How did I miss this post.... Winners: Red Haven Peach - Still my favorite peach so far Muscadine grapes (All of them) Blueberries (All of them) Violette de Bordeaux fig (Always delicious).. but it dies back to the ground each year.... Black mission fig (Always delicious) American plum (Magically delicious jelly) Yates apple Horse apple Loosers: Brambles - Bitter.... All of them (Black, Rasps, Boysens, etc..) 2013 is going to be their make or break year.... Sugar queen peach - Worthless rotten ball of bugs.... Dug it up. Esophaus Spitzenberg apple - Fireblight destroyed it. Still on the bubble: Rebecca's gold Pawpaw - 3 years old and 12" tall... It's going to go away next year if it doesn't kick into grow... Pakistan mulberry - This is going to be it's last year if they don't taste better.... Concord grapes - I think it's too hot. Don't get reliable ripening. Fuzzy kiwis - 3 years old and no flowers... Roadside dug up peach - Small, green, and very bitter/inedible fresh till it's fully 100% ripe... but bugs and rot don't bother it... Ripe flavor is getting better every year.... "Elberta" peach - I don't think it's actually an Elberta... No fruit this year. Methley Plum - Reliable, but I'm not real enamored on it's flavor... I classify this plum in the "A bird in the hand" category so to speak... Italian prune - Too hot in full sun. Transplanted to the shade and it seems to be recovering. 2013 is it's make it or break it year... LSU purple fig - tastes "Grassy" until LATE in the season, then it's barely on par with all the other marginal figs... I don't like it - except that the kids like eating fresh figs off the tree early - and this gives them some fruit.... Thanks

My standout new plant this year was by far Gallardia "Oranges and Lemons". It was the last plant blooming in late Nov after frosts and made tireless stands of beautiful, bright flowers all summer long. I just deadheaded whenever I walked by, and this plant took care of itself. I sure hope it comes back this spring. If not, I will buy another one as an annual, it was THAT GOOD. Agastache "Tutti Frutti" did very well, making a 3 ft small bush that was always beloved by hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. I would like to find a closer place to put one next year so I can better enjoy the creatures that love it so much. Perhaps as part of a container planting on the patio... Disappointments are Monarda "Jacob Cline" because it won't stand upright. It sprawls sideways, etc and is not the look I had hoped for. Nor did it bloom very well this year. Same story for my Gallardia Goblins in same bed, now they did bloom profusely, but not standing up. Instead they flopped all over the place and were a distraction to me. We'll see if they come back too. Not sure what to use in their places if they don't comeback or perform well enough. I need hot colors for a full sun, dry bed in front of house. Sections needing a 3 ft tall upright grower and sections for about a 2 ft tall upright grower. Suggestions ? Thanks in advance !

And again in the catagory of "everyone's taste preferences are different" - I absolutely love the Coyote's I grow here in NW Pennsylvania. My mother (75 yrs. old) having grown tomatoes most of her life, also likes them a great deal. From all the bad comments on it I would be tempted to think I didn't have the real Coyote, but my Coyote's fit the descriptions I have read of the variety. Indeed it would be a boring world if we all liked the same thing! LOL! Karen

In my opinion, I think they are starving to death. Yes, the bedding is food for them, yada yada yada, but I think they need some food. Some coffee grounds and a piece of lettuce isn't going to cut it. If you don't eat much fruit or veggies, do you have any friends or family members that do? Any time I go to a family get together, I take home produce that is going bad in their frig (with their permission). If someone at work is eating a banana at lunch, I ask if I can have their banana peel. I explain that I compost, I don't go into the whole worm thing. Some grocery stores will give you produce that is going bad and they're going to throw away. Going to a picnic? Take a couple gallon ziploc bags and put the watermelon and cantaloupe rinds in it to take home, along with any leftover veggies from veggie trays. After Halloween, ask your neighbors if you can have their pumpkins when they're ready to throw them away. Cut them up and put them in your freezer for worm food. Worms LOVE pumpkin. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. I started out with one worm bin, and now have 6. Deanna