Wei: Grapes are one thing they could mark without "confusing" the consumer. That's because there aren't that many varieties. Red Globe grapes are often identified here in Texas. But Thompson and Flame are often just called green and red. With stonefruit there are many more varieties. Way too many for most consumers to identify with. So they just go with red plums and black plums all summer long. If the grower/packer plants a new variety, it is still red and black all summer long. Can you find a farmers market? Usually the vendors know what they are selling. The Fruitnut

pam, its mostly an eastern tree farther north they go (in other words not in the Dakotas), but when i was in Massachusetts they did indeed have spectacular fall color even in a area know for trees with spectacular fall color. I have never seen these trees in the south so i cant comment on their size. Yes it is freezing. It felt like spring one day, even a no-coat day, and then the next day i got frostbite after 5 minutes of walking into the prevailing winds, i don't remember it being this cold for a long time. There is a range map for this species in the link below, pus a wealth of information on this tree Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/Spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/nyssa/silvatica.htm

I am in a vaguely similar situation, but mine comes from a local produce stand at a weekend market. A lot of the stuff I get is still edible, and I get it by cases. Some of it is all mixed together, but mostly it comes to me as cases of bananas, mangoes, whatever. I have a huge email list (87) people that I write to when I get it (once or twice a week) and a few of them come each week to get what food they want. We eat and preserve what we can, and the rest goes to compost. We have 3 regular bins, a couple small children's pools that we compost in, and about 8 raised lasagna beds where I grow vegies. I fill them up in the fall and some in the summer. I mix the produce with OPBL (leaves) and horse manure and a little bit of wood ashes and whatever else comes my way. Makes great gardens, and we also get a lot of compost each spring and fall. We get about 3-5 hundred pounds of produce to compost every week, but manage to deal with that with no problem. We could compost more, I still have OPB leaves stockpiled from last fall. Wood chips are available free from many municipalities. you could mix it with that as well. But I advise that you make more compost piles. With the volume of stuff you get, if you have some browns to mix in it will compost fairly quickly. Look around this fall, I get my leaves from a nearby subdivision. Also, it is a good idea to find people who want to share this compost material if it seems way too much for you. Good luck, Marcia

Good for you.Sounds like you got a great deal out of it.Can never get too many mini's. Jean