Sweet et al . . . First, I would have to be able to see well enough to know what the clock might be telling me :-) Second, do you 'guys' really think that if I coated the brass with varnish or something, that it would last outside? I'm not sure what it would do in the winter, though the glass is relatively thick. AND, my turtles are so slow you would think they weren't alive or something :-) The major hazzard it would have to survive is the GD - if she moves the turtles, what do you think would happen with a hunk of glass? I did shake the heck out of it last night, and still see no clumps anywhere, but it was still running this morning. Guess I'll have to check tonight again. As an aside, if there is no moisture inside it now, would sunlight create moisture? Hey I was a an Advertising/Marketing/Business major - no science here!

Ciao Ann, I understand your thoughts in above post. Many of the people on ebay ect who are selling these figs trees for high prices are FORUM members!! :) That is part of auction, it starts out low then ends up high!Some of the members have their own nursery business' and sell from there or on ebay. Alot of the members on the forums are very generous and we share or trade back and forth with each other, then there are others who charge, nothing wrong with that as it costs money,takes time and room to maintain, root and share these figs with other people. I can only speak for myself, but I have made a few very very good friends here on the forums and would never dream to sell (charge) anything to these close members. Others maybe not as close. We forge friendships and bonds and we share with each other. PErsonally, I would easily pay a large price for a fig tree that I really wanted.Especially if it was reputable and someone I know they wouldn't cheat me or lie. Also, remember, Sal's Corleone and Sal's are different figs, they are not to be tied together as one tree!!! I share my figs with others here and others who are not members of these forums for many reasons. I do charge others and strangers as face it, some of us do have business' and thats a part of business! and alot of people want everything for free, but don't want to part with anything! People that I have forge relationships with who have been more than generous will never have to pay for a fig tree from me. If I have it, they can have it! Ciao and nice to see you and your very kind giving heart. Ciao

Yes, many herbs are amazingly simple to grow. The ones that come to us from the Mediterranean appreciate rainfall but don't need tons of it, like well-drained soil (just plant on ridges created by one of your plowing attachments/furrowers that you pull behind the tractor), and actually benefit from being sheared back occasionally. You cut them back, distribute the harvest at your food distribution points, wait a week or two or three (depends more on available soil moisture and temperature than anything else), harvest them again. Every time you harvest, you only remove some of the plant, and the rest of the plant kicks back into a highly vegetative cycle and quickly regrows tons of new growth. The easiest herbs to grow, in my opinion, are basil, parsley (but it is cool season and a biennial so keep that in mind), rosemary (as long as there is good drainage), and chives (cool season, grow like crazy and are perennial if you don't plow them up---you can divide a one year old plant into a million babies to replant). Sage also is easy but I have found that people generally only use it around the Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays so it might not be worth growing for a harvest that only would be appreciated for a briefer period. I have mixed luck with oregano and thyme---they seem to need better drainage than I can give them. There also are herbs you can grow for tea----just the leaves themselves steeped in hot water provide a nice herbal tea or, in the case of chamomile, the flowers are steeped to give you the tea. I like lemon balm and lemon verbena for tea, and catnip and chamomile. Many people appreciate mint, but be advised mint can be very invasive. Now, I don't mind invasive plants that want to run wild and grow everywhere because I have the dense red clay that tends to discourage invasiveness by causing plants to rot in wet weather. So, there's not much that truly is invasive in my garden. If it will survive the hot dry cracking clay soil in summer, it tends to die in winter's wet, soggy clay....and vice versa, but mint? Oh, mint has survived everything I've thrown at it here except for the summer of 2011. Mint can be used in tea or to flavor certain adult beverages (mojitos) or to add a nice little bit of flavor to sweet southern iced tea or as a garnish for fruit or melons. You could try a handful of different herbs every year to see which ones are appreciated and enjoyed by your clients, and which ones are duds. Most are easy from seed. Another great thing about the mints is that some of them flower and their flowers tend to be little tiny ones that are not particularly noteworthy but which do attract pollinators and other beneficial insects to your garden plot. I grow basil (one plant for every 3 or 4 tomato plants) with my tomato plants to repel tomato hornworms. I won't say it is 100% effective, but I grow about 100 tomato plants each spring, and in a bad year I'll see maybe a grand total of 6 or 8 hornworms all year long.....even though I see more tobacco hornworms than tomato hornworms (both feed on tomatoes) and maybe that's because I grow flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata and others). I know lots of people who will see 6 or 8 hornworms on one plant, so I feel justified in believing my basil plants repel the hornworms, mostly, from my tomato plants. Cilantro is problematic. It is a cool-season herb that bolts in spring as soon as the weather warms up a bit. That is unfortunate because it is used in many recipes that use tomatoes (salsa pico de gallo, chicken tortilla soup, etc.), which are warm-season plants. So, I don't think it would be a good herb for your use. When dried, it turns bitter, so I don't bother drying it. I usually stop harvesting mine when it begins to bolt, and then I let the flowers go to seed and drop where they may. The following year I have cilantro here and there. That's not an issue in the home garden, but wouldn't really fit in with your rotation plan as it would be in the way of equipment needed to plow, plant or harvest. I think asparagus would be an awesome thing to grow, but it is perennial so wouldn't fit into a crop rotation scheme, and also would tie up its own growing area for 2-3 years before it could provide the first harvest. Or, you can take a page out of my dad's book. A child of the Great Depression, he developed a fondness for lambs quarters and poke salad that never left him. I have an enduring image, burned into my memory, of his lambs quarters plants that always grew out in the back corner of the yard right beside his compost pile. It can be hard to get people to try things like lambs quarters, poke salad or dandelion greens, but often they like them once they try them. Red Malabar Spinach or Green Malabar Spinach both are vining plants that need to be trellised, but provide a "green" for eating fresh or cooked in the summertime when it is too hot for most greens. With something like that, you might not want to introduce it for a couple more years-----wait until you get people hooked on eating and enjoying the regular veggies before you introduce some of the less common ones. You might want to consider some of the less well-known beans like favas or chickpeas.

Actually have been to the movies recently!! Two times in two weeks!! Saw 'Little Women' last week - enjoyed it but it jumped around time-wise a bit and was sometimes challenging to follow. Last night went to see 'Just Mercy' and that was superb!! A true story, it will get you fired up for various reasons. One movie was pure entertainment and the other got you thinking and incensed and involved.