Dawn, you have no idea how you just made my day saying you rarely moisten or turn your piles! My poor compost has been setting out all winter with no attention at all, and I was feeling very neglectful. I had added a whole bunch of dead canna stalks and leaves in early spring, but that's been about it. Beth, I had always thought compost piles normally stink until all these fine folks set me straight. It's really got a lot to do with getting the proper balance of browns and greens. I knew I could come up with lots of green just with summer mowing but was a little concerned about the browns. I found a list of what was green and what was brown, and to my surprise, I've got more brown than I thought I'd have! Here's a few of the things I found I have regularly I would have never thought of: The paper cores inside rolls of toilet paper, paper towels, etc. Brown paper sacks Corrugated paper shipping cartons (I remove the tape and any shiny labels first) Coffee filters Do you shred your bills and junk mail? You can compost almost any paper that isn't coated (coated paper will be slick and shiny). I even tore up the pages from old phone books last year and threw them in. Newspapers Cotton rags including your or your family's old cotton underwear, don't throw it out put it in the compost! Dryer lint Got pets that need periodic brushing? Put the fur in the compost, also you can use human hair providing it's not been dyed Used paper towels providing they weren't used on greasy or oily or potentially bacteria-laden surfaces Cotton swabs (think Q-Tips) so long as the stick is cardboard not plastic Cotton balls Paper egg cartons Nail clippings If you don't sprinkle chemical carpet cleaners on your carpets then you can compost the stuff from your vacuum You can search the web for lots more ideas. If some of these things aren't things you personally get much of, like maybe shipping cartons, you can ask around at grocery stores for some. You could ask your local barber for hair clippings. Ask your neighbors for their old newspapers. When you actually start looking into all the things that can be composted, you'll be amazed how much stuff you might have available and just never thought of. I found a couple of sites online last summer when I started mine. Right now I can only locate the OSU sheet. The other one itemized browns and greens in columns. I'll dig it up at home and see what the URL for it is, but I'll put the OSU link at the bottom of this post. My "bin" is just chicken wire nailed to some old wood (just to hold it) I had in the backyard arranged in a sort of box shape. My backyard slopes quite a bit so excess water runs out of it. I used a couple layers of corrugated paper boxes for a "floor." Debra Here is a link that might be useful: Backyard Composting in Oklahoma

Please see my two posts on March 30, 2014. Only the earliest of hybrids released had two parents,and both parents are known for some of them. Later hybrids can have up to 4 parental inputs in each breeding line,as I explained in a previous posts I mentioned above so 8 parental inputs in each line.The last one in each line is crossed with the last one in the other line to make the stable F1 hybrid. Yes,there are many companies that breed F1 hybrids,mostly in the Netherlands and Israel and Japan and China,some still in the US such as Petoseed,which does custom breeding for Burpee although Burpee now has some breeders back in PA but I don't know of any releases yet,and do so since commercial farmers want F1 hybrids and preferably determinate ones to facilitate machine harvesting and those in areas want ones with tolerance,no such thing as total resistance,where soilborne diseases are found,which is not in all places of the US.. Companies don't breed OP heirloom varieties, for that would be the antithises of the word heirloom and let us NOT get into a discussion of what an heirloom is or is not,I mean you can,but there are many threads here already about that,no one definition,and I'm out on that subject.,LOL. Heirloom tomato varieties are sourced from many places and most of them,well maybe some,end up being listed in the SSE Annual Yearbooks,where they are then available to SSEmembers. To date I've grown about 4,000 plus heirloom varieties and have in introduced close to 300 new ones from various sources myself. And if you look at Tania's superb data website she has individual pages for about 5,000 now and taking all the ones that are in seedbanks in different countries there are probably close to 20,000, I should live so long being 77 this June.LOL

Hi billl, Just a note on "principal-guaranteed" products. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Of further note; COMPLETELY agreed. HOWEVER, there ARE currently principal-guaranteed products that are both significantly cheaper, safer, and better in performance than the alternatives in non-guaranteed securities (money market accounts, CDs, managed investment accounts and index mutual funds.) You can't get high guaranteed returns and no risk. Unfortunately, we can't have "no" risk anywhere, actually... but the exposures to risk *CAN* be dramatically reduced by proper reserves management by the firms, and conservative hedging. These are individual companies "guaranteeing" their products. That brings its own level of risk that isn't easily quantified. Pretty easily evidenced though... all one has to do is look at the historical track record of the firm offering the gaurantees (and especially in comparison to the non-guarantee security firms... if there are any that have remained in business long enough to have a history to compare.) The principal safety track records of insurance deposits are equal (if not better) than the track records of the FDIC & NCUA ('better' in the manner that the insurance deposits are guaranteed at much higher balances... up to twice as much as FDIC in some states... and the rate of failures of the insurance companies themselves is virtually zero in comparison to the banks & securities firms that have been dropping like flies.) The overall investment is ultimately only as "safe" as the underlying investments (ie stock market) even if there are multiple levels before it gets to the final investor. The risk is only being spread, not eliminated. Dead on! Risks exist, always, and need to be properly avoided. Risks that are competently managed so well that firms can offer principal-guarantees, and show a track record (often of CENTURIES) of never defaulting on their guarantees... that works! The non-guarantee security (stocks, mutual funds, bonds, notes, etc.) world *COULD* cobble together a complex structured offering that might come close to the safety and tax efficiency... but the internal expenses would be so high it would destroy any chance of competitive returns. I used to run a hedge fund that offered a principal-guarantee to our partners (just like the insurance companies do.) I discovered its too expensive to try to beat the insurance world at its own game *UNLESS* you accumulate enough in assets to actually BECOME insurance-regulated as a carrier (and can then offer tax-free status ALONG WITH the principal guarantees.) In addition, its always been illegal for your common stockbroker to guarantee principal (or guarantee *anything* really... but to take your money,) and with financial regulation of hedge funds its not even legal today to offer the kinds of guarantees we used to ON A PRIVATE basis. If the regulatory world shifts to make it plausible for non-insurance managed accounts to beat fixed-indexed resetting accounts, I'll fire up a new securities division immediately... but I am definitely NOT holding my breath on that. It *ALL* boils down to; A) who carries the deepest reserves (so they can always honor their guarantees,) B) who manages risks the best (so they can outperform the other guarantors.) Of course, the tax-free growth & access adds nicely to the benefits. Cheers, Dave Donhoff Leverage Planner

We need to know a little about what you are planting - vegetables, shrubs, trees, or plants just for flowers ... and then are we talking annuals (the ones that grow this season then die in winter) or perennials (the ones that grow all season, die back in winter, then come back the next year). One doesn't usually just plant in the lawn, but in a bed, from which all grass and weeds have been removed. It is best to have the soil analyzed to determine the pH (acidity/alkalinity), what nutrients may be needed, and what the soil composition is (sandy, clay, or a nice rich loam). One then adds amendments to bring the soil up to optimal for what you are growing. You can get the pH tested at any cooperative extension service office (usually at no charge), and they may also tell you about your soil composition. But the test for macro- and micro-nutrients, you'll probably have to send the soil out, or buy a test kit and run the test yourself ... Not as accurate, but still in the ballpark. And, yes, digging out the grass does leave a depression ... which you can fill with a good compost/composted manure/topsoil (beware of the bagged products - while some are good, others are compressed and of poor quality). Many excellent gardeners focus on growing good soil, in which plants will naturally thrive. Although some seeds are best direct sown right where they're going to grow, many are started in small pots then transplanted when they have reached adequate size. Please tell us a bit about your plans and the site and we can be much more helpful to you.