Billme, you made an excellent point that supporting gm in any way makes you complicit in it's continuation. It is my understanding that the word "may" is used because the research is ongoing. Here are some samples of ongoing research from PubMed, each concluding that more research is needed: "1: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005 Nov;71(11):6719-29.Click here to read Click here to read Links Impact of Bt corn on rhizospheric and soil eubacterial communities and on beneficial mycorrhizal symbiosis in experimental microcosms. * Castaldini M, * Turrini A, * Sbrana C, * Benedetti A, * Marchionni M, * Mocali S, * Fabiani A, * Landi S, * Santomassimo F, * Pietrangeli B, * Nuti MP, * Miclaus N, * Giovannetti M. Istituto Sperimentale per lo Studio e la Difesa del Suolo, CRA, Florence, Italy. A polyphasic approach has been developed to gain knowledge of suitable key indicators for the evaluation of environmental impact of genetically modified Bt 11 and Bt 176 corn lines on soil ecosystems. We assessed the effects of Bt corn (which constitutively expresses the insecticidal toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis, encoded by the truncated Cry1Ab gene) and non-Bt corn plants and their residues on rhizospheric and bulk soil eubacterial communities by means of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analyses of 16S rRNA genes, on the nontarget mycorrhizal symbiont Glomus mosseae, and on soil respiration. Microcosm experiments showed differences in rhizospheric eubacterial communities associated with the three corn lines and a significantly lower level of mycorrhizal colonization in Bt 176 corn roots. In greenhouse experiments, differences between Bt and non-Bt corn plants were detected in rhizospheric eubacterial communities (both total and active), in culturable rhizospheric heterotrophic bacteria, and in mycorrhizal colonization. Plant residues of transgenic plants, plowed under at harvest and kept mixed with soil for up to 4 months, affected soil respiration, bacterial communities, and mycorrhizal establishment by indigenous endophytes. The multimodal approach utilized in our work may be applied in long-term field studies aimed at monitoring the real hazard of genetically modified crops and their residues on nontarget soil microbial communities." "1: Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao. 2005 Mar;16(3):524-8. Links [Effects of Bt corn straw decomposition on soil enzyme activities and soil fertility] [Article in Chinese] * Wang J, * Feng Y, * Luo S. Institute of Tropical and Subtropical Ecology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. wangjw@scau.edu.cn An incubation test with the straws of Bt corn 34B24 and its non-transgenic isogenic line 34B23, Bt corn Nongda 61, and non-transgenic Nongda 3138 was conducted to study the potential effects of Bt corn straw decomposition on soil enzyme activities and soil fertility. No significant difference in soil protease and acid phosphatase activities was found between treatments 34B24 and 34B23; but on day 75 of incubation, soil dehydrogenase activity was significantly higher in treatment 34B24 than in treatment 34B23. The same was true for soil invertase activity on days 15,45, 60 and 75. Soil urease activity in treatment 34B24 was significantly increased on day 30, but decreased on days 45 and 75. A significant difference in several soil enzyme activities was also observed between the treatments of two Bt corn hybrids and their conventional cultivars at some sampling days. After incubation for 90 days, the contents of soil available P and K were significantly lower in treatment 34B24 than in treatment 34B23. The differences mentioned above resulted from the composition of test corn straws, which may be affected by the Bt gene transformation process. In order to accurately assess the effects of Bt corn straw decomposition on soil ecosystem, a standard classification system of soil enzyme activities should be established for different soil types from different regions." "Erratum in: Mol Ecol. 2003 Aug;12(8):2279. Effects of transgenic Bt corn litter on the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris. * Zwahlen C, * Hilbeck A, * Howald R, * Nentwig W. Zoological Institute, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland. claudia.zwahlen@gmx.net A 200-day study was carried out to investigate the impact of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn on immature and adult Lumbricus terrestris in the field and in the laboratory. Another objective of this study was to develop test methods that could be used for standard testing of the impact of transgenic plants on different earthworm species in the field and in the laboratory. For this purpose two different experiments were involved, a laboratory experiment with adult L. terrestris and a field experiment with immature L. terrestris. No lethal effects of transgenic Bt corn on immature and adult earthworms were observed. Immature L. terrestris in the field had a very similar growth pattern when fed either (Bt+) or (Bt-) corn litter. No significant differences in relative weights of (Bt+) and (Bt-) corn-fed adult L. terrestris were observed during the first 160 days of the laboratory trial, but after 200 days adult L. terrestris had a significant weight loss of 18% of their initial weight when fed (Bt+) corn litter compared to a weight gain of 4% of the initial weight of (Bt-) corn-fed earthworms. Further studies are necessary to see whether or not this difference in relative weight was due to the Bt toxin or other factors discussed in the study. Degradation of Cry1Ab toxin in corn residues was significantly slower in the field than at 10 degrees C in the laboratory. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results indicated that earthworms in both experiments were exposed to the Bt toxin throughout the whole experimental time."

