Oh, this is about animals but little off subject, GF in Wis had nephew go to China last winter, he emailed her about the pig farms!! He is a vet. dr. so works with animals & couldn' understand having pigs all over but no smell, guide said, see those people with those containers, they run around after the pigs & clean up poop & it is taken & turned into fuel for heating.Only fresh poop works tho. That was 1 of many interesting things he learned on trip. I hear 1 of Carolina's is full of pig farms & it could be new fuel source altho I think we would have to import Chinese folks to clean up after the pigs as don't think anyone over here would do it. About goats I lived on farm for short time when 5 & we lived in basement house, every time I stepped outside the billygoat knocked me down,I sure hated that critter!!Mom didn't like the farm either so we left after about 3 mos. If I see a goat I go the other way.Jan

Foof! I always figured you were in Whatcheer... I guess the zone should have clued me in that you weren't. I was in C.F. today helping my sister plant some flowers and could have brought you up some small pieces of epimedium but hadn't been on this website for a few days to see your message. If you're ever in I.C. let me know; the azaleas are starting to bloom, so it's a nice time of the year! in a couple of days i'm going to take some pictures of some of the epimediums to put on my garden blog. Here is a link that might be useful: An Iowa Garden

Yeah, it's that one that folks don't know the name of. :) Seriously, no, there isn't a plant with the official name of Mystery Plant. You see monikers like that tacked onto ordinary plants in those cheap Sunday supplements and low-end garden catalogs to entice naive gardeners. And sometimes people just attach a "name" like that to a plant cuz they don't know the real name, and then pass it along. Although many folks have an aversion to scientific names, this is why they exist. Common names are all over the map, and are often unhelpful in telling you what plant you've got. Get a little more info from the guy, anything he can remember about the plant such as plant habit (e.g. bushy and clumping? running like a groundcover? etc), height, leaf shape (e.g. strap-like? heart-shaped? etc) and arrangement (e.g. rosette? growing off the stems? etc) and flower shape (e.g. daisy-like, petunia-like, etc), bloom arrangement (e.g. in a flat-topped cluster? single bloom? in a spike? etc) and flower color. With that info we could take a good whack at getting an ID. Marty

I have updated my trade list. The latest version can always be found at http://www.houzz.com/gardenWebTradeList/user/anthony-gatlin. For convenience, I have published a copy of this list below. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AVAILABLE FOR TRADE For trade, I have the following seeds available. Acorn Squash Cantaloupe Pepper - Myoung Ah's Gucho Korean Chili - Great! Pepper - Anaheim Pepper - Bell Pepper - Korean Wax Pepper - Jalapeno Pepper - Habanero Pepper - Poblano Raspberry - Late Maturing (matures in Fall) Wildflower Mix Myoung Ah's Gucho Korean Chili Peppers are delicious peppers of medium heat (between a Jalapeno and a Serrano), average about 4 inches in length, and are great producers. We have planted this variety for several years and each plant tends to yield well over a hundred peppers in a single season. We use them for frying, for making Kimichi, and for drying and making into crushed red pepper. The Wildflower Mix came from CheapSeeds.com and includes bachelor button (cornflower), blue flax, California poppy, Shirley corn poppy, cosmos sensation, Chinese forget me not, sweet alyssum, flax, rose mallow, larkspur, lupine, mountain garland, African daisy, white yarrow, bluebell, catchfly, Chinese house, dames rocket, coneflower, evening primrose, and more!, It is a really great mix. Cuttings Available Blueberry Brown Turkey Fig Persimmon, normal Persimmon, giant Rose, red miniature These cuttings are all currently being rooted. WANTED ITEMS I am interested in most any heirloom (or commercial) vegetables of any variety as well as many fruits, herbs, and flowers. Here are a few items of particular interest to me but I welcome most anything. Vegetables Beans - Green/Snap, Lima Beets Cabbage - Chinese, Korean (e.g. Napa) Corn - especially varieties of sweet corn and possibly popcorn Eggplant - Any kind but especially very large eggplants and asian varieties Garlic Kale Leek Onions - green, red, yellow, white or whatever! Parsnip Peas - Cowpeas--all varieties, Blackeye Pumpkins Pepper - Any kind! (Currently have Chiltepin, Jalapeno, Habanero, Korean Chili, Pablano, Serrano, Numex). Don't currently have any kinds of sweet peppers but would be pleased to get some. Radish - Any Kind! Lettuce - Romaine Rutabaga Shallot Spinach Squash - Any kind but especially looking for Butternut and Spaghetti (Currently have Acorn, Yellow Straightneck, Yellow Crookneck, and Zucchini) Tomatillo Tomato - Any kind!!! (I have been fortunate to already receive Black Krim, Cuore di Bue Beefsteak, Marianne's Peace, Red Calabash, Grape, Wild Cherry.) Fruits/Nuts Almond Apricot Banana* Cacao* Fig - Any Kind Grapefruit* Jujube Korean Pear Mango* (Oh how I love Mango!) Melon - Any kind--especially Cantaloupe, Honey Dew, Korean, Watermelon (have Crimson Red). Would like some small watermelons like Sugar Babies or similar. Orange* Papaya* Peach Plum - Any Kind Strawberry Vanilla* *I am interested to grow these in containers in a greenhouse. (Yes, I understand that starting fruit and nut trees from seed will yield trees which may be significantly different from their parents.) Herbs Anise Basil - Any kind - (Have Sweet Basil,Purple Basil) Caraway Cardamom Catnip Echinacea Fennugreek Feverfew Foxglove Ginseng Heartsease Horny Goat Weed Lemon Balm Marjoram Mint - Pennyroyal, Spearmint, Chocolate - Any Kind Parsley Salvia Divinorum Sage Sorrel Stevia Tansy Tarragon Wild Yam Wormwood Yarrow Yellow Bedstraw Any Medicinal Herbs or Plants Flowers African Violet Anise Hyssop Artemisia Bee Balm Bellflower Bergenia Bluestar Candytuft Carnation Catmint Chrysanthemum Clematis Creeping Phlox Crepe Myrtle Crokus Cup Plant Daffodil Dahlia Delphinium Freesia French Marigold Gardenia Geranium Gerbera Ginger Gladiolias Golden Marguerite Heliconia Heliotrope Hosta - Would love to have several different varieties. Hyacinth Hydrangea Iris Lamb's Ears Lily - Any Kind! Nasturtium Pasque Flower Peony Pussy Willow Roses - All Kinds! Russian Sage Saffron (Crocus Sativus) Salvia Sedum Siberian Iris Tulip Verbena Veronica Any other flower :) Other Coconut Coffee Neem Rubber Tree Willow