Didn't get back to this thread for awhile... Darthtrader, have you used the "3 sisters" method? It will produce a lot... but it is meant for field corn, not sweet corn (sweet corn won't support the beans), dry beans not snap beans (you might trample the squash while picking the snaps) and winter squash, not summer squash (ditto on trampling). Essentially, it was a "plant it & forget it" arrangement; the heavy growth did not enable frequent entry for the harvest of immature crops. I have used several variations of it with sweet corn, substituting cowpeas or soybeans for beans, and using indeterminate tomatoes as ground cover in place of squash. I heartily endorse the use of cowpeas within sweet corn, as they are mostly weak climbers, and won't overload the shorter, weaker stalks of the sweet corn. Regardless of the method & varieties used, the corn & squash require a lot of space... which is what I was referring to when I mentioned that it might not be cost effective for those with smaller urban lots. CynthiaH, I once lived & gardened in the Bay area, also on borrowed land. My garden was on a utility easement near the NASA/Ames facility, and was limited in size only by how much time I chose to invest in it. In exchange, I agreed to clean up trash left by a BMX organization (bike racing) on other parts of the property, and to keep the weeds down. Except in the inner cities, there is always empty land somewhere. I gave more detailed advice on OPP gardening (other people's property) here.

"That would encourage a side spike and another blooming", but say you had seven flowers on the original spike, then you might get three or four flowers on your side spike. Just talking about most hybrids.....the specialist Phal. grower in our local orchid society doesn't worry about this stuff, after his Phals have been to three or four shows in the spring he cuts the spikes down to the base. Tolumnia hybrids do the same thing, they will form side spikes sometimes after the original flowers die but the same thing applies, the number of flowers is always less. Still, it is sometimes a handy trait on a first flowering seedling and you want to see the flower quality. A pest nibbles the tip off the developing spike and you might get a side shoot. Just looking at a developing Phal. Hybrid spike and the node covers are not green , more reddish tones. Colour might depend on light exposure and ancestry.

I would go for the white or black. "They" say that food looks most appetizing on a blue plate... My long time favorite dishes are an English red transfer ware....steak looks great but a plate of spaghetti looks awful! Over the years I have bought Le Cruset when I have found a deal...so I have and have had most colors but the newer green ones. Hands down....the food looks better in the white. However, most Le C pans now have a white interior...so unless you are taking pictures of your spaghetti and meat balls....who cares? Boy am I a messy cook!! Linda C

Hi Stellabee! I am going to point out a couple of logical flaws in your post. Please don't take it personally. I have absolutely nothing against feeding raw. I just want to give you feedback on your reasoning as posted in your reply to this thread. Foxes (wild animals related to dogs, in the Family Canidae and Sub-Family Caninae, but in a different Genus and Species) do better on raw meat. Cooked meat gives them illness. Therefore, dogs (descended from wolves long ago, so in the same Genus and Species as wolves) should not eat cooked meat. That is: Fox + Cooked = Illness Dogs = Wolves Therefore Dogs + Cooked = Illness See the problem with the logic? There is nothing to connect Foxes with Dogs. This is not a logical argument. Next you say that modern meat is deficient in nutrients because of the way it is farmed. Lack of nutrients causes arthritis. Therefore feed your dog raw meat. So: Modern Meat = Lack of Nutrients Lack of Nutrients = Arthritis Therefore feed your dog Raw Modern Meat You don't specifically say to feed Modern Meat, but I don't see any directions on what else the Raw Meat is to be made of, so I must assume it is Modern Meat. Again, the logic does not follow. You tell us to feed the dogs the deficient meat, simply Raw. How does this help with arthritis? You do not say anything to explain why feeding Raw contributes to the nutritional value of the Modern Meat. You state that the Modern Meat never had the nutrients. Next, you tell us that carbs are not needed in a carnivore's diet. I wondered about this, given that many carnivores eat fruits and berries when available. So I went to Wikipedia: "A hypercarnivore is an animal which has a diet that is more than 70% meat, with the balance consisting of non-animal foods such as fungi, fruits or other plant material.[1][2] Some examples include the big cats, dolphins, wolves, eagles, snakes, marlin, most sharks. Virtually all members of the Canidae and Felidae are hypercarnivores in their natural state, including the domesticated dog and cat." There is also a subdivision of hyper carnivores that must eat only animal-based food. They are called "obligate carnivores." Cats are considered obligate carnivores, but dogs are not. As you point out, dogs are descended from Grey Wolves. Again from Wikipedia: "Wolves supplement their diet with fruit and vegetable matter: they willingly eat the berries of mountain ash, lily of the valley, bilberries, blueberries and cowberry. Other fruits include nightshade, apples and pears. They readily visit melon fields during the summer months." So carbs are a natural part of the wolf diet. This is research that disagrees with your contention that wolves do not eat carbs. Peas are carbs. If you don't want to give your dog carbs, why the peas? Another logical issue with your reasoning. That does not mean you should feed your dog something that it has developed an allergy to, though. I would never advocate for that. You simply need to figure out what the dog is allergic to. It may not be so much a reasoning problem as it is a writing problem. Take more time with writing to make sure you are saying what you intended to say. Using the logical breakdowns like I did above will help you ensure that you are getting your message across in your writing.