From my perspective, lasagna has some special advantages. First, for a new garden in soil that is very poor in texture and/or nutrients, lasagna offers a way to grow something without trying to till organic matter a foot deep right away. You can simply dig up a few inches of soil and layer it in between organic matter layers. While deep tilling may provide a similar result, this is much less work, at least on a small garden scale (not tractor-sized). Second, you don't have to have compost, you can start with ingredients and compost them in place. Labor and time of handling materials both saved. Third, the decomposition process itself appears to provide a highly active and enriched environment for plant growth, due to the high microbe and nutrient levels. I don't know if people do it continuously or whether it's more of a startup method for poor soil until it's more improved. I did it once with a small bed in poor clay converted from lawn, and was impressed with the results. Is it viable for a farm? Maybe not. As long as it works, you can call me strange all day long. :-D

Prizewinner is a Cucurbita maxima. The standard pumpkin you are used to growing is a C. pepo. The yellow color is completely normal and not the result of cross pollination. A lot of C. maximas (but by no means all) start off a color other than green. Prizewinner pumpkins typically get very large (100 - 200 pounds). If you leave only one pumpkin per plant they will be bigger than if you let several grow on each plant. I don't know if you know what they will look like but their appearance is different than that of your standard orange pumpkin. Out of the big C. maxima pumpkins prizewinner, in my opinion, has the nicest shape and color.

It seems really unnatural for me to have stayed out of this thread. Some of you may remember that when I showed up here about 5 or 6 years ago, I was all about favorites! Still, the original poster asked about "our area" and specifically, Salt Lake. I don't garden in Utah and since most of the gardeners on this forum live in Colorado, that seemed to be the "our area" that was closest - certainly, eastern Colorado is closer to Utah than the ID/WA border up here on the 48th parallel. Maybe I have something to contribute here and really, I think that everyone gardening in or near the mountains of western North America may. (or like Wally, have gardened there in the past.) BTW - Xaroline in Calgary would spell it "favourite." Yes, Wally, I like beans and corn. Fortunately, Dear Wife and I can agree that tender and sweet are important for corn but we don't agree on beans. I want one with lots of "beany" flavor (flavour ;o). I swear, she wants one that just looks like a bean! Mollycoddling the plants just doesn't seem possible in my gardens. There's too much exposure to the elements. The climate here always goes quickly from too cold for good spring growth of the warm-season crops to too hot and dry for good summer growth of cool-season crops to long hours of darkness with a wide range to daily temperatures as we move into the fall. I am always looking for varieties that can "do their thing" quickly and can just hold their "edge" just a bit as the weather changes. I have one location that is more protected from the wind and there is also a section of it that has a good deal of afternoon shade. I like to grow greens in this garden. Summer Crisp (aka Batavian) lettuce Nevada seems to do especially well but, really, the Butterhead lettuce Nancy does fine and most any lettuce variety gets along well in this environment. Asian greens are a big deal with me. They are quick and easy -- like lettuce, I am not waiting for them to develop a fruit or seed crop. Summerfest Komatsuna was an especially big find for me last fall and I'm really looking forward to growing this tender mustard-type green in the spring. Another tender and especially mild Asian green is Maruba Santoh - tender and mild enuf for salads! Acorn squash seems like a good choice where the maturing of the fruit is problematic. Strangely, I don't like the flavor of acorn squash from my garden - maybe it is a soil problem. Burgess buttercup nearly always comes thru but doesn't keep past Christmas. I just don't think it matures adequately for long-term storage. Last year, I grew Cha Cha Kabocha after a number of tries with other kabocha squash and Cha Cha did real well! Generally, I don't have any trouble with any cherry tomato. For a larger variety, Big Beef and Goliath have done real well for a number of years. And, Rainy's Maltese is a wonderful early heirloom! Maybe we have a little more of a Mediterranean summer than what might be expected . . . an early variety of something-or-other from that part of the world might be worth trying. A Galia melon, Passport, has not failed me over nearly 10 seasons of growing. I can't claim that it is the sweetest or most flavorful but Passport has come thru when my other melons, even those that succeed most years, have failed. Perhaps, I need to spend some time on an Israeli kabbutz and see what besides Galia melons are grown!! (I am also thinking about the mountains of Spain . . . :o) Eggplant? Yeah, if I can keep the potato bugs off them! Eggplant with small fruit always seem to work and I like the long green Asian types but I want to use eggplant in a casserole and that means nice slices so Dusky comes thru for me on that. Still, those green eggplants are less likely to be bitter - AppleGreen gives me a r.o.u.n.d eggplant that isn't real big but makes nice slices. And big slices of sweet onions! Oh yeah, I grow Utah onions! But, maybe I should be more happy with my Walla Walla, eh? I know that Skybird keeps singing the praises of Royal Chantenay but carrots in my soil have real problems with splitting - including that one. The Nantes type do about the best. I grow pretty Brilliant Celeriac, tho'! Well, it isn't pretty - no celery root is gonna be pretty. But, it tastes real good mashed with potatoes! And, for potatoes - I'm coming to understand why Yukon Gold is so popular. There are other choices for spuds, tho'! Corn - mostly just going with an early SE type seems to work. My neighbor keeps talking about Kandy corn but either he grows it and it fails or he just talks about it. Kandy corn just takes too many days, I think. Sugar Buns was real tasty last year but I am still not sure how I'll replace SugarSnow when I finally run out of old seed for that white variety. Bodacious & Ambrosia come thru for me. And finally, green beans: I'm happy to have King's Banquet as an old fashioned climber in my garden. Really, any bush bean does well and I can continue planting succession crops right into July. I like the flavor of Greencrop and Purple Queen but DW goes for Jade. (I don't know if this helps anyone but there are some of my vegetable garden favorites. :o) Steve