Spokaneannie, I'm in Olympia. I lost my garden and orchard to divorce. Now I make do with a tiny patch of illicitly converted lawn barely big enough for a few head of lettuce and some peas or beans. This year I am trying potatoes in chicken wire baskets. I live in a rental, on glacial gravelly till, in a neighborhood overrun with raccoons and norway rats. Hard to keep them out of the garden, even with 2 dogs actively patrolling. Anyone see the NatGeo special on urban raccoons?? that was us, westside Olympia. I could take care of them pretty quickly if this weren't a no shooting zone ... but the neighbors think they're cute and leave out food for them. Though I must say the rats are more destructive to the garden as they burrow under fencing that keeps raccoons at bay. We'll see if I get any potatoes or strawberries. The soil is poor for growing most edibles anyway, and the summers too cool. Best growing crop around here is Doug fir, and you can't eat that; but it likes the gravelly soil and dry summers and it's native. Greens and peas and berries grow very well in better soil but you can only eat so much of those. Fruit trees can do well enough, but the landlady doesn't want me planting trees so I have dwarf peach and apples in pots. And anyway I wouldn't be here long enough to harvest anything off trees I planted. We do have a farmer's market here in Oly, and another one in Lacey, but it's kinda hard for me to get to because of its limited hours. Also the Oly one limits produce to that grown in WA so no citrus. We get to-die-for tree fruits from Yakima, and local berries and greens, and root crops from the Skokomish and Chehalis Valleys where the soil is decent, and nuts and kiwis from Morton. But they're only open a few days a week, not at all in winter, and they close at 3pm. how's a working person to shop there?? I don't do errands on weekends, I save those for adventures; and going to the farmer's market does not count.

Pretty blooms, Donna! (the one from eBay you sent me has two scapes coming up - about 2" so far!) Alana

Not sure what hardiness you're in but zone 3 here is borderline for Collet. Collet MRVS Boyle Nursery up far North stole my Collet picture from the fruit thread, showing off hes mature trees, perhaps not even Collet. When you have lots of mature trees and flowering, you would think that some apples would fruit for pictures. They're saying that Collet is zone 2, ...that's not true, it's zone 3 borderline. The Sproutfarm in Bon Accord close to the city used to have Collet also but all died off, the owner told me this several years back and asked for some scion wood, she wanted to try again. Here is a link that might be useful: MRVS Boyle Alberta Collet

It's pretty complicated. I realize I have a unique viewpoint that few people share, but I feel pretty strongly about it. I apologize if I offend any of you and it's not meant personally and I'm not intending to start a debate. I don't believe in eating meat. That's an ethical choice for me, but it's also a health choice, especially in recent years. I believe it harms the body. Hundreds of years ago, people hunted for their food. It was active, the animals were wild and eating their own intended food. And meat wasn't the main portion of the meal. I honestly don't really have as much of an ethical problem with that. Today, we waddle down to the local supermarket to pick up the $2.99 pound of hamburger that is loaded with antibiotics, pesticides, hormones, fecal matter, adrenalin, preservatives and who knows what. These animals are kept in awful conditions, fed unnatural food and experience fear, which you end up ingesting. As Patser mentioned, it leads to antibiotic resistance, little girls are developing faster than ever from the hormones and the role of meat has changed. In the land of Atkins and super value meals, the meat has become the meal, usually with some sort of starch and maybe a side of vegetables. Maybe. I feel the same way about dairy. We're the only species who drinks milk past infancy. We're the only species who drinks other species milk. I don't believe it's healthy for you. Many people get upset stomachs and they're "lactose intolerant" and need to take medications in order to keep consuming the dairy. Doesn't that mean something? When we ingest something we aren't supposed to, the body vomits it as a preservation measure. However, we're taught from childhood that milk is essential to thrive. So this is where my issue with the government "education" lies. I've seen countless ads showing "scientific" studies on the benefits of of consuming this and that. There's one saying you will lose weight if you add 24 oz of milk a day to your diet. However, these ads are usually sponsored by some sort of large interest group. There's rampant corruption among special interest groups and the national nutritional standards. Have you seen those recent commercials about high fructose corn syrup, saying it's natural? They want to call it corn sugar and they claim it's the same as regular sugar. It's pretty much one of the worst things that you can put in your body and my issue is that the average public BELIEVES what they're saying. So while I do believe in personal responsibility, I also think that many, many people are mislead by special interest groups who support these "studies" that they present to the public to make them feel better and healthier for consuming their products. I think there should be stricter standards for advertising such claims because profiting from encouraging poor nutrition choices is just wrong.