I noticed the same issues with my plants. My Tepin and Mole sprouts are growing VERY slowly - 2 inches tall, just starting to grow their 2nd set of leaves. My sweet banana peppers are almost 4 inches tall with fully a developed 2nd set of leaves. After a few waterings, I have been giving all of my plants a full dose (10-15-10) of fertilizer. The Banana peppers love it. The leaves are long and thick. The hot peppers show no signs of fertilization.

Here's some rambling thoughts: I LOVE seafood. Almost every kind (although I have some problems with raw oysters and sea urchin roe). My grandfather was a commercial fisherman and we ate seafood at least 4-5 times a week. Pretty much everything that came out of the ocean. My grandmother (who now seems to me that she was ahead of her time) pretty much told me this was the way to eat: 1) seafood is good for you [part of that Mediterranean diet, we've all heard about in the last few years]. 2] the key to getting the most balanced nutrition in the long run is to vary what we eat. No one fish was perfect for the table and fishing one fish was bad for the commercial fisherman. When someone some time ago said salmon and the omega-3 oil thingy was good for you, we overfished salmon and started relying on not-so-great farm-raised salmon. I thought herring was on the safe list until I recently read this (Montery Bay Seafood Watch): "In the Northwest Atlantic, herring is one of the most important prey items for marine mammals, seabirds and predatory fishes, such as bluefin tuna. There is also a large commercial fishery for herring, with the fish being canned for human consumption or sold for bait. With herring in such high demand, recent studies have suggested that current catch levels could be having a profound impact on the health of the ecosystem. Simply put, it is possible that too many Atlantic herring are being fished out of the ocean to support whales, dolphins, seals, seabirds, tunas, and other predatory fishes that rely on them as an important food source. The extent of accidental catch (bycatch) in the herring fishery is largely unknown as a result of inadequate observer coverage, however bycatch of protected fish species has been observed. Atlantic herring are caught with midwater trawls, which can catch huge amounts of fish and are not selective in their catch. Some management steps have been taken in recent years to address some of these issues, including some fishing areas closures to decrease bycatch of protected species. However, it will be some time before the effectiveness of these new management measures will be realized." [by the way, lake herring from Lake Superior, is a good alternative.] From a health standpoint, eat a bunch of different fish. From an environmental standpoint (and for a truly sustainable commercial fishing industry), eat a bunch of different fish. Eat it fresh -- think twice about the jarred stuff with oils, salt and creams. Except for the occasional indulgence. And yes, annie1992, eat more plants. 3/4 of the food on one's plate should be plant. Joe

I absolutely love ginger, but I wasn't able to post to this before. I also love ginger flowers and have several types of ginger in my yard now. The blue ginger is blooming right now (see link below), but I also have red and white gingers, none of which are edible, but some of the flowers have very nice fragrances that are quite unique. As for edible ginger, I keep a jar of ginger paste (from an Indian market) that I use in soups, marinades, and stir fries, but not desserts. For desserts, I use ginger that I keep in the freezer. I should probably grow edible ginger. I bought ginger snaps at TJ's last week-end (along with some other more decadent cookies), but I think I should have made them myself. They were good but not quite gingery enough. I don't have any dried ginger. Lars Here is a link that might be useful:

I joined Facebook a few months ago and like it a lot. I've re-connected with a lot of people who used to be in our church, and a bunch more from college and law school. These are people I always liked, but we grew apart over time, as people do. I probably wouldn't sit down and write them an email or a letter or call them, but Facebook provides just a bit of contact. I'm interested to see their kids and hear a little about their jobs, and I like the odd comment about something interesting in their lives. This is about the right amount of contact for a number of my cousins, too. I am fond of them, but we really only see one another at funerals. I like seeing a little more of them on FB. I don't send food or hugs, I take lots of quizzes but post few of them, and I block posts from anyone who plays "Mafia Wars." I have things set to be pretty private, too. I also love the "Six Degrees of Separation" aspect, where you discover that an acquaintance from work knows your kid's friend's mom.:)