Until this year I would have said squash, expecially zuchinni. This has been a weird year. Warmed up a month too early then stayed wet and cool too long. The yellow crooknecks I planted produced blossoms galore, then finally a very few large zuchinni.(Seeds came from Shumway) The zuchinni and scallop squash I planted did not produce very many more than the crooknecks. I'm surprised that so many peops said okra. It is the hardest vegie I plant to get a good stand. It's very temperature sensitive during the germination period. I usually get long skips and then long strips too thick, and end up transplanting to fill the gaps. Once it starts producing though it's gangbusters if you keep it picked. This spring I got a good stand, had to thin all of it. but it's been very slow to begin producing.

Melissa, You're welcome. Here's the list of vegetable varieties suitable for growing in containers. This is not an all-inclusive list but it does give you several options for each type of vegetable on the list. With certain vegetables, like bush beans, for example, literally any variety available can be grown in containers. With tomatoes, literally any variety can be grown in containers, although the larger the mature size of the plant, the larger the container it will need. This year, I had several varieties of tomatoes, including Chocolate Stripes, Momotaro, Tropic and Red Defender reach 7' in height in molasses feed tub containers, which probably hold about 20 gallons of soil. Many other tomato plants, including Scarlet Red, Glacier, Sophie's Choice, New Big Dwarf and Red Defender reached about 3 to 4' or so in 7-gallon containers. Still others, including Ildi, Sioux, San Marzano Redorta, and Yellow Ball reached a height of 5' or taller in kitty litter buckets that hold about 5 gallons of soil. All of the container-grown plants produced heavily all season long. So, matching your plants' ultimate size to a container of the right size pays off. If I know where the seeds are usually offered online, I mention the company. However, some companies haven't updated their websites for 2010 so I can't say that they'll have the seed for 2010, just that they usually have it. Dawn Here's the abbreviations for the sources: BCHS = Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds www.rareseeds.com BURP = Burpee Seeds www.burpeeseeds.com CG = The Cook's Garden www.cooksgarden.com CON = Containerseeds.com (I only listed broccoli for this company but it probably has many of the varieties on this list) JSCH = John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds www.kitchengardenseeds.com NIC = Nichols Garden Nursery www.nicholsgardennursery.com PARK = Park Seed www.parkseed.com PINE = Pinetree Seeds www.superseeds.com VS = Victory Seeds www.Victoryseeds.com SSE = Seed Savers Exchange www.seedsavers.org SESE = Southern Exposure Seed Exchange www.southernexposure.com TGSC = Tomato Growers Supply Company www.tomatogrowers.com TT = Totally Tomatoes www.totallytomatoes.com BEANS: Roma II (BCHS, VS, BUR) Contender (BCHS, VS, BUR) Top Crop (VS) Gina (romano type) (NIC) Provider (PINE, SESE, SSE, BUR) Tendergreen (PINE, SSE) Bush Blue Lake (BCHS, BUR, PINE, SESE) Sequioia Purple Roma (BUR) Royalty Purple Pod (BCHS, NIC, PINE, SSE, SESE) Golden Wax Improved (VS) BEANS, LIMA Thorogreen (NIC) Henderson Bush (BCHS, PINE, SESE) Bush Jackson Wonder (BCHS, SESE) Fordhook 242 (SESE) BEETS Red Ace (PINE) Golden Globe (BUR, SSE) Cylindra (BCHS, BUR, NIC, PINE, SSE) Ruby Queen (PINE, VS) Burpee's Red Ball (BUR) Bull's Blood (highly ornamental foliage) (BUR) BROCCOLI Early Dividend (Territorial Seed used to carry it but I haven't bought it in several years so don't know if they still do.) Small Miracle (PARK, CON) Packman (NIC) CABBAGE Gonzales Mini-Cabbage (PINE) Red Acre (SESE, VS) Golden Acre (VS) Savoy Express (JSCH) Primero Red (JSCH) Caraflex (JSCH) CARROTS Adelaide Baby (JSCH) Short 'N Sweet (BUR) Thumbelina (BUR) Little Finger (PINE, VS) Minicor (JSCH, NIC) Mokum (PINE) Parisian/Tonda di Parigi (PINE) Red-Cored Chantenay (BUR, VS) Improved Nantes (VS) Scarlet Nantes (VS) Parmex (JSCH, CG) CAULIFLOWER: Early Snowball (SESE) Igloo (PINE) CHARD: any---they all get about the same size CORN (SWEET): Early Sunglow (BUR, NIC) Blue Jade (dwarf) (SSE) Quickie (PINE) Golden Bantam (BUR, SESE) CUCUMBER: Salad Bush (NIC, PINE, TT, BUR) Spacemaster (PINE, BUR, SESE) Bush Champion (BUR) Fanfare (TT) Picklebush (BUR) Bush Crop (PINE, VS) Homemade Pickles (PINE, VS, TT) Muncher (PINE) Bush Pickle (TT) Ellen's Family White (pickling) (SESE) Arkansas Little Leaf H-19 (pickling) (SESE) EGGPLANT: Bambino (BUR, CG) Fairy Tale (BUR, NIC)) Long Purple (BUR) Slim Jim (PINE) Raveena (PINE) White Fingers (PINE) Applegreen (BCHS, SESE, SSE) Casper (SSE) Diamond (SSE) Neon (CG) LETTUCE: any, but here's some of the more compact ones Tom Thumb (heads get tennis-ball sized) (NIC, SESE, VS) Little Gem (VS) Tennis Ball (SESE) This variety was grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello Bronze Mignonette (VS) Buttercrunch (SESE) MELONS: These would need large containers--nothing smaller than the size of a half-whiskey barrel or child's wading pool. Old stock tanks are great for growing melons too. Minnesota Midget (BCHS, SSE) Green Machine (BCHS) Sleeping Beauty (BCHS) OKRA: Little Lucy (NIC, PARK) Baby Bubba (BUR) Pitre's Short Bush Red Cowhorn 3' tall (BCHS) Vidrine's Midget Cowhorn Okra (BCHS) Choppee (SESE) Dwarf Green Long Pod (VS) ONION: any short-day or intermediate types or any bunching types PEAS: Little Marvel (SESE) Sugar Bon (BUR) Snowbird Snow Pea (BUR) Knight (PINE) Lincoln (aka Homestead) DeGrace Snow Pod (BCHS) Oregon Sugar Pod II Snow Pea (BCHS) Wando (BUR, SESE, VS) Laxton's Progress No. 9 (VS) Sugar Ann (SESE, VS) Dwarf Gray Sugar (BUR, SESE, VS) Tom Thumb (SESE) Oregon Trail (NIC) Sugar Spring (NIC) PEPPERS: almost any pepper can be grown in containers, but these few listed here are especially compact Hot: Biker Billy Jalapeno (BUR) Pizza (NIC, TT) Super Chile (TT) TAM Jalapeno #1 (TT) Thai Demon Red (NIC) Medium: Tangerine Dream (BUR) Blushing Beauty (TT) Redskin Red Bell (TT) Mini Belle Mix (TT) Mini Bell Choc (TT) Mini Bell Yellow (TT) POTATOES any fingerling type like Russian Banana, Austrian Crescent, etc. Red Pontiac or Red Norland any other potato can be grown in very large containers PUMPKINS Cheyenne Bush (SSE) Orange Smoothie (semi-determinate) (BUR, PINE) Jack-B-Little (trellised) (BCHS, NIC, PINE) Wee-B-Little (trellised) (NIC, PINE) RADISHES: any type excet the very large winter radishes or the very long Daikon types Cherry Belle (PINE, NIC, SESE, VS) French Breakfast/Early French Breakfast (BCHS, NIC, PINE, VS) Easter Egg II Blend (TT) White Hailstone (BCHS, PINE, VS) Pink Beauty (BCHS, BUR) Purple Plum (BCHS, SSE, VS) Early Scarlet Globe (VS) SQUASH (Summer): Peter Pan Green Scallop (BUR) Sunburst Scallop (PINE) Saffron (PINE) Eight Ball (NIC, PINE) Greyzini (NIC) Ronde De Nice (PINE) Cocozelle (NIC, PINE) Early White Bush Scallop (VS) Yellow Bush Scallop (VS) Papaya Pear (NIC, PINE) SQUASH (Winter): Bon Bon (NIC) Butterbush (BUR) Autumn Glow Butternut (BUR) Bush Table Queen (BUR, SESE) Bush Buttercup (BCHS) Early Acorn (BUR) Cornell's Bush Delicata (NIC, PINE) Blue Baby Hubbard (BUR) TOMATOES: You can grow some ultra-small tomato plants in containers as small as 4" (Red Robin or Micro-Tom), in hanging baskets (Tumbler, Tumbling Tom, Florida Basket) and in larger 5 to 20-gallon containers, taking care to put Determinates in 5 to 10 gallon containers and Indeterminates in 7 to 20+ containers. Here's some varieties that do well in containers. Micro-Tom (TGSC) Florida Basket (TGSC) Elfin (TGSC) Small Fry (TGSC, TT) Tiny Tim (TT) Tumbler (TT, BUR) Tumbling Tom Red (PINE, TT, TGSC) Tumbling Tom Yellow (PINE, TT, TGSC) Balcony (CG) Red Robin (TT) Orange Pixie (NIC, TGSC) Canary Yellow (TGSC) Totem (TGSC) Patio VF (TT) Patio Princess (BUR) Window Box Roma (NIC, TGSC) Bush Early Girl (BUR, PIN, TGSC) Better Bush (PINE) Bush Big Boy (BUR) Bush Goliath (PINE, TT) Bush Beefsteak (TT, TGSC) Bushsteak (BUR) Martino's Roma (PINE, TT) Sweet Baby Girl (BUR, NIC, TGSC) Lime Green Salad (BCHS, TGSC, VS) New Big Dwarf (TGSC) Southern Night (a rare black determinate since most black tomatoes are indeterminate) (TGSC) Green Grape (TGSC, VS) Glacier (SESE, TT, TGSC) Husky Red (TT,TGSC) Husky Cherry Red (TT,TGSC) Mountain Princess (BCHS, SESE) Sophie's Choice (SESE) Green Zebra (NIC, VS) Black Sea Man (TT) WATERMELON: You should grow these in containers no smaller than 20 gallons, such as whiskey half-barrels, children's wading pools, trash cans or stock tanks. Melons (and pumpkins too, in fact) need a lot of water and have very vigorous root systems so the large containers are necessary in order for them to do well. Bush Sugar Baby (BUR) Sugar Baby (BUR) Blacktail Mountain (BCHS) Golden Midget (BGHS) Yellow Doll (NIC)

2many, my dinners sure don't look like AnnT's and sometimes I forget to take pictures until after I have started eating, LOL. I think jasdip has taken a lesson from me in that way too, sometimes. It doesn't always have to be pretty, it just has to taste good. You don't even have to take pictures, lots of members just tell us what they had, it's all good. AnnT, Elery thinks he would like an espresso machine, I sure don't know where the heck we'd put it. Sleevendog, your sesame noodle bowl led me to my own supper tonight, which was certainly not pretty, but it was good. The recipe called it an "egg roll noodle bowl" and that's pretty descriptive. Ground pork, ginger, soy sauce, cabbage, carrots, rice noodles, and Elery and I both enjoyed it. I also started some lamb marinating for gyros tomorrow. I'm not a fan of lamb, but if I chop it up really finely, marinate the heck out of it, cover it with a ton of sauce, I can eat it. Elery loves the stuff, so I sometimes just cave in. Anyway, I was out of dried oregano, so I went out and dug some out of the snow. It was still green and aromatic: Over the weekend Dave and Elery were installing a pellet stove here, and so everyone had dinner here. (Everyone being Amanda and Dave, Makayla and Bud, Elery and I) Saturday we had baked ham, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, brussels sprouts, garlic rolls and gluten free brownies. Sunday we had pork loin, baked potatoes, green beans, fresh beer bread with sorghum molasses and gluten free shortbread squares. . I didn't take a picture either day, of course, because...well...I was busy and I forgot, LOL, except the shortbread: I baked some beer bread and this loaf of Harvest Wheat, filled with dried cherries, dried cranberries and pecans: I had some ripe bananas, so made banana muffins and drizzled them with caramel glaze: My dear helpful grandson was "in charge" of the dessert, and managed to stir the chocolate into the hot cream for the ganache just long enough to justify licking the whisk! Yeah, his sister was here too but she was too busy making mocha with my coffee and playing with the cat to help much in the kitchen. Yes, she's 14 and is already a veteran coffee drinking. I didn't start drinking coffee until I was nearly 30, but she's got a jump on that habit already! Annie

Thank you all! I thought I would be exhausted but it was so much fun it invigorated me. But I must confess it took me until today to finish hand washing the last of the wine glasses and I still have the tablecloths and napkins to wash. LOL /biondanonima I separated the skin from the breast, created cracklings and used them as garnish. I used the duck fat to sear the breasts.