Geraldo, yes, squash were $1.99 a LB at the local Kroger's here in the suburbs of Detroit last weekend -- easily making an average butternut $5 to $8. Food prices are REALLY rising here -- a whole chicken that might have been $0.59 a lb a few years ago is now $1.29 to $1.89 a lb unless on sale. So, that is one reason I grow a lot of stuff. There are many more reasons -- enjoyment/fulfillment, hobby/something to do, etc. What is really sad is that so much good food is STILL being thrown out, as you mentioned with the less-than-perfect squash. Alas, when will we, as a society or as a species, learn no to waste? Allenwrench, you asked about my land, and about what I do with all of the things I grow. I have about 2.1 acres, in an "L" shaped lot that is largely flat, but it does have a bit of a gentle slope in the back, and a low spot at one edge that floods a bit a few times a year for a day or two. Soils -- well, I have everything from very heavy clay to sandy loam, and it changes very abruptly in places. I can, freeze, and dry produce. I've gone extra heavy into it this year because of my concerns over the economy, the "global food crisis," peak oil/energy, etc. Since I can do it, why not? I am feeding not only my immediate household, but putting up a lot for my two sisters and their husbands, my niece with 3 kids, and giving a lot away to friends and other family. I'm trying to be as self-sufficient as possible, because I CAN be. I figure everything that I don't have to buy from the store is that much less oil that was burnt shipping food thousands of miles. My limitation here is that I'm not legally allowed to have animals -- so, this means that protein is harder to do -- I'm trying to grow a lot of beans, quinoa, etc., that are vegetable protein sources. I'll try to post some other garden photos tomorrow. Dennis SE Michigan

Tomatoworm, I currently have no plans to plant anything although I'd love to plant loquats sometime in the future. Our usual rainfall is about 38-39" and we've only had 14" this year, so it is a struggle just to keep the plants we already have alive, and I won't know until spring just what has or has not survived. Our clay soil is as hard as concrete and has cracks varying from 1 to 3" in width. A long, dry winter lies ahead of us. We've lost one peach tree but the plum trees are still alive so far. Most of our grassland is a dry, dormant wasteland at this point, and our woodland isn't much better. Even my prickly pear cacti withered and dried, although some of them are starting to show some signs of recovery. Very little rain has fallen here since May and the last 365 days are our driest since we've moved here, and officially our area's 1st or 2nd driest year ever, so most of my daturas are so small that if I took a cutting, I'd be cutting off the entire plant because the surviving plants are so small. My tall datura plants died to the ground in July or early August. They have regrown a little since then and are blooming but are only about 6 to 8" tall so the flowers aren't even very big either. If they make some growth in October, I might be able to take cuttings for you then. They are just in pitiful shape, as is everything here. I'm so far beyond worrying about any specific plants that it isn't even funny. I'm just trying to water enough to keep some green around the house for fire protection, and am spending whatever time I have at home just keeping the bird feeders, hummingbird feeders, and 10 wildlife and bird waterers and birdbaths filled, as well as putting out feed twice a day for the wildlife. All our creeks and ponds, except for the lily pond which we keep filled with water from the hose, are long dry, and I've been hauling water jugs out to fill the wildlife waterers since July. It takes a lot of time and muscle, but the wildlife need a reliable source of water since Mother Nature isn't providing them with any. At night, this place looks like a wildlife refuge although during the day you only see a few deer, a couple of armadilloes and some cottontail rabbits out eating with the birds. There's significantly higher activity at night. I haven't seen many moths the last couple of weeks either, but am seeing plenty of monarchs. I might be able to find seedheads from some of the summer daturas this fall when I rake leaves under the pecan trees, but can't rake until after a freeze or I'll likely encounter more timber rattlers, and I've had too many close encounters with them in August and September as it is. I'll let you know if I find any seedheads or if the plants grow enough to take cuttings from them. No rain is in our foreseeable future, so I'm not very hopeful the daturas will grow. They're all in a non-irrigated area. Scott, My pecan trees have held up better than anything else this summer and have produced pecans, but since we have so little else for the wild things to eat this year, I'm letting them have the pecans. I'm amazed we even have pecans with so little rainfall, but now the squirrels are busy gathering them and the acorns from the trees in the yard, so the squirrels aren't eating as much of the deer corn as they were a few weeks ago. I've even put out unroasted peanuts for the squirrels this summer. Even the squirrel population is very low this year. I've only seen a handful of squirrels this summer. You know it is a bad year when I am feeling so sorry for the squirrels that I am feeding them. Dawn

. I never saw the need to plant a garden, since I can take a walk in the woods and see beauty at every turn. ==>>> I KNOW .... that was part of my point ... you made it so easy .. not sure i would want to walk the Appalachian trail with you .... would probably take a decade ... lol ... but it would be interesting as heck .... on my 5 acres ... i leave about a half acre unmowed .... its very cool ... and very interesting .... i couldnt do that in suburbia ... not only the plants ... but also the bugs and stuff it attracts .... ken

I recently identified the tiny grapes I've been enjoying as "champagne" grapes, otherwise known as the black corinthian or Zante Currant variety of grapes. If anyone has a vine, I would like to trade for some cuttings. If you have an large grape variety that is sweet and good table fare, I also might be interested. I have cuttings of "Anastasia" Kiwi berries of both male and female(though the females are pretty good at self fruiting alone) as well as Flame Seedless grape. I also have a semi large collection of heirloom vegetable seeds (~100 variants) and some specialty plant seeds such as the Szechuan buzz button, groundcherry, and mouse melon so feel free to ask and I'll send you a list to see if anything catches your interest. Have a good day!