Hi RusticBohemian- First let me say, I applaud your spirit and enthusiasm. I think its a great idea, but I think you really want to listen to the posts above. That isnÂt to say you shouldnÂt do it. I just think you need to modify you plan just a bit with more emphasis on low maintenance fruits and a long term maintenance care plan. Like others have said, for the most part, most of these plants are not simply "Plant and pick". ItÂs more of an augment soil, plant, nurture, water, fertilize, spray, water, prune, thin, more TLC, spray, spray, pick. That said, there are certainly plants that are easy to care for than others. As HarvestMan said, certainly raspberries would be a good choice. I think mine are mostly care-free, except for the mowing down (the easiest thing to do) in the winter, and adding of compost in the spring. (maybe you could even do that all at once?) If you set them up with good containment in the beginning (so they donÂt spread to where you donÂt want them to be I think this could be about as close to plant and pick as you could get. Though I may have to disagree (gasp) with HarvestMan on one point There are better varieties out there than Heritage these days, and you can search this forum for more info on those. Thornless blackberries would be another candidate. Like my raspberries, mine have been pretty much disease free, and for the most part, the birds stay away. The issue here is that normally youÂd want a really solid trellis here. But, in your case, you might want to go with the less productive free standing varieties. Again, youÂre going to want to prune out the old canes in the spring, and give them some compost. Possibly some blueberries? The issue here is you have to do netting to keep the birds away. HereÂs a case where you would probably want to amend the soil first to get your PH down. Mullberries would be another good candidate. Apples eh? Like the others have said, these guys are going to be a LOT more work here. At the very least, you should consider only disease resistant varieties. And, in your case, IÂd recommend only the most DR ones. Even with that, youÂre still going to need a solid spraying plan. I doubt bagging the apples would be an option here as they would attract a lot of attention and perhaps people would see them as litter? Apples may be a bit beyond your plan. Another concern I have is water. You are going to need to water these plants pretty often. Do you have a plan get water to these sites? IÂm picturing a level-site, which wonÂt have much shade, and these many plants could suck up a lot of water. I really hope your project succeeds. Just make sure you put in all the logistics before hand to make sure it does. If you havenÂt done any home orcharding before, IÂd be prepared to spend the next many months and years determining the right (low maintenance, hearty, disease resistant) varieties for your idea. Like others have said definitely start small if at all possible. YouÂll learn so much, and it will change the way proceed. Good luck! This is a very big undertaking. -Glenn

Jennifer: If you really only get 2-300 hrs chilling some of your new tree list will not work. I found Earli Autumn severely lacking in quality. Tomcot needs more chilling. Lapins, Stella and Rainier all need more chilling. I'd suggest Arctic Star nectarine over Fantasia or Jolly Red Giant. Nothing but rave reviews on Arctic Star. It's a top ten fruit for me, in other words about as good as anything. You might consider some figs and persimmon. Both very low chilling and easy to grow. You'll like them if you give them a chance. I loved my Strawberry Verte figs this year but there are many good varieties. I prefer the astringent until soft persimmon but you might like the Fuyu types.

I agree it's probably a spice blend for making Tandoori dishes, and will contain cumin, chilli, and coriander at the very least. Possibly garlic, lemon, onion, turmeric (for the colour) and ginger added as well. The meat is supposed to come out a red colour, so often a red food dye is added. Tandoori is traditionally made on a special charcoal stove called a Tandor, but the modern version is much easier. Here's a really simple recipe for which you could use your Tanduri. Use the tanduri instead of the cumin/coriander and curry powder. Minted Tandoori Lamb 1 cup plain yoghurt 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds 2 tablespoons mild curry powder 4 lamb chump chops, each cut into 3 pieces 1 tablespoon chopped mint Combine yoghurt, cumin, coriander and curry powder, mix well. Toss pieces of lamb in yoghurt mixture, coat evenly. Place lamb on a rack which is standing inside a baking dish. Bake at 180°C for 45 minutes, turning lamb every 15 minutes. Sprinkle mint over lamb and serve immediately. Ditto for this recipe: Chicken Tandoori 500ml yoghurt 1/4 cup lime or lemon juice 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon turmeric 1/2 teaspoon coriander 1 teaspoon cumin 1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) 3 whole chicken breasts, split 1 onion, finely chopped 1 green capsicum, finely chopped Combine, coriander, lime juice, cumin, garlic, ginger, salt, cayenne, turmeric. Stir to mix. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat. Cover with capsicum and onions. Cover, chill overnight (or longer). Grill (broil) until done, basting with marinade throughout cooking. I'd love to know what other spices were included in this wonderful gift!

"How can I tell if it is *really* French Tarragon?" If the nursery has only one variety of "Tarragon," it's Russian Tarragon. If they only have "French Tarragon," it's mis-marked. If they have both French Tarragon and Russian Tarragon, put one of each plant next to each and compare them. The French Tarragon should have: darker leaves, smoother leaves, shinier leaves, a stronger, more pungent aroma a stronger flavor with no trace of bitterness Russian Tarragon has a weaker flavor and aroma, with a slight bitter edge. If the nursery has both "Russian Tarragon" and "French Tarragon," and they appear, smell and taste virtually identical, they are both Russian Tarragon. If the nursery is growing from seed, the seed supplier is probably the origin of the misidentification. If they are growing from cuttings, the nursery itself is suspect. If they buy from a "wholesale nursery," then the problem is upstream in the chain, and the wholesale nursery or their seed supplier is suspect. Which brings me to this overall advice: If you're planting herbs to cook with, when shopping at the nursery, smell and taste every plant you're going to buy. Reject any with weak flavor or off flavor or off aroma. Find that taste good and smell good. Don't buy any of that "cat pee sage" we see g posts about on here. Oh, and some mint is good. Be careful, that's another one that spreads far and wide from where you plant it. One final note, even with all "perennial herbs," there are some differing requirements from one type to another. Separating your herbs in some way will work to your advantage. You could have your "garden guy" use blocks or bricks build up "raised beds" and separate your various herbs. I use old tires for raised "mini-beds" in my herb garden. I cut out the sidewall on the side that goes down on the ground. I break up the soil underneath to allow for some deeper root growth, and I work some perlite into the soil because here my soil is very water retentive with a lot of clay in it. I then fill in the tire with a mix of good topsoil and "forest floor compost" that I rake up from the woods here on my acreage. I rake the loose leaves off the top, then rake up and shovel up the "coffee grounds" like layer under that, on top of the topsoil. It's great compost. You can use a mix of any good finished compost and good draining topsoil/garden soil to build up the raised beds. Some perlite in the mix will help with drainage.