my favorite has always been pekins..they are the cutest and make awsome pets as well. I just got myself 2 ducklings yesturday..and I love them. I got rid of our pond as I found it was too hard to keep clean with ducks,,but I bought them a swimming pool that is large enough for them to swim under the water and easy for me to clean out every few days or so. Go for PEKINS!!

the set-up is very basic. i just use huge 2'x4-5' dry-cleaners bags with a big hole up top and stuff a plant in each(plants are about 3' high) - they are under the shelf, but get sideways some dappled sun in west-NW corner window mid-day only 2-3 hours. but there is never any condensation - so my leaves are touching plastic always, but i never had a problem with that. i water-wick them from the bottom.i do allow them to dry up somewhat before i refill the reservoir. tenting keeps them warmer and they get quite toasty on sunny days, may be to 70F? (temps by the window drop to 58-62F at nite), so they will be taking up water. however if your temps are lower then this and you have lower light levels, you'll need to keep them drier at the roots, but still tenting should will be OK. mine maintain their leaves, hardly any dropped. they are still bagged for a couple of weeks (we are getting 20-25F at nite here). one has been flowering for a month now (in the bag ;)). you could set-up even larger enclosure: the film-sheets for insulating windows are very good - tape them and you can get a very large bag - connect to shelves/posts/over horizontal pole, even with some long stakes will work. it would look silly in the living room, but of course mine are in the spare bedroom out of sight :). some sort of industrial shelving with just a few wire shelves can be used draped with window film as a huge cage. when i checked a month ago - they were clean. when i checked just now i saw some mites here'n there. not much, but they usually appear out of nowhere when it gets really sunny and warm - i've been getting full blast noon to sunrise sun a couple days a week for a few weeks in that room. need to spray now.

No matter what fridge you buy, you shouldn't use it to store tomatoes. Tomatoes should NOT be stored in the cold. It turns their natural sugars into starches, breaks down their cell walls and makes them mushy and mealy. Most people who think they don't like tomatoes "because of the texture" have probably only had really awful, poorly-stored ones. Most grocery store tomatoes have very little flavor to begin with (that's a whole other rant), but putting them in the fridge turns them into cruel and unusual punishment for anyone forced to eat them after that. Though tomatoes should never be kept under 50, cool temps--like 60-65 degrees--will slightly extend their shelf life, without compromising flavor and texture. So, if you got a wine fridge with some empty shelf space or a real-life root cellar, you can give those a go. If not, just store him in a single layer, stem-side-up in a cool, dark place ... Anywhere, really, that is NOT the fridge. Don't take my word for it. Give it a try. Your salads, and sandwiches, and family, will thank you. Oh and, PS, a trick I got from Cook's Illustrated for getting the most taste out of those grocery store tomatoes, since the farmer's market growing season is so short, is first, to buy only smaller tomatoes (e.g. grape or cherry), which are bred to be sweeter, and then cut them in half about 20-30 minutes before you plan to eat, put them in a colander and sprinkle them with some kosher salt and a little sugar. Toss 'em every once in a while and you'll be amazed at the 20-minute taste transformation. You can do the same with large tomato slices, by placing them on paper towels and then sprinkling the salt-sugar mix.

Lhylcn- sealing should ideally be done both by the fabricator in his shop, and again in your kitchen once installed. Most sealer manufacturers I've spoken to say there's no exact number or times it should be done, but it usually takes several applications until every part of the marble is sufficiently sealed. This is tested by letting water sit on the surface of the marble and making sure it beads up well rather than soaking right in. Honing is just a process that makes the marble "dull" rather than shiny. It's a personal preference. My Vermont Danby marble is very honed, very little sheen. Red- two things that have etched my marble instantly are tomatoes and lemon juice. I'd think ketchup would etch, too, being tomato-based. Etching, though, seems not to bother most marble owners, myself included. You can only see it in certain lights, and it's a part of the patina of the living stone. As far as staining, my counters are sealed with Porous Plus 511, and could easily handle ketchup sitting on them for awhile with no stains. I've had coffee droplets that splashed from the Keurig sit overnight and just wipe up the next morning. I have no stains at all. The counter have only been in for about 2 months or a little less, but I've cooked a lot in these months, have had house guests and hosted Easter at the house, no stains! That said, the Vermont Danby marbles are known for being less porous--and therefore a bit more stain-resistant--than many other marbles.