Hi, I think you and I are the only ones here on this forum. :-( Try this link. The folks at Cornell haven't updated the sources in a few years, but this should give you places to look. Then you can check the individual websites. Good luck. I grew Indy Gold last year and didn't have the best luck with them, but all my beans suffered from drought. I'm trying "pencil pod" this year. It has higher ratings on this site. Laura Here is a link that might be useful: indy gold ratings and sources

Thanks, Bob. I'll bear that in mind. *********************** Bboy, thank you for your nice post. Yes, no-till farming relies heavily on herbicides. For awhile, that was all the rage but don't hear that much about it anymore. I was an organic home gardener for many years and I've heard all the arguments on both sides. I am now part of a group project with several other growers who have chosen to adopt policies that rely on conventional methods approved by the TX A&M University Extension Service. I have come to trust our academic people and no longer (I once did) garden by rules based more on ideology than practical reality. I have an open mind on the subject, and choose organic pesticides (bt, Spinosad, copper hydroxide) whenever feasible - as do our other growers. We plant genetically modified cultivars when available, such as Attribute corn, to minimize insecticides. We always choose the least toxic product that will do the job, wait double the labelled days to harvest and thoroughly wash all produce under sanitary conditions. I've accepted chemical weed control and fertilizers, though, as an unavoidable reality and avoid products that are known to have direct health risks - such as Vydate nematacide for example. Most importantly, we "religiously" (it is a church project LOL) follow label instructions to the letter and use nothing that's not approved first by our extension agent and tech adviser. It seems to me that most certified organic producers cater to an upscale market clientele that is willing to pay extra for organically produced vegetables. It's just a business decision and our customers are not oriented that way at all. It's mostly an upscale suburban market and we are in a very rural area with a lot of poverty. They won't pay us anymore than WalMart prices - except for tomatoes, that is. Our tomatoes taste like tomatoes! :-) Jack

I would be sure that I attend all meetings and that decisions are made as a group or at least at the board level by a quorum of that board. I agree that the driver tip is excessive. I also agree that you need to be honest with the public from whom you are asking donations and let them know you are at goal and what you intend to do with any excess. I can see rolling it forward to help next year's trip, but I do not see continuing to fund raise this year. And I too look at the situation from the perspective of a schoolboard member, but remember this is a private organization too. Hope they are following their bylaws.

I would argue that it's not an efficient use of resources to use compost as mulch. All carbon locked in the matrices of living tissues follows a gradient. Just as water always runs down-hill, carbon always seeks to be released back into the atmosphere as CO2. A much larger portion of your surface-applied carbon will be lost to photo-degradation and microbial respiration. Much of it will primarily benefit freshly germinated weed-seeds. Yes, some of it will get pulled down by the critters, but we're talking relative efficiency here. Mineral soil acts as a substrate for the carbon to cling to; it "wets" the surface of the soil particles/colloids, so the more you can incorporate it into the mineral soil, the longer it will take to pool&cascade up the chain of consumer organisms, back to its ultimate source/sink, the atmosphere. Additionally, it is plant roots which uptake CO2, so more readily available carbon *in the root-zone* is more beneficial to your plants. Mulch should ideally be high C:N ratio. This helps it last longer in the service of limiting light required to germinate weed seed, suppressing weed growth, cultivating microbe populations, and moderating temperature/moisture fluctuations. Considering the amount of time/energy required to produce/distribute quality compost, I think it wise to treat it with some amount of thoughtful reverence. Cheers, Shane