Well, here is a revised version of my grow list. The entire thing is 9 pages long, so I think I'll leave off the flowers for now : ) HERBS: Basils - Red Rubin, Genovese, Lime, Mrs. Burn's Lemon, Sweet Black Cumin Chamomile, German Cilantro, Slow Bolt Dill Feverfew Lemon Balm Marjoram Oregano, Wild Zaatar Parsley, Big Italy Perilla, Moonlit Seas Stevia Summer Savory Tagetes lucida (aka. Mexican Tarragon, also called Sweet Mace) - I've read it can be used for pesto Thai Red Roselle - 2nd attempt, not much luck last year LEAFY SALD STUFF: Amaranth, Red Leaf Arugula Lettuces - Freckles, Nevada, New Red Fire, Mascara, Simpson Elite, and Tom Thumb Orach, Rose BEANS: Haven't got these figured out yet. Probably have over 40 kinds to choose from. CARROTS: Jaune de Doubs, St. Valery, Touchon Long, Lunar White, Tendersnax, Nutri-Red CUCUMBERS: Homemade Pickles, County Fair, North Carolina Heirloom, either Mexican Sour Gherkin or West Indian Gherkin (any recommendations on those?), and still trying to decide on a long slicer, maybe Armenian? GROUND CHERRIES: Aunt Molly's, Giant Cape Gooseberry, and Pineapple MELONS: this is another work in progress, but I'm leaning towards Honey Rock, Sierra Gold, Noir de Carmes, Collective Farm Woman, Rocky Ford Green Flesh, Cream of Sascatchewan, Blacktail Mountain, and maybe Sweet Siberian PEAS: Sugar Ann, Sugar Snap, Super Sugar Snap, Lincoln PEPPERS: I have spent WAY too much time on this list, and I'm still unsure, but here is where I'm at now. (The more I work on narrowing the list, the more things get added!!!) Alma Paprika - this is a definite, love it! Anaheim Beaver Dam Boldog Hungarian Spice (paprika) Botinecka Zuta Cascabella Chervena Chushka Chinese Giant Keystone Giant Feherozon (paprika) Giant Szegedi Gourmet (orange bell) Healthy Lipstick Mariachi Poblano Patio Red Marconi Red Cheese Senorita - one of my favorites last year Soroksari TAM Jalapeno Sweet Pickle and maybe Tollie's Sweet Italian RADISHES: Cherry Belle, Early Scarlet Globe, Easter Egg, French Breakfast SQUASH: Bush Zuchini, Bush Buttercup or maybe Delicata, Gold Nugget, some type of acorn squash, and a pie-type pumpkin ... so now we are down to the really troublesome list ... the tomatoes. Honestly, I only have room in the garden for 8 plants, and can fit a couple in an earthbox, but I may be able to squeeze a couple more in at the community garden. TOMATOES: Reds: Neves Azorean Red Pinks: Giant Belgium Caspian Pink Earl's Faux Lancaster Pink (maybe) Soldacki Rainy's Maltese (trying again) Blacks: Amazon Chocolate Black from Tula Cherokee Chocolate Indian Stripe Orange/Yellows/Bicolors: Hillbilly (maybe) Gold Medal Striped German Cherry: either Chocolate Cherry, Brown Berry, or Black Cherry ... can't seem to decide Paste: Amish Paste Okay, folks, there you have it. The almost complete growlist for 2010! Whew! I need another cup of coffee Bonnie

Tricia, I asked a friend and college faculty member for suggestions, and here is what she said: Here is a list from University of Maryland that would be a good start for her: http://anmp.umd.edu/files/Soil_Lab_Comparison_4-13-12.pdf The list is useful primarily for contacts--the descriptions were developed for the consultants working with UMD nutrient management plans. A+L http://www.al-labs-eastern.com/Default.aspx can analyze samples for at least some environmental contaminants--it may depend on what she's looking for. I don't know if UDel can do so in a speedy manner. Does she already have a list of contaminants she wants to check for? If so, she can check A+L's price sheet, or I can contact one of my colleagues in CT to see what they're recommending for post-Sandy analysis. I couldn't find any of that info easily online. Broad spectrum contaminant testing would be very expensive. Maine's state lab can also do that testing: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/public-health-systems/health-and-environmental-testing/inorganic.htm#organics Again, the key is to know what she's looking for. Without so many words, for nutrients my suggestion is A+L, being sure to choose the S1 test for nutrients. Let me know if I need to get more input on contaminant analysis, or if she only needed the lab. Hope this helps, and that your friend is able to a have good garden this year!

Some things are just so bloody good, : ). I do make my own scrapple and sent out 'kits' one x-mas with a recipe to family that misses it from our youth. (our favorite home town brand is Rappa) It is just polenta with spices heavy in sage...and pork. Like a southern dirty rice, Louisiana, or Boudin that uses rice. Offal in the NYC area can get pricey. My local international store went bankrupt... : ( Bags of goat were a bit expensive. Trotters, guinea pigs, (rats, lol) were way over what i would spend. Fresh pizzels were $9 a lb. Simmering cod britches, (roe), sent DH out the door for fresh air. I love it, he hates it. I grew up on scrapple, he did not. And he loves it. A friend not familiar hates it. I do keep chicken paws in the freezer and marrow bones and beef neck bones for stock and dog treats. Just one chick paw, snipped nails, is so good in a veggie stock. (obviously not for a vegetarian), but makes a good veg stock without a strong chick or meat flavor. I've sampled a bit over the years from travel...goat heads in Greece...and a good friend wants the cod eyes after grilling..."you go girl !"...but not for me. I take shrimp tails from everyones plate and pop them back on the grill, skewered, for a bit of crisp and eat them like pop corn...where did that come from?... I love it and i've never met anyone else that does that. My love of soft-shelled crabs? (sooo much flavor wasted!) When we lived in the city, our sunday out was a favorite sushi place in the east village. Dh ordered a special....looked like a delicate tiny noodle....I pointed out, after a good taste or two that each tiny noodle had two eyes on one end and were alive and wiggling. haha

@sleevendog -- thanks for the wonderful image of a bunch of people rushing the beach to harvest winkles! The little white wigglers sound like a form of whitebait -- perhaps shirasu (baby sardines). Whitebait is also found throughout Europe --- and also in Japan I think they have a small dried fish that smells terribly. Once in Taiwan I had even slightly larger fish, the size of minnows, that were scooped up from a tank, dunked in batter and then dropped in oil. They pretty much swam away until they cooked solid, in distorted curls. It was a tough lunch to stomach. @marcopolo --- uni is technically the gonads of the sea urchin, which somehow makes it the whole thing sound worse. But go to a sushi restaurant and you may see it offered. A nearby hybrid Japanese-Californian fusion place has "Uni Flan" on the menu.