Yup... Nightcrawlers have been decimating my carrot seedlings for a couple of years now. I have ruled out other things such as slugs, damping off, earwigs etc. I mulch my garden pretty heavily, but the carrot beds were intentionally left clean to avoid competition for the emerging seedlings.. The poor worms were just hungry. They came up, looked around - nothing to eat except carrot seedlings - oh well, better Garth's carrots than nothing... chomp - chomp - replant - chomp - chomp... So I started mulching the bed with grass clippings and more seedlings survived. Ready to do war again this year. Perhaps I will string bright lights over the carrot bed. I simply have too many worms in my ultra rich organic soil. They know a good thing when they find it. I have photos of the stockpiles of debris over their holes. Amazing critters.

Glib, are chestnut weevils not a problem in northern Ohio? I know there are cultural controls that can help a lot but chestnuts from just a random yard tree are mostly no good in my area of North Carolina. My vote would be for a hardy kiwi (actinidia arguta), very simply because they're so delicious. They're also very ornamental and could probably tolerate some shade if need be. They're virtually pest and disease free, but they require substantial work with trellising and pruning (but that's the kind of work I enjoy.) They seem to be reliable producers in some locations but very unreliable (if not reliably unproductive) in others (due presumably to frost damage, poor pollination, and/or difficult pruning), and I think that would be the greatest strike against them, although I'd still bet on hardy kiwis before I'd bet on something like no-spray peaches in northern Ohio. I don't know if blueberries would be as easy to grow there as they are here, but if so blueberries would about be a tie. A northern highbush blueberry might be as easy as a rabbiteye is here, but North Carolina soils are probably more broadly suitable for blueberries than Ohio soils. Here blueberries are one of the easiest fruits to source from other good local sources, though. The best thing about blueberries here is just the combination of fruit quality and trouble-free productivity. As has already been said, the versatility of apples (fresh eating, pies, applesauce, sweet cider, hard cider, cider vinegar...) and the potential to enjoy them over most of the year (with early and late and good storage varieties) makes a great argument for apples, although pest and disease difficulties (which may be a little lighter in northern Ohio than here) definitely detracts from their case, especially if you'd like a no-spray option. I could also be happy (insofar as I could be happy with any one fruit) with a persimmon, either a native or an Asian hybrid like Rosseyanka. A persimmon is a very ornamental option, especially comparing it to other trees (as opposed to vines and bushes), and to me it's such a visually appealing fruit (even when others might think it looks half rotten as the ripe native fruits kind of do), and that visual appeal really adds to the enjoyment. I think it would be the easiest to grow and most adaptable fruit of the four I've mentioned. If you had asked about my location, I might choose figs over all the others.

This is a late post, but I wanted to put a word in for Glenn Drowns great selection at Sand Hill Preservation Center as he has 2 exclusive varieties which make my list. 1. Open pollinated Big Boy, for the reason Big Boy with care produces large harvests of a sprite tasting, not too tomatoey, but acidic tomatoe which is cleansing to the palate and one can never tire of. RL (regular leaf) I (Indeterminate) 2. Backfield, this is an early tomatoe of robust tomatoe flavor, huge, huge yields, dark red, hardy plants which ripens all at one time. Spectacular flavor on a determinate plant.. This tomatoe makes other early types like Silvery Fir Tree which is a good early tomatoe taste like those bland store types. It is that good in the heat and is pretty too. FL, D 3. Red Pear, huge yields of cherry tomatoes with Beefstake quality if one allows them to ripen in heat. RL, SD will need staking. 4. Azoychka, A light acidic version of Big Boy in a yellow tomatoe. Very hardy in extreme conditions, germinates well in cool sprouting and has very good yields of good sized fruits. RL, I 5. Rose, this is like most pinks in a work horse for a later tomatoe. It is huge, meaty, plants that resemble weeds for thickness and being tough. The fruit is meaty and sweet and under right conditions will be fruity. (only problem is one must cut the fruit from the vine as the plants are unwilling to give up their treasure.) RL, I Also mentions, Black Krim but one would tire readily if you had to eat just them as they are heavy on the palate. Riesentraub for the Campbell's type juice if you like that. In an additional note, people need to be warned that Brandywine is a musty flavored tomatoe which does have a smooth or slimey type flesh. This tomatoe is one which is the reason why so many people who first taste tomatoes say they do not like tomatoes. It is very distinct. Most people prefer the sweet types like Rose. Sweet types or heavies like Krim will tire people in eating them by the peck. That is why I mix and rely on the acidic types as they allow one to different flavors to keep on eating tomatoes.

Oh my, I eat so many Asian vegetables that many people might find unusual. Bok choy, gai lan, gobo root, mizuna, gai choy, yu choy,shingiku,winter melon and others I don't know the names of. Jessy,I love Shiso (Perilla) too, and copied your recipe to try it out. When I make tempura, the Shiso leaves make an interesting and attractive tempura. I like seaweed too, the crisp Nori sheets, the Wakame, and also Hijiki. Not too many people I know (who aren't Japanese) have had Hijiki. One buys it dried and I have found that the Japanese brands are of better quality than some less expensive, non-Japanese brands I have bought in Chinese markets. I don't use a recipe, since I have been making it for years, but I found this one on the net, and the proportions sound about right. My only quibble with the recipe is the part about soaking it for 30 minutes. In my opinion, that would make it far too squishy. I soak it for about 10 minutes, and then rinse it repeatedly to make sure it's clean of sand and grit. It will soak up plenty of moisture from the other ingredients and still retain a bit of crunch. NGREDIENTS * 30g dried hijiki * 1 piece abura-age (thin fried bean curd) * 1 small carrot * 150ml dashi * 2 tbsp sugar * 1 tbsp sake * 2 tbsp soy sauce Hijiki no nimono HOW TO COOK Rinse the hijiki well until the water runs clear, then soak in plenty of water for 30 minutes. Put the fried bean curd in a sieve and pour boiling water over it, to remove excess oil. Cut in half lengthways and then into strips. Cut the carrot into fine strips. Place the hijiki, fried bean curd and carrot in a pan, then add the dashi, sugar and sake, and bring to the boil. Cut out a round of cooking foil slightly smaller than the diameter of the pan, and cover the hijiki with it. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce, then simmer again until the hijiki absorbs the broth. I love fiddleheads, but can get them only rarely around here. But there is a bracken fern that grows in areas on the coast that is very good to eat. You pick the fern shoots in the Spring when they are still quite tightly curled up. I use a good number of edible flowers in salads. Right now I've got alyssum, roses, nasturtiums, and pansies. I can't think of a fruit I would consider unusual, maybe Lychees? I do have a penchant for Moroccan preserved lemons.