Probably, the easiest thing to start with would be herbs, if you buy them potted. Chose the ones you like to use, plant them with a 6 -12 inches distance. You may harvest the greens whole summer long. If you brave enough to do mistakes - just chose the plants you would like to grow from what is available in the store. I wouldn't recommend to start anything from seeds first year(with exception of beans, lettuce and radishes). Do some reading on the plants you want in the internet - you can ask particular questions here and people will answer based on their experience, but you have to educate yourself from other sources as well - there are a lot of them in the internet. Just do not use WIKI and e-how - the information there is very shallow and sometimes wrong. When you chose what plants you want, you can either send me an email or post them here. I will try to give you links to the proper articles to read about them. But you need to do it fast. Time to start lettuce and radishes already here. For transplants you can wait couple more weeks, but not more - plants in the stores will overgrow their pots and they do not receive new ones by the end of the selling season. Few things to consider right away: 1) if you going to the store to buy plants, it will be great to take some experience gardener with you to help to choose proper plants. 2) If you go alone, choose plants that looks fresh and green, without spots on the leaves. 3) Do not try to buy "more" plants in the same pot - the more they crowded, the more they struggle to grow. 4) When buying plants, keep in mind, that if plants were grown under glass they need "hardening" - gradual exposing them to sun and cool air. Even if plants are outside when you buy them it doesn't mean they already properly hardened(they are usually on multilayer crates and shading each other). So always set your newly bought plants in the light shade for a day or two before planting and expose them to the sun gradually, or use some bamboo sticks and old lace curtain to make artificial shade after you planted them for couple days.. Good luck!

Have you ever seen the big tall poles with a propellor on them. They produce energy and for most people who put them in they produce more energy then they use and they start getting a check from the electic company instead of a bill. Problem is for most people the amountof money they are saving is not even close to the cost of the generator. (Est. $10-20,000_ With a bill of $500 dollars a month it would pay for itself in four years and then your electric is essentially free. I don't know about electric heat, but I would imagine you may still need more power than a single wind generator can produce. If you plan on staying in your house for a while it may be a worth while investment. In my case (or my fathers case) it would take too many years for the generator to pay for itself than is worth while for us and we don't have that kind of money upfront. It is easier to pay for the electric bill each month which is a smaller cost than the wind generator even though the long term costs are higher.

Hey bayou rose! I have no idea if it can be grown as a bush. I saw someone's pic earlier in the year and when I contacted Heirloom I thought after I told them I knew of about ten people who wanted it that they said they'd get it back in production. Now they say 25. Grrrrrr. Now I don't know what will happen. If anyone wants one they need to contact Heirloom and ask for Linda!!! Thanks y'all!!!

Barry, So glad to hear from you. That is so cool that you met Damian Maynard and that you extended your hospitialty to him. I bet he does have a lot of interesting stories. Sorry your brugs weren't more productive but don't let that keep you away from here. Dang, if that was the case I would never be on here. I waited all summer for blooms and finally had 2 this past week and that's it for the rest of the season. But look at all of the splendid looking tropicals you have. I love tropicals, hence my name. They look like happy campers. And behind the nanner and EE looks like some tall healthy brugs to me. Hey, OT pics are just as good as brug pics in my book. Hope you drop in more often because we really did miss ya. Deb