I have a spot at my place . it is dry dry dry 365 days of the year as it is shaded by cedars and gets no rain to speak of . Now Vinca is a good ground cover for dry sun or shade and that is what i have growing there . Bonus it has flowers in the spring . Now I wouldnt recommend it if it is in a spot that you are constantly walking thru as it is a ground cover that operates by runners as most are . The other thing icould offer is creeping buttercup . again good in dry sunny spot . Has brilliant yellow blooms in spring ( varigated so leaves are pretty too) Let me know if either of these interest you . signet

You can go to the Harvest Forum here at Garden Web/Houzz to read all kinds of posts about the different brands of pressure canners and who likes which one best and why. That is the forum where all the canning experts hang out. Once you go the the Harvest Forum you can do a search and pull up oodles of old threads on pressure canners. One of the most important things is to be sure you buy a pressure canner, not a pressure cooker. They are not the same thing. One suggestion I'd make is that you buy one of the larger ones. Don't buy the smallest one available to save a few bucks because it will cost you more in the long run since it only will can very small batches. If you're having to do twice as many batches because you bought a smaller canner, it costs you more in time and energy costs in the long run. I have a Presto and have had it for decades. Before that I had a Mirro. However, most of the canning that I do is simple water bath canning because the foods I prefer to can happen to be the ones you can using a Boiling Water Bath/canner. I simply freeze (we have three deep freezers) the items that most people can in a pressure canner because we like the texture of veggies that have been frozen and then cooked better than those that have been canned and then cooked. With potatoes, I don't can them. I just store them in our tornado shelter and they last for many months that way. With each type of food that I preserve, I choose the preservation method that works best for the way we ultimately like to eat that food item. We like our potatoes fresh, so I don't can them. If we liked canned potatoes, then I'd take the time to can some of our crop. I use all the various food storage methods (canning, dehydration, fermentation, freezing and root cellaring), but not all methods for all foods. At the website of the National Center for Home Food Preservation, you will find all the government-approved and safety-tested canning and other food preservation methods. You should never deviate from the approved methods because that's a quick way to potentially harm or kill somebody with improperly-preserved foods. I cannot emphasize that enough. Safety always has to come first.

I've learned that some shade for my produce plot is very important. I am a California gardener turned New Mexican. My gardening skills have been seriously challenged since I made the move to NM! Trees also mitigate the wind factor; I live on a mesa in central NM. This morning I began an experiment with branches from Santolina plants, to see if they will repel the beetles which kill off my squash plants. I pruned the Santolina and distributed the branches amongst the squash plants. I sure hope it works, because there is an army of grey colored beetles dong damage in the garden. I have three Santolina planted in a large bed of strawberries. The Santolinas got rid of the beetles which used to infest the strawberries. The marigolds seem to help repel ants. I have marigolds growing throughout my produce plot. The flowering plants which I've had good success with here are: roses (if they get some shade), dianthus, snapdragons, hollyhock, moss roses, honeysuckle, chrysanthemums, sunflowers, Maximillian sunflowers, yarrow, hibiscus, marigolds, Texas bluebells, creeping Veronica, plumbago, salvias, cosmos, bachelor buttons, penstemons, catmint, hummingbird mint and scabiosa. (Maximillians and yarrow are invasive plants. One has to plant them where it is okay for them to spread.) I am also growing blueberry bushes, strawberries, a couple of grape vines, asparagus, artichoke, summer squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, lima beans, bush beans, arugula, thyme, mediterranean oregano, basil, green chilies, corn, shallots, onions and garlic. I hope to do beets, chard, winter squash and kale for a fall crop. I have two young almond trees, which are doing well.

Ann t...Bump???? Fish tacos, yum, I'd forgotten all about them. At the restaurant, we used to make them with that pre-marinated Cajun Catfish from the grocery store, charcoal broiled and served in a soft flour tortilla with fresh tomato salsa, thinly sliced cabbage and a jalapeno cream sauce...they were a terrific hit at the bar. I'm not sure what that Catfish was marinated in. My guess would be black and cayenne peppers, salt, paprika, onion & garlic powders, oregano, thyme and maybe some gumbo file powder. Mmmm...I think I'm going to experiment. I guess we'll be having Cajun Catfish Tacos for dinner!