with regard to what Rosa said - definitely avoid the blueberries-in-a-box (usually a twig) that they sell at local hardware stores. definitely not worth it. last year, Home Depot had a few varieties available in 3gal-5gal pots. they were reasonably priced. Most places around Atlanta seem to always have Climax as one variety, and Climax is a really good pollinator for other blueberries. tifblue, centurion and woodard seem to be three other varieties I saw a lot of.

GROWING UP IN NEW ORLEANS IN THE LATE 40S & EARLY 50S WE ALWAYS HAD 6 OR 8 BUSHES IN THE BACK YARD WHICH SUPPLIED US WITH PEPPERS YEAR 'ROUND. THEY WERN'T MUCH LARGER THAN A GREEN PEA, BUT ELONGATED LIKE A LEMON. WE HAD TO PICK THEM AS SOON AS THEY STARTED TURNING RED BECAUSE THE MOCKING BIRDS WOULD PICK THE BUSHES CLEAN. MY GRANDFATHER WOULD USE A TOOTHPICK TO PUNCH HOLES IN ABOUT 1.5 CUPS OF PEPPERS AND THEN SOAK THEM IN VINEGAR FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS. GREAT ON SALADS, GREENS, RED BEANS, OR WHATEVER. I LEFT NEW ORLEANS IN 1982 AND FAILED TO TAKE SOME SEED PEPPERS WITH ME. I WOULD LOVE TO GET SOME SEEDS OR PEPPERS TO START SOME PLANTS HERE IN FLORIDA. THEY ALSO MAKE VERY NICE ORNAMENTALS.

The one thing that I was guilty in doing was overcaring for the peppers. Find a spot, leave the peppers alone. Water the pepper 2 times a week, maybe just a tad bit more during the summer. I had mine in pots. The chiltepin (bird's eye pepper) grows naturally in a tiny bit of shade - at least thats the ones that I've always seen growing wild have a little bit of shade. So you may want to plant it in a 3-5 gallon pot and put them in slight shade. I would water when the leaves started drooping just a little. Good luck on growing them, I had a plant that lived to 4 years old before I moved into an apartment and had to let the plant go because there was no space. I now have a house and may grow them next year among some other peppers I'm going to be growing. This year I am growing Bhut Jolokia, Lemon Drop, and Tabasco. Danny

badan, I thought I would comment on the birds eating peppers. Interestingly enough, all peppers come from a common ancestor, probably of the tepin type. These peppers are small and all are commonly called "bird peppers." The heat in peppers (capsaicin) is thought to have evolved to prevent mammals from eating the fruit. Mammals fully digest the seeds and are therefore no good at propogating the plant. Birds on the other hand will eat the peppers (birds are not effected by a peppers heat) and do not digest the seeds. The seeds are passed out of the birds body with a little fertilizer to grow a new plant. Thus, we see how the plants that specifically target birds as their vector by creating capsaicin, were the fittest to survive in their environment.