I have read most of these post...yet I still do not seem to see an answer for me...I have lemons, maybe a handful that have been growing for almost 10 months! and still are green as grass....Are they ripe? Can I eat them? Or do I need to just say "Hey, it will take a year and a half to get a yellow lemon?"..it is for sure a meyer lemon plant..*sigh* Oh I live in mid to north Georgia..Highs are low 90's and cools are 68ish..

both of these are tried and true on the forum. They are very good! MEYER LEMON MARMALADE 6 Meyer lemons (1 1/2 lb) 4 cups water 4 cups sugar Cheesecloth Kitchen string 6 (1/2-pint) Mason-type jars, sterilized Halve lemons crosswise and remove seeds. Tie seeds in a cheesecloth bag. Quarter each lemon half and thinly slice. Combine with bag of seeds and water in a 5-quart nonreactive heavy pot and let mixture stand, covered, at room temperature 24 hours. Bring lemon mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 4 cups, about 45 minutes. Stir in sugar and boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and skimming off any foam, until a teaspoon of mixture dropped on a cold plate gels, about 15 minutes. Ladle hot marmalade into jars, filling to within 1/4-inch of top. Wipe rims with dampened cloth and seal jars with lids. Put jars in a water-bath canner or on a rack set in a deep pot. Add enough hot water to cover jars by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Boil jars, covered, 5 minutes and transfer with tongs to a rack. Cool jars completely. Cooks' note:  Marmalade keeps, stored in a cool, dark place, up to 1 year. Makes 6 (1/2-pint) jars Gourmet- December 1999 MEYER LEMON AND VANILLA BEAN MARMALADE 1 1/4 pounds Meyer lemons 5 cups water 5 1/2 cups (about) sugar 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise Pinch of salt Working on large plate to catch juice, cut lemons in half lengthwise, then very thinly crosswise. Discard seeds. Pack enough lemons and any juice to measure 2 1/2 cups. Transfer to large nonreactive pot. Add 5 cups water; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand uncovered overnight. Measure lemon mixture (there should be about 5 1/2 cups). Return to same pot. Add equal amount of sugar (about 5 1/2 cups). Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Add pinch of salt. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Attach clip-on candy thermometer. Maintaining active boil and adjusting heat to prevent boiling over, cook until temperature reaches 230°F, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Transfer to jars. Cover and chill. (Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Keep refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Makes about 4 1/2 cups. Bon Appétit February 2005 AnnieÂs notes - When I let the lemons sit over night and then measured, I had 4 cups, not nearly 5 1/2, so I added 4 cups of sugar (sugar equal to fruit). I scraped out the vanilla beans and then tossed the pod in for good measure. I fished the pod out before jarring up the marmalade. It's yummy, kind of sweet. The vanilla adds a different dimension of sweetness, not distinctly vanilla but still sweeter than the recipe without the vanilla bean. Annie

I love just stuffing dates with gorgonzola. Talk about a loss of restraint...... I've posted this elsewhere, but in case anyone is interested: Chicken & Gorgonzola 2 large chicken breasts, cooked & diced 1 cup red onion, caramelized 1/2 small sweet red pepper, chopped fine 2 oz Gorgonzola, crumbled 3/4 cup mayonaisse Salt & black pepper Paprika Combine first seven ingredients. Sprinkle with paprika. I had devised this, originally, as a filling for certain small peppers called Aji Flor or Orchid Peppers. But it works well as a straight chicken salad, served on a bed of greens.

I am sorry you used the advice of the Home Depot "experts". Here is a quote from Al Tapla who developed the 5-1-1 mix: I can say that I haven't actually used cedar bark/mulch to grow in, so I can't comment on the practice directly or from actual experience, but I can say that because the tannins, as well as terpenoid and phenolic compounds cedar is rich in are known to be allelopathic (inhibit growth) to many other plants, I have discounted the likelihood that it would be a suitable choice for me. :-(