Amiart: Plant breeders like the Zaigers have created an extraordinary range of new fruit varieties over the years, to the benefit of commercial and backyard growers alike. To do to, they have invested a great deal of time, knowledge, and money. When they introduce a new variety, the patent system is the only way they have to recover these considerable investments, and, hopefully, turn a profit. They have far more failures than successful varieties actually brought to market. To keep doing what they are doing, they need the protection of the patent/royalty system or anyone could clone, propagate, and sell their varieties making all of their efforts worthless. The few dollars charged by nurseries for patented varieties are well worth it for what the Zaigers and other plant breeders introduce to the market, and 20 years protection is none too long to recover their investments given the small amounts charged for royalties. Patent protection of fruits covers only those propagated by vegetative or laboratory methods, not chance seedlings. If one of your nectarine seedlings produces fruit that is superior in some way, it is yours and you may patent it yourself if you like, regardless of the status of the tree that produced the seedling. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

I just called Frankie's Nursery, and was told the Rapoza mango trees had just been grafted, wouldn't be available for sale until they were growing well. But they don't ship to California. BUMMER! Other states-yes. Around a month ago, looking for a Rapoza and Gouveia mango tree, I called/emailed around eight Hawaiian nurseries, posted on Tropical Fruit and Hawaii Gardenweb forums,but no luck. Rapoza scions for grafting can be special ordered from Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens in Florida, but they also don't ship to California. T.Tropics nursery says they don't do custom grafting of mango trees, even if I arranged to have the Rapoza scions sent to them in Florida, since they will ship to California. My search for a Rapoza mango tree is at a dead end for now. If anyone has some ideas, short of flying to Hawaii or Florida, they would be welcome.

Poppers Recipe - originally posted by trudymom This is a delicious appetizer. It can be made ahead of time. I have prepared & baked, cooled & frozen in ziplocks & reheated in low oven to serve. They make a nice presentation, stacked on a round platter. Posted by trudymom (My Page) onSun, Dec 2, 07 Crescent Jalapeno Poppers Recipe #227403 : 40 min : 25 min prep : Recipe Zaar By: Lainey6605 May 10, 2007 These are tasty little appetizers. Serve them with sour cream or guacamole, if desired. SERVES 16 (change servings and units) * 4 jalapeno chiles (about 3 inches long) * 1/3 cup boursin spreadable cheese with garlic and herbs (from 5.2 ounce container) * 8 slices packaged pre-cooked shortcut bacon (from 2.2 ounce package, halved) * 1 (8 ounce) can refrigerated crescent dinner roll * 1/2 cup pineapple salsa (optional) or fruit salsa (optional) Directions Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Carefully remove stems from chiles; cut each in half lengthwise and again horizontally to make 4 pieces. Remove and discard seeds. Spoon about 1 teaspoon cheese into each chile quarter. Wrap half slice of bacon around each. On cutting board, unroll dough; separate dough into 8 triangles. From center of longest side to opposite point, cut each triangle in half, making 16 triangles. Place chile, cheese side down, on dough triangle. Fold 1 point of triangle over filling; fold 2 remaining points over first point. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve with salsa, if desired.

I have my DMIL ship me pecans from her hometown, San Saba, TX. They have a big pecan processing (i.e. shelling) facility and the pecans are grown in the area. I haven't shipped from the farms before, but a quick Google gave me a couple that will ship. They are sold by the pound; I think it's good deal, though not super-cheap. The main thing is, these nuts are much, much sweeter than any I have ever purchased in a store, including Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. I highly recommend giving these a try. ~Amanda Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.surrattfarms.com