This should be of help to you, tumblingtomatoes: http://www.westville.org/documents/Pre-1850Substitutes.pdf Another helpful website is Old House Gardens for the bulbs Here is some help with herbs. I make many of the herbal items found here: http://www.civilwarinteractive.com/Herbs.htm (not that I have a particular interest in civil war gardens, but I am interested in historic gardening of all types and eras). This is interesting too: http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_cuisine.htm since so many people crave foods from their homelands or what they grew up with, it is natural that African Americans had some favorites I have gotten a lot of information from reading historical fiction. It seems to be a great source (the author has done all the work for me!) of information to research. I take it with a grain of salt, and use the information to seek out more concrete information for myself. At the same time I often have a great read! Happy Gardening, girlgroupgirl

Revolutionary War did you say!!! I live in a Loyalist Town settled in 1783, Birchtown home of the first black settlement is just 5 minutes from the Town. (Although my family is French Acadian- where the Louisana Cajuns came from after the expulsion in 1755 Nova Scotia). History lessons here today. Anyway -- back to the war--sure wish I could send you some hosta. I have Revolution, Patriot, Loyalist, Liberty, Independence, Pilgrim, Old Glory, Pathfinder, and may get a Victory in a swap. Got them just because I like them. I am growing two Loyalist Hosta for the Loyalist Black Heritage Society in Birchtown, their building burnt down a couple of years ago and they and our Town had 225 yrs celebrations last year, so when they are ready for them they are here. Also, yes there were and still are some holes in the foundation. Had the old deck taken off last year and new smaller one built. Guy down the road pointed up the foundation above ground, but guess what the gutter above the front door leaked (now fixed) down onto the ground and soaked through and ran into the basement. Will have to dig up and get it fixed. Same thing happened 1 1/2 yrs ago when I had to have a new waterline run from the well at the back of the house.Guess again where the water went. The drain in the basement gets full of the silt that comes in with the water and so I have a submersible pump with a hose out the basement door for the heavy rains. Old houses what a joy, what a moneypit. But I like it here. Sorry I raved on so. You never know who you have something in common with. Glad to talk with you. Betty

If you visit Gettysburg, check out Devil's Den, Little Round Top, Pennsylvania Momument, and the Peace Light Memorial on the battlefield. You can also tour President Eisenhower's house and farm while you are there in Gettysburg. You get the tickets for the tour at the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center. Then a shuttle bus takes you to the farm. On the square of Gettysburg is the David Wills house. At that site, you can visit the bedroom where Lincoln stayed and wrote the Gettysburg Address. Check the Dobbin House while in town. This building is the oldest building in town. The Dobbin House Tavern is in the basement. The servers dress in period costume. The main floor is a restaurant. Another interesting place to see is the Shriver House on Baltimore Steet. The tour shows you what it was like to be a civilian in Gettysburg during the war. You get to visit all four floors of the house. This historic home is furnished the way it would have looked at the time of the war. The tour does a great job of showing how the war personally affected the Shriver family. The Adams County Historical Society at the Lutheran Theological Seminary has many interesting items from the Civil War. This is a gem that many tourists miss when they come to town. It is free. These are my favorite spots in Gettysburg. This post was edited by dmickey on Fri, Jan 4, 13 at 23:12

repo- have you tried a pullout system? I ask- trying to be helpful- cuz I have both- a pullout system and pullout shelves. I much prefer the shelves for accessibility and practicality. I have the system in one pantry as it is side mount and that left me room on one side for brooms/etc. So for that instance, it was the best solution. but when you pull them all out at once, you lose the ability to reach in from the top, so you either can't stack things to maximize space or you can only reach in from the sides. I also really liked the look/idea of the pullout shelves while shopping (Of course there wasn't anything in them at the time), but am really glad that now I didn't buy one for the main pantry. Having said that- Lee Valley is a good source, and they have incomparable customer service- and will stand behind their products. They are very well-priced too! Here is a link that might be useful: Lee Valley