"Strangest".... That's pretty funny, as I am the only one in my entire neighborhood that grows *ANY* fruit at all.... The neighbors look at me like I am some sort of anachronism for growing a little garden and some fruit trees.... But... The "Strangest" of all the common stuff I have is a cider pear, a Citation Rootstock peach/plum that had the graft die, an American Purple plum seedling, and a roadside dug-up seedling peach. My Purple and black tomatoes probably classify as what folks around here think is weirdest... They look and say "But... It's rotten!" On the sugar cane thing - if you poke around and ask the old timers at the feed stores - you will find that most farm families in the Deep South used to raise their own sugar cane for sweetening things.... As Jolji said - you bury them over the winter, then dig them up and plant them shallow after Easter... This year, I want a Jujube and a couple filberts... In years past - people expressed wonderment at my Vanilla orchids... Thanks

I almost harvested strawberries in our basement this spring. It wasn't on purpose, though, lol. The seed packet said to start them in January, but that turned out to be waaaay too soon. This is what they looked like at the beginning of April, when I potted them on and pinned some runners (as an experiment). When they started to blossom, I just jostled the plants every day to pollinate. Some of the bigger plants had fruit on them when I planted them out at the end of May. They were under simple shop lights in our basement, along with all my other veggie garden starts. I've grown dwarf cherry tomatoes (Red Robin) to maturity indoors (started under lights, then moved to a south window). When I trim my onion seedlings, they can be used like green onions in the kitchen. I've harvested lavender leaves and a few small flowers while the starts were still under lights. Thyme, too. Pretty standard stuff. Here is a link that might be useful:

I will definitely try your hummus recipe...it sounds great. This is a fairly simple one from a blog called Smitten Kitchen. It's also very good! Smashed Chickpea Salad Inspired by Âwichcraft 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 2 tablespoons pitted, halved and very thinly sliced black olives 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley Zest and juice from half a lemon (if youÂve got one of those sad, juiceless lemons, use both sides for juice) Couple good pinches of salt A few grinds of black pepper A few glugs of olive oil (the original is quite oily, like bread-soaking oily, I went a little lighter. Both ways are delicious) Mix everything but the olive oil in a small to midsize bowl. Very lightly smash the chickpea mixture with the back of a fork or a potato masher. YouÂre not looking for a hummus-like puree but something closer to a coarse chop with a few smaller bits to hold it together. Add the glugs of olive oil, mix it lightly and enjoy. This is also awesome as a sandwich on toasted bread, and it needs nothing else on it. But, if you want to doll it up, here are some ideas: A slice of roasted red pepper (as they do at Âwichcraft), watercress (ditto), a slice of pickled garlicky red pepper (our way). We schmeared the bread with a tahini dressing, which was just tahini, lemon juice and a minced garlic clove thinned with water, but if youÂve got some harissa, I bet that would also be delicious.

Wow, I can imagine how fearful you were to go under general anesthesia, especially with hemorrhaging and dropping blood pressure! But thankfully you were at the hospital and in good hands. I'm so sorry to hear of your loss, which may have been a fetus medically, but was of course, a potential child, to you and your husband. The fact that you did get pregnant naturally, is a good sign. It means that you are not infertile, so I'd think your chances of a successful pregnancy, whether natural or through IVF, will be great, since you have proof that you were able to conceive. Take the time you need to recover physically and emotionally, then look forward to planning your 'rainbow baby,' with all our best wishes!