heirloom junkie: there's nothing that grosses me out in the compost except I won't put bread in there (in homage to annpat) or any type of poop. Other than that, I rip up all boxes (cereal, frozen lunches, any/all cardboard)rather than recycling them and junk mail and envelopes without the window plastic stuff. Even Diet Coke cartons...I AM an addict. I used them for lasagna beds last year and they did break down nicely under the other stuff I threw on top. So I figure eventually we eat mostly everything I buy that isn't metal or glass. RE: nuts (in the pile, that is) DH eats tons of peanuts in the shell. They of course go into the compost but break down very slowly. Last year one of the grandkids said, Grandma, your growing peanuts? Cool! Good lesson on composting for the little dumpling. Oh, don't compost dumplings, they're like bread :)

Hortster you can wrap cheeses in various herbs so that they cause changes in flavor. I have seen a French cheese wrapped in thyme leaves and stems at Whole Foods that smelled very interesting. Had to purchase whole cheese so did not buy. The first class is a natural for herbs since you can add herbs to fresh and soft cheeses along with just topping a fresh cheese with herb leaves. Think cheese dips etc. Take the class then bring your cheese to next years HPS dinner.

My 2010 garden in Nebraska: Garlic - planted in 2009, harvested in 2010. Grew 7 varieties, narrowed down to 2 for 2011. Onions - First year in a while I planted sets instead of plants. Weeds took over during cold wet weather and the plants never recovered, poor harvest. Spinach and lettuce - both bolted right away for me, if it wasn't for fall spinach from 2009 that overwintered I wouldn't have had any greens. Brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi) - Did real good, until... I made up a Bt spray to combat cabbage worm, and misread the instructions on the wetting agent, used 10x too much. Burned everything, the only plants that recovered were some kohlrabi on the end of the row that didn't get a full blast of the spray. Replanted broccoli and the bunnies ate em. Peas - tried Cascadia and Sugar Lace snap peas, they grew well and produced great - until I got sick and couldn't get out to pick, then the wet weather encouraged slugs. Still got enough to eat plenty and freeze some. Bush beans - planted a Romano variety and a regular variety which, as it turned out, had pods almost as flat as the Romano. Got a couple good pickings before the cucumber beetles turned them into Swiss cheese. Tomatoes - planted a hybrid paste variety for making sauce, and a couple beefsteak types for eating. Did okay. Peppers - planted sweet bells, they did middling well. Cucumbers - started Diva, Diamant and Cool Breeze indoors and transplanted out, grew on trellis. With all the cucumber beetles I had eating beans, zinnias, celosia, dahlias, and every other flower I was growing, I had very little damage on the cucumbers - go figure. More cukes than I could eat, can and give away. Cantaloupe - first time I grew them, lost the first to the squirrels but got 3 more after that. Watermelon - after years of trying I finally managed to get two of them that were ripe when I picked them! I consider that a win.

Making cheese, at least making hard cheese, is not easy. Previous threads here about making mozzarella, cottage cheese, paneer and other soft, non-aged cheeses said those were not difficult. I jumped right in over my head and tried making cheddar two or three times. It was not successful. I expect to try again. You need the book. The instructions you have are not enough. Unfortunately, even the book may fall short of giving enough detail. It's usual to keep cheese making cultures in the freezer. Feta is made from sheep's milk as well as goat's milk, but sheep's milk would be even harder to find and more expensive. Cost of milk is a factor in cheese making. Most of the feta I buy is domestically made from cow's milk and I think it's fine. For economic reasons, I don't plan to refine my taste. Already I can't enjoy any lesser blue cheeses than Maytag. The New England Cheese Making Supply Company has a good web site with lots of info and everything you would ever need for making cheese. They are a good company to do business with. Have fun! Jim Here is a link that might be useful: New England Cheese Making Supply Company