Re: Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades: The Complete Guide to Natural Gardening by Steve Solomon (2002, ISBN 1570612404) I tried to order this through Borders here in Oregon a few weeks ago and they have finally told me today that they can't get it because a new version is coming out and this one isn't available anymore. Has anyone heard about that? It's also not in stock at Amazon or Barnes&Noble. I was down at Powell's last week - should have checked to see if they have it there. No used copies available at Amazon. B&N has used copies of his older books on same topic. I've recently moved here and have already fallen behind, I think, on getting in some vegetable starts/seeds. I'll be growing in raised beds (once I get them made) similar to square foot gardening, as the best areas for sun in my yard are on gravel and concrete. Plus raised beds are easier on my back and knees! Any other recommended veggie gardening books? I'm just east of Portland in Troutdale. Thanks ...

I don't post here a lot, but I do on the Canadian forums. I lurk here :-) I don't grow a lot of tomato varieties but I do grow for quality. This year I have one plant, grown form a seed of the original Gordon Graham tomato. He has the world's record largest tomato according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Through good fortune and a friend, I was able to trade for just a few seeds from Gordon Graham's world record tomato. I got one to germinate, so I have one tomato plant that is a direct child of his original! I do grow other tomatoes but I'm really excited about this one! We had a very bad tomato year last year with lots of BER. This year I planted the tomatoes in my good lasagne "wine" garden, dug in lots of old manure, a little lime and one Tums tablet in each hole. The same friend who gave me the seeds above, told me that a Tums will help supply the calcium the tomatoes need to help prevent BER. So I'm trying it. It's easy and cheap, so I figured "Why not?" We'll see how it goes. Needless to say, I baby that plant! In addition to that one, I am also growing our own heritage Portugal beefheart tomatoes (see link to pic below), San Marzano, Manitoba, Ailsa Craig, and Rev Morrow long keeper. Here is a link that might be useful:

No, never really thought about it being cold. Maybe on cold days, but concrete stays at about the temperature of the outside. We get afternoon sun, so it can heat up. I spend most of my time on the porch in the early mornings. We have been in our home almost 7 years, and just recently bought an area rug for the porch. The walls are a stucco look alike over concrete board. Re-sealing is very easy! I use a mop or sealer pad and a small jug of sealer from Lowe's. Just vacuum, clean and then mop each square with sealer, in even strokes. Let dry 24 hours and it's done.

Here are some salient reviews of The Interestings: "The Interestings", a go even though I'd been disappointed by her last novel. I'm glad I listened to them! "The Interestings" is indeed interesting - AND well written, thoughtful and both witty and touching. I can make the case that "The Interestings" can be considered a historical novel of the past 4 decades; I call that "recent" history because I can remember it! Reading about the 1980s for example, brought back memories of: - the first cases of AIDS and how bewildering that was - the first cordless phones - mugger-full and dirty NYC - the first soapy taste of the now ubiquitous herb cilantro - the Moonies - "Women's Lib" being the term to describe feminism This novel is full of such memories because it's about six friends who meet in a summer camp for artistic kids in the 70s and it follows their lives into the present, touching on each decade as they make their way to adulthood. The novel moves quickly and is never boring or slow as many things happen to each of these people as they face their lives. It felt voyeuristic - in a good way - to follow their ups and downs. I could relate because I also "grew up" at the same time. There is a bit of jumping around in time and significant foreshadowing which I found to be an effective story-telling device here. There are many "themes" in the novel; friendship, the nature of art, the meaning of "talent", loss of innocence, sexual attraction, and the relationship between art and money, to name a few. But I think the theme that interested ME the most, was the theme of envy and it's ugly and corrosive nature. Let me get this out of the way right now: this is a tremendous book. I have a couple of criticisms, which I will get to, but hot damn. Meg Wolitzer has written an astonishingly clever, detailed novel, and the utmost respect must be given to that. Remember this book, because it will definitely be popping up again when people begin compiling best-of lists for 2013. But let's talk about the novel, shall we? In 1974, six teenagers meet at a summer camp for the arts and jokingly refer to themselves as The Interestings--exactly the kind of ironic, half-kidding-half-hopeful joke that captivates them at that moment in time. The six run the gamut of the art world: a dancer, a musician, an animator; an actress who wants to further the cause of feminism in theater, a wannabe architect, and a comedic actress. The latter character, Jules, forms the center of our story. Significantly, she's also the outlier. Jules isn't an artist when she ends up at Camp Spirit-in-the-Woods. It's unclear how she found her way to a camp for artists when there were so many different options out there (one of those woefully nitpicky details that nevertheless irked me); she simply wanted an escape from her family and the grief they all feel after the abrupt death of her father from cancer. What's important is that she's an outsider in this world when...