I grow Galaxy, no problems at all with it, in fact it's one of my better growing streakers, has kept the streaking beautifully. You do have to keep an eye on all the streaked ones though just in case they start to revert to something unstreaked in which case you remove that part of the hosta. I don't do anything special with the more pricey ones, they all go into the ground, don't really have a vole problem though. I do know of a couple of places where Galaxy is cheaper than that. If you would like the source you can e-mail me from my page.

If you got your seeds from Burpee and sowed them and that is what produced this "odd" vine and fruit, there is no way it is the result of a cross-pollination from that season's pollens anyway. Any cross-pollination that might have transpired would not be evident until growing out the seeds from that crop of fruit. It is however possible that there was an oops in packaging and a seed was from some other variety that it wasn't labeled for OR if it is a hybrid variety the seed that produced the "odd" vine/fruit did not adhere to the expected/typical rules for F1s or their breeding program OR if a hybrid, that seed's genetics had reverted to traits of one or both parent plants different from what was expected OR if not a hybrid, Nature had simply stepped in to alter the genetics and provide a "new strain". Nature is very good about messing with us. :) But these "flukes" are often the beginning of new varieties that are much loved. It happens not only with seeds, but also one will hear of "sports" from mother-plants with variations off of the expected. The only "catch" with saving seeds from the "odd" one would be what it cross-pollinated with. If you only grew the one type of melon and no one else within a certain radius grew melons, you can feel relatively safe in knowing it crossed with just the one variety you were growing. Keep that DOCUMENTED. If others were growing melons, find out what kinds so you can keep documentation/notes of the *possible* cross(es) made with other varieties. Do grow out the seeds it produced if it was a good melon in your opinion. If you are lacking enough space to grow all of the seeds in the next season, ask other reliable gardeners to trial the seeds with you. This "testing" is common, gardeners helping each other out by growing things, documenting relevant information not just on form but also habit, flavour or scent, etc. AND saving seed while insuring it is "pure"/not crossed with other varieties. It also allows you to find out how a variety or strain does in different climates and conditions, which reliable/reputable gardeners will additionally keep documentation on for you. If it was a hybrid strain to begin with, try to find out what varieties were used to create it. Most seed companies guard their hybrid "recipes" to prevent anyone else from profiting off of them, but it never hurts to ask.

Something I LOVE, but rarely buy due to it usually being sold in huge sizes for single me, is something called a hubbard squash. It is sort of football shaped, but rounder. Has deep furrows. Sort of looks like a huge acorn squash, but the colors of the rind are a little bit different. Sort of a bluish green, and perhaps I have seen orange ones. Anyway, the flesh is very orange. I have heard a rumor that it is hubbard squash that is used in canned "pumpkin." It is real tasty, but I can't eat it up fast enough to warrant buying it. I have made pumpkin pie from a fairly large, ubiquitous pumpkin. Not sure if it was a prime pie variety but I doubt it, a friend bought it. It was OK, pie tasted good, but yes, a stringier texture than what we are probably used to.

Mike: There is a lot of Chinese quartz bashing here, but I've seen no evidence that the Chinese quartz is a worse product than any other. The only way the big boys can compete against the low cost producers is by innovating with better colors/particulates/movement such as Cambria does and planting doubt in the minds of consumers about non-Breton products. I don't know why the quartz world won't soon be like the solid surface world. Livingstone is Corian without the name, but fabricators can buy it for $299.00 a sheet, a price that makes the executives at DuPont shiver in their shoes.