You may want to contact the people who had this conversation on castor bean plants on GardenWeb (on Biggest-Fastest Growing Castor Bean Plants back in 2009): http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropesque/msg011229579635.html They may have information with which to help you find out which plant you may have been growing since they would probably easily recognize the size and shape of the seeds you currently have.

MG potting mix is good stuff, I grow a couple tomatoes in it each year. I tend to use cheaper brands though unless it's on sale, or buy a bag of each and mix. Plants can certainly grow in half-composted material - look up lasagne gardening. Your idea could work, although you might not need the tubs. Why not just dig a hole, fill it with a good topsoil/compost mix and plant in that? Is your goal to eventually level this area? If so you'll need soil, not just organic matter or potting mix. What's going to happen to the tubs of potting mix at the end of the season? If you leave the stuff there it will continue to decompose and shrink and your slope will still be there. That's why I'd suggest some topsoil and not just 100% organic matter. But if you're not trying to eventually have a level, raised bed there, it doesn't matter as much.

I've never ordered from Laurel, but I've ordered plants through the mail that arrived healthy and performed beautifully. Still my current opinion is that I should start everything from seed I've either saved or treated myself, and transplant only seedlings that I have raised, all in an effort not to introduce anything 'foreign' into my soil. My mail order plants were excellent, but almost all the EB and Septoria I dealt with early came from Home Depot and Wal Mart plants. Bonnie and another big nursery supplied those stores. It seems to me any seed I want can be had cheaper than the plant. And reducing the risk of bringing their issues into my garden is comforting. As a bonus, I really enjoy the whole seed to seedling process. All that said, if the cross country trip does stress the plants a little more, then Selected Plants has everything Laurel does and then some, and the owner posts here regularly.

So last fall I threw our old jack-o'-lanterns and gourds in the corner of a fence thinking they would decompose. Instead they planted themselves this spring! I was pulling them out by the hundreds but decided to leave some to see if it would really work. Well it did! BUT now they are a hot mess and over growing each other! I have no clue about growing these and have read up a little on them. I also have thrown stuff there for them to climb on. But I have so many questions!! I have some gourds that look like they have been done for the last month or more but the stem hasn't turned brown. Most are just decorative gourds. Also it seems like I get one good one then the others stay as babies. I read to prune the ends but honestly I have no clue which are main vines and so forth! Also I started getting the vine worms so I cut the vines that looked like mush! But do I remove the rest since they don't have their main roots or will the secondary roots still let them produce? I also had some mold spores (probably from them too close together) so I cut most of those leaves out. I'm also trying to keep them away from my little pond I have fish in! Please tell me any tips I need to know to get even some of these gourds to make it to Halloween!