Robert, I was new to gardening when we lived in Decatur, so I'm afraid I don't have notes to refer back to for specific varieties. That said, I do remember that we had amazing luck with asparagus, which grew so well that it spoiled us for the future - we have not had anywhere near the results here in Indiana and my husband and I still talk about we wish we'd thought to dig some of those plants and bring them with us when we moved. It was probably the soil rather than the variety (or those specific plants), but we just can't seem to get it established here. For tomatoes, they were just hybrids from the big box store ... I'm guessing Early Girl and Better Boy. We got dozens (like 50) from each plant and I remember being completely overwhelmed and having no idea what to do with them all, LOL. We also grew three different types of corn and got what I now know to be a good harvest, but since I was new to gardening, I was all, "OMG, there are little worms in the corn!!" and my husband kept explaining this was common and nothing to freak out about. ;) There was more -- beans, lettuce, peppers, etc. -- but again, just varieties that were available at the local stores. I was more focused on my flower garden at the time and the veggies just seemed to happen without a ton of effort. I had no idea how lucky I was, LOL. Kathy

I think some of the people commenting are missing your question. Manufacturers of plumbing fixtures and lawn mowers for example make "less expensive" lines which they pour into the big box stores. Then, at show rooms or manufacturer stores, they fill will higher end products. For example a John Deere mower will cost you more at the dealer, not because they jacked up the price, but because it's a higher end model that at the Home Depot. Most people don't wanna spend $6,000 on a mower so John Deere makes less expensive mowers. Ditto for plumbing fixtures. Your plumbing show room and Lowe's may indeed carry Moen, Delta etc. but those companies make less expensive faucets for the big box stores. There are more plastic pieces for example. That faucet may last you 5 years, but if you spend just a little more at the plumbing show room, your facet will have more metal pieces and last much longer. All a manufacturer's products will be decent, but the low end stuff ends up at the big box stores for consumers who wanna make a change but are on a budget. I see no reason why appliance manufacturers don't do the same. If you compare model number to model number exactly, then you will get the same product. However, I'm sure the big box stores and Best Buy don't even carry the high end stuff. So if appliances are anything like mowers or plumbing fixtures, you get what you pay for and YES, it's better to buy appliances at an appliance center instead of the big box stores but only because they'll have available units that the big box stores don't even get which would include more "meant to last" products.

@jwillhouse - Your plumber has a vested interest in convincing you to buy things with a markup. I can assure you that the same part numbers are the same no matter where the faucet is ordered from. As for your contract with your plumber, is it a time and materials contract or cost plus contract? Your post notes that your plumber lists retail, wholesale, and a 15% markup. If it is a time and materials contract and the 15% is the mark up from wholesale to retail, then it is on the low end of markups. If it is a cost plus contract then the markup is on his actual cost less any rebates, so the 15% should get added to what he actually paid not the listed wholesale price. In a cost plus contract, the 15% is likely unavoidable as it is still a cost even if you buy it somewhere else. Many contractors in a time and materials contract don't allow you to supply your own items. --- While it is absolutely true that you can benefit from sourcing products cheaper from sources other than you plumber, we should recognize that to some extent it is a zero sum game. Most plumbers are not getting rich off a single family home, they are just finding alternative ways to present the profit they need to make. So while adding profit to a faucet may seem like a ripoff, if all the faucets were bid at cost the plumber would likely just charge more for the installation and you would be in the same position. It can still be an advantage to you to get your faucet at a cheaper price if your plumber allows, but don't fall into the trap of thinking you are getting ripped off just because the plumber adds profit there instead of somewhere else.

I don't particularly rely on a store to provide me with repair work except for the immediate delivery of a product. I have Bosch appliances and I would contact an authorized Bosch dealer in my area or KA. Similarly my Apple computers and other devices are serviced by Apple or Apple service people once they are out of warranty - I've bought them from numerous places including mail order back in 1991 when I bought my first Apple Performa :-). @Lizzie - Hi there! My kitchen is finally finished but construction continued around me until fairly recently as odd stuff would happen - my washer dryer was a bit too deep for the closet so that had to be reframed. My hood was the wrong size and so that delayed finishing kitchen for a while because they didn't want to install cabinets on either side until the hood was put in - and didn't want to finish the backsplash etc. etc. etc. I am still not completely finished as they have to come back for various items on the "punch" list but it's livable except for the boxes which are still in the living area as I was a pack rat and I am still slowly going through stuff - and I have furniture I can't use and nobody wants :-( Apologies for hijacking the thread by responding to Lizzie but here are photos of the kitchen and dining area. I am really happy with the way it turned out and spending time (SO MUCH TIME) on houzz asking questions and reading threads helped me so much in terms of getting the best result possible. I worked with a very knowledgable designer but thanks to houzz, there was stuff that I asked for which she had never heard of like my toe kick step stools. It truly is correct that having the luxury of living in a space gives one a better understanding of what doesn't work in the space and what would make it work better because almost everybody has certain constraints that impact the design of the kitchen. In my case, I was working with a small urban kitchen in a high rise - the kitchen is 8' x 10' so I needed to expand functional storage. @Lizzie - here are a few pictures of my finished kitchen. To the left of the cooktop I have a Bosch side opening wall oven with a microwave drawer below it and a VERY shallow tall cabinet with shelves. It is in front of a concrete support beam so it is about one can deep. This is the area behind my dining area. The tall cabinet to the left can be seen in the first photo. There is a door on the side and so the KA mixer and Cuisinart can just be slid out when I need it. The tall cabinet to the right is my broom closet. Excuse the mess on the counter as this was taken just when I moved in. This shows the tall cabinets in my dining area better in terms of the appliance storage and how it relates to the kitchen counters. I had the interiors painted blue but the shelves are clad with blue laminate and the sink cabinet is also clad in blue laminate for easier cleaning. This is the sink wall. The kitchen sink is disproportionately large (36" for the space) but because it's a ledge, it is super functional since the grad which you can see to the right of the sink gives me very functional "counter" space. I can store it on the bottom of the sink and I also got the cutting board. There is a sponge caddy to the extreme left which is a narrow removable shelf which is handy for sponges and other wet stuff. My KA refrigerator is on the right peeking through. It is counter depth but not integrated but I "cheated" the look by having my lower cabinets made slightly deeper than the standard 24"; having a panel on the left side and having the cabinet maker clad the sides that protrude with matching wood. With a counter depth, you need to have it protrude slightly so the hinges are clear of obstructions but since I had those parts clad in matching wood, it fools the eye. Not part of my kitchen ha ha but this is one half of the wall unit in my office/den area. Since I have an open concept space, it relates to the kitchen cabinetry in terms of color as well as having slight Art Deco style elements. This was my sad kitchen prior to the remodel. Again apologies for taking this thread in a direction completely unrelated to the original question.