I have been making goat cheese for 10 years and The Cheesemaker's Manual by Margaret Morris is an excellent book to read if you are thinking of making cheeses. Margaret owns Glengarry Cheesemaking and Dairy Supply in Ontario,Canada. Her website is glengarrycheesemaking.on.ca. There is also a cheesemaking supply company in Massachusetts, New England Cheesemaking Supply. I would read as much as you can about the craft to see if it is for you. I started with the soft cheeses such as chevre and feta and now use my winter milk to make hard textured cheeses (Romano, Parmesan) that need to age 6 months at least. I sell my cheeses at a farmer's market in the summer. But, regulations differ from state to state, and running a commercial dairy is a pretty big undertaking. I am just small time but considered a larger operation until I saw all of the regulations and cost involved. Read as much as you can about the subject before you jump in. Cheesemaking is fun, but is time consuming like any hobby. Maybe you could go visit some goat farms near you to see what is entailed in owning and milking goats. Good luck. Bonnie

I just got out a book from the library the other day called "Making and Selling Herbal Crafts" by Alyce Nadeau. I had a lot of good ideas in it and some good recipes too. Some of the recipes were for Sage Blossom Vinegar, ideas for a culinary gift basket, Lavender Cookie Recipe, Tea bags, Tea blend (with peppermint, spearmint and lemon grass), and Herbal Bath Refresher. There were lots of other things too those were just some that caught my eye. The author also mentions baking breads with herbs, which really got me thinking. Last year I sold Zucchini Bread and Pear Nut Bread and both did very well almost sold out every time. So this year I wanted to make some more different types of bread. Looks like I will have to see if I can find some recipes for herb breads. I know what you mean about wanting to do it all. Right now I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed by all the new plans I have made for myself this year. I am thinking some will have to wait for next year, but how to choose? While I was searching for information about luffa gourds I came across a tread that included this recipe for luffa soap: "Hi, in order to make loofa soap, your loofa should be fully dried. You may need to purchase dried loofa from your local craft store if loofa is not dried in time. Loofa Soap Recipe: Cut the loofa into slices depending on the size of your mold and the desired effect you wish to have. Round, Rectangle...using whole slices, shreds or chunks of loofa etc. Carefully melt glycerin chunks in a glass measuring cup in your microwave ( or low heat on the stovetop in a coated pan ), approx. 40-60 seconds depending on the amount you are melting. Be sure to add a few drop of fragrance if you choose when melting. Once melted, pour soap into molds and let cool. Loofa will sometime pop up, I use something small to keep it down and then correct the cosmetic flaw once it has cool. This is usually not noticed as it is the bottom of the soap. Once cool, pop out of mold, add a ribbon or two, place in a decorative basket and prepare for the ohh's and ahh's your son will receive as he hands these out to relatives for Christmas." It seems pretty simple and if you were to had herbs in the soap then you would have two ingredients that you grew. Below I also linked the full thread if you were interested. Here is a link that might be useful: Thread about Luffas

I love anything Schwan's. Especially their apple pie...Sure would like either bisquit right now. Well, any good bisquit right now. With REAL cow butter.

Two things come to mind. The first is a CA Kate said, too rich a soil for drought tolerant plants like sage, oregano and thyme. The second thing may be very basic, but if you are new to growing your own herbs it's good to know: some herbs get more intense when they are dried.