Jay, I can't really say anything about Milorganite as I don't use it, but I can tell you that my M. basjoo pups have grown that fast, or faster, without having used it. Particularly on an established plant with a healthy corm to store energy, the new spring growth comes up very fast as soon as the weather is to their liking. During the peak growing season each pseudostem generally produces a new leaf every 3-4 days. I do give my bananas lots of compost throughout the growing season, along with a generous dose of blood meal, bone meal, and green sand, and also fertilize frequently with Miracle Gro Miracid or other high-nitrogen fertilizers, especially early in the growing season. This is what my M. basjoo clump looks like by July: and in August (although a different year): BTW my clump would be much bigger as it pups prolifically, but since I have a small yard I need to keep it in check and continually have to yank out new pups that come up all around it. This year I'm trying to keep it to just 4 or 5 pseudostems, and dug out about 20-30 pounds of corms to confine it to one corner of my garden. I think the bottom line is that bananas like fertilizer, and aren't especially picky as to what kind they get as long as it has plenty of nitrogen!

And beyond preparation for the apocalypse (and I'm one of those people who love apocalypse novels like The Road) it's not a bad idea to just figure out what we can produce on our own, for economic reasons, for environmental reasons, for health reasons. My tomatoes taste better. That's cool. My contribution to the overuse of chemicals and monocultures to grow food is lessened when I eat my own organic tomatoes that didn't cost an ounce of gasoline to get to my plate. That's pretty cool too. I'm a bit more self-sufficient, prepared for a crisis, national, global or personal. Also cool. And my body is healthier, if for no other reason, I'm out in the garden doing moderately physical work rather than in front of a television. I might even be healthier eating my tomatoes because they might be healthier grown that way. Lots of scientists think they are. I often wonder why more people don't try a few things in the back yard, especially in our climate, with a long growing season, albeit one where we're out in the dark with a flashlight picking caterpillars. :) (Ok, I admit, I'm reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan right now. It will absolutely reinforce your desire to grow more of your own food, while making you scared of not just cheeze whiz, but whole grain bread from Publix.) Susannah

The thing that you have to remember when talking about America when you are in another part of the world is, in America news is a very big business. While gun deaths are often reported widely and for days in reality gun homicides in the U.S. are somewhere between 2.75 and 3.5 per 100,000 people. While I agree that even one is too many, to say that Americans worry about getting shot is really more a bi-product of the sensationalist attention that gun crimes get in the media. An incredibly significant majority of people in America will go through their entire life without ever being near a violent crime (not including a fist fight between young people) and most of those involved in a violent crime will never see a gun used in a crime. Statistically in America, unless you are in a gang, then you are more likely to be shot by your brother, father, husband, kid, sister, wife or mother than you are by a robber. I have read the stat in a published peer reviewed academic paper that if anyone in your house buys a gun then you are 1.9 times more likely to die from a gun, which is telling. I agree that guns are a problem in America, but for us I am not sure that banning is a real possibility. Guns are part of our culture. Imagine banning alcohol in the UK, and you can start to get a sense of the relationship, healthy or not, that many Americans have with guns. There are solutions that can really help without banning. Knowing where the guns are and licensing owners would help, an ad valorem (property) tax on guns would go a long way to removing unregistered possessions and untraceable guns. I am not talking about restricting ownership just doing the same thing we do for cars and homes. The drawback is that registering is also the first very necessary step to ban guns, which leads to resistance.

It's here! It's here! It's here! I know Beth is probably just about as excited as I am. It's a stress when you wonder what happened to a package you sent. First pictures: And the whole package: Thanks so much, Beth. The light isn't that great in my kitchen so the photos don't do this justice. The teacup charm is adorable - Bird in a nest, another tiny bird, charms and flowers dangling on the ribbons, and the green and yellow are the perfect look for Spring. In my swap I had gummy worms, a note card and another card, cosmos cupcake seeds, paper napkins with a great party look, and my teas are Sweet & Spicy and Earl Grey. Well worth the wait! (By the way, Beth, that hummus container that you packed the charm in did the trick. It got here in perfect condition even after all that traveling.) Jeanne