Regarding did I try to post this on the container gardening subforum; yes I did, but it's been completely ignored. As far as what size containers will my melons be grown in; I basically plan to grow one melon plant per 5 gallon container. Somebody else who does container gardening, says they do this, and have had success with it. There are my parts of gardening I enjoy, but I'm NOT a do-it-yourself type person; it's not something I'm good with, that's why I'm asking for help with how to build these containers. Trying to construct them by myself, I basically have no idea what I'm doing. However I did have one question regarding melons. Supposedly they grow better if grown in groups rather then by themselves. So I'm wondering if it would be better to grow them in groups of 3 in the 5 gallon container, or would this end up doing more harm than good? Not to be rude, but I don't know how big to make my cages (with the length, width, and height). That's one of the questions I asked, and didn't really get an answer to.Yes I know that I didn't provide the dimensions for the vining types of melons that aren't bush types. However it's because I can't find that information; I can't provide to you information I don't have. From my experience with vines you really don't need to train them I think. If you provide them something to climb on, won't they just latch onto it? I've tried to ask the seed catalog companies who provide the seeds, what the dimensions of the plants are for the melons, the honeydew (Honey Pearl) and cantaloupe (Tasty Bites). They said they don't want to mislead customers, because how big it gets is subjective; it depends on so many factors......how good the soil is, how warm it is, how well fertilized the plant is, etc. Somebody said with traditional vining types, the vines can get very long. What determines how big I need to make the cage? Is it the length of the vines, or the height of the plant itself, or is it a combination of both of these factors? That is to say if the vine length of a melon plant will reach 15', then should I make the cage 15' high? This is just hypothetical. How big would I need to ask them to cut it to size? I really suck with math, and I don't know what the dimensions of the plants I'm growing will be. Typically how large with the height, width, and vine length do honeydew and cantaloupe melons get? I'm asking because I cannot find this information via the internet. I don't know how big the vines will get. However I do know with container gardening, that plants are typically smaller, and whatever you harvest will be slightly smaller; it's just the nature of container gardening. So hypothetically, even if the melon plants are well fertilized, grown in good soil, well watered, etc.....are the vines of the plant just going to be smaller due to the fact that plant is grown in a container? By the vines and plant being smaller, I mean they'll be smaller in general in comparison to if they were grown via the 'conventional method' that is to say, in a plot in the ground in hills.

Whistle - Here you go.... 1. Scalded the milk and cooled it. Mixed warm milk, warmed water and o.j., egg and agave nectar (or honey if you are using it) in the bottom of the pan. 2. Mixed together flours (and vital wheat gluten and flaxmeal, if used) and add to the top of the liquids. 3. Add the yeast to the top of the flour. (Note I added the fat and salt later during the kneading. It takes stress off the bread machine with this much bulk to mix the dough WITHOUT the salt. The gluten develops quicker, and once the salt is added, the gluten strands tighten up making kneading a little more difficult. 4. Set Zo. on QUICK DOUGH. Press START. 5. After 5 minutes of mixing/kneading, be sure to check to make sure the dough has the correct hydration and adjust it if you need to. You want a nice soft dough ball. 6. After 10 minutes of kneading (or when it looks like the gluten is developing nicely, add the melted butter and salt. When the add-in beep sounds, add 1/2-3/4 c. multi-grain cereal (if using it - I milled a mixture of barley, rye, triticale, spelt, oats and rice). 7. When the kneading is complete, remove the dough from the pan and place in a dough rising bucket (or however you normally work your dough). DO NOT allow the dough to rise in the bread machine because this is more dough than suggested for the machine. 8. Allow the dough to rise to just under double. Punch down. Divide dough (I had 3 portions that weighed around 1-lb. 2-oz. each. Round the dough (so you have the ball formed into a tight ball with NO shaggy edges from the dough being cut, and the gluten strands are going from the top to the bottom of the ball), cover (I use plastic wrap) and allow to rest 10-15 minutes so the gluten can relax. Form, cover (plastic wrap), and allow to rise to just under double...... I made one portion into 9 dinner rolls (8-inch square pan) and baked the bread in 8"x4-1/2" NORPRO pans, but I also use heavy-gauge Calphalon pans that are the same size, or will use some ancient Bake King loaf pans that are 7-1/2"x3-1/2" (for dough amounts between 12-16 ounces). If the dough is over 1-pound, I'll use the larger pans. I baked my loaves to 200°F. when tested with an instant read thermometer. -Grainlady

