did a trial of bunching onions, to test them for size & winter hardiness. It started with 9 varieties, both from commercial sources, and from SSE members. One variety was received as transplants & died immediately, so only 8 varieties were trialed. They received no winter protection for the trial. "Welsh", "Fuyuyo", "Red Beard", "Evergreen", and "Shimonita" were all large-stalked varieties. The first-year stalks varied from 5/8" (Red Beard) to over 1" (Fuyuyo, Shimonita). "Welsh" was variable, from 3/4" to almost 1.5". Any of these is capable of reaching 1", if well grown. They do not multiply rapidly, not splitting until their second year, and then into only 2-3. "Four Seasons", "Franz", and "Stevenson" had smaller stalks, but were better multipliers. "Four Seasons" was the smallest of the trial, at only 15" tall & the width of supermarket scallions, but was the heaviest multiplier... like chives on steroids. It formed clumps 2" wide in the second year. All of these "multipliers" suffered no winter loss in my Zone 5A. The large-stalked varieties were not as hardy as the multipliers; all suffered winter kill to some degree. Evergreen & Red Beard were the hardiest; Shimonita suffered heavy losses. For some, the multiplication did not even make up for the winter loss. They may, however, fare better in Zone 6. The best performers overall were Franz & Stevenson, two heirlooms offered by an SSE member. They were virtually indistinguishable in habit; 24" tall, with stems of 1/2" width. They were very vigorous, and began dividing at the end of their first season, becoming clumps of 2-4 in their second season. So vigorous, in fact, that when I tried to till them under at the conclusion of the trial, they came up all over my garden!!! All long since eaten. ;-) While I still have seed for all of the varieties trialed, it was not refrigerated, so I'm not sure how viable it would be. I intend to re-grow Franz & Stevenson again this year, but only one would be allowed to bloom for seed each year. I have to say, though... the hardiest & most vigorous perennial scallion I've grown was not a bunching onion, but a walking onion. I've collected 5 heirloom varieties so far, all at least in their 3rd year (with more to be added this year). "Knox Heirloom" has far exceeded the rest, not only forming large topsets (about 1") but dividing at the base into 6 or more after one year. I did a large planting last year, so barring the unforeseen, I should have plenty of bulbs to share this Fall. Here is a link that might be useful: Evergreen Y. H.

Waaay back, when I was a kid, Mom always made the salad dressing. I think she used Miracle Whip or a MW like 'salad dressing' product. She would thin the MW with milk, add a bit of sugar, a bit of vinegar & some black pepper. This was an all-purpose dressing used for cole slaw and combination lettuce salads. One of my favorite treats way going to Grandma's in the summer when she would serve fresh home grown tomatoes sliced with a small dollop of Miracle Whip. I suspect this of something similar is what is referred to as 'Country Dressing'. I'm not sure what commercial salad dressings were available since we never used them. I suspect a limited selection like probably French and Thousand Island. I remember when Green Goddess was intro'd and when French Onion dip came on the scene. Another thing I remember from helping to compose the grocery list was that when we needed mayonnaise, that went on the list as 'mayo'. When we needed the Miracle Whip stuff, it went on the list as 'salad dressing'. Mom always bought a Miracle Whip equivalent...Griffin's as I recall was the regional brand she bought generally. I grew up mostly in Oklahoma but Mom was from Missouri, the Ozarks area. She had lived in southern California as a kid, one of the Depression era migration. And we lived in Colorado & northern California for a time as well. I remember that we were living in CA when I first encountered French Onion Dip, the orig. version made with sour cream & Lipton's dry soup mix. Probably all these different exposures had some influence in how Mom cooked. Awfully long winded response & not sure that it's much help albeit a nice little stroll down Memory Lane at least, for moi!