Aw, this thread had me cracking up right up until the deaths in the family. I'm sorry, John! Reality crashes down yet again. However, if you're still auditioning meatloaf recipes, this one might not touch the cheesy bacon versions, but it's the only meatloaf this non-meatloaf-eater has ever liked...and my meatloaf-loving, late FIL said it was the best he'd ever had (of course, he was probably just happy to have someone cooking for him). ;) I had to find this online since my DH packed up my cookbooks. My preference is for the mustard topping. Great flavor, good way to hide veggies (but not strongly flavored veggies like spinach), and still recognizable as meatloaf. Doesn't hold it's shape as well as some (possibly because I tend to over-process the veggies). S-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d Meatloaf from "Cheap, Fast, Good" Cookbook 2 large eggs 1/2 cup tomato juice (or tomato-vegetable juice such as V8) 1/4 cup ketchup 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 cup dry bread crumbs (packaged or homemade) 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats (not instant) 6 cloves fresh garlic (or 2 tablespoons bottled minced garlic) 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, optional (or 2 tablespoons dried parsley) 1 medium-size carrot 2 ribs celery 1/2 medium-size green bell pepper 1 large onion 1 pound lean ground beef, defrosted if frozen (85 percent lean is recommended) Cooking oil spray Mustard-Brown Sugar Topping or Ketchup Topping Mustard-Brown Sugar Topping 2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar, packed 1/4 cup prepared mustard Ketchup Topping 1/4 cup ketchup 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar Cooking Directions Preheat the oven to 350�F. Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Add the tomato juice, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and black pepper. Stir well. Stir in the bread crumbs and oats. Set aside. Peel the garlic cloves, if using fresh. Turn on a food processor and drop the garlic cloves, one at a time, through the feed tube. Process until finely minced. Then drop the fresh parsley leaves (if using) through the feed tube and finely mince. Peel the carrot and cut it into roughly two-inch pieces. Cut the celery into roughly two-inch pieces. Core and seed the bell pepper half and cut it into roughly two-inch pieces. Add the carrot, celery, and bell pepper pieces to the processor bowl and pulse until the vegetables are cut into very small pieces (but not soupy). Transfer the vegetable mixture to the mixing bowl, along with the bottled minced garlic and dried parsley (if using). Peel and quarter the onion and place the quarters in the processor bowl. Pulse until the onion is cut into very small pieces (but not soupy). Add the onions to the mixing bowl and stir to mix well. Add the beef to the bowl and, using your hands, thoroughly combine the meat with the vegetable mixture. Spray a large loaf pan (about 10 x 6 x 3 inches) with cooking oil spray. Spread the meat mixture evenly in the pan. Use the back of a spoon to spread the topping of choice evenly over the meat. Bake, uncovered, until cooked through, about one hour and 10 minutes. Let rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Mustard-Brown Sugar Topping Stir the brown sugar and mustard together in a small bowl until smooth. Ketchup Topping Pour the ketchup in a small bowl and add the vinegar. Stir until well blended.

I have had the same problem with bread tins, including the non-stick type. I hate using oil/shortening because it eventually burns onto the tins (anywhere you don't have bread dough or whatever covering the oil) and you can't get it off without using oven cleaner. Parchment paper is my best friend. I realize that it is virtually impossible to form fresh parchment paper to the inside of a bread tin, BUT, if you crumple it up really well first, it is pretty easy to fit it into the pan. Although I haven't actually cooked bread this way, I just did a test run with shmooshing up the paper to see how it would work and it fit. If you are really nervous about the paper, you could spray it with a vegetable oil type spray before you put the loaf in, but I'm pretty confident you won't need it. I'm going to try this myself with the next batch of bread I make. The other really great thing about parchment paper is you can flip that hot bread out onto a rack very easily without risking third degree burns!