Thanks farmerdill. I will tell my uncle that RN and YG are earlier than IC. I'm pretty sure I don't have too much N in the soil, was trying to be careful about that but had no idea about timing of watering (other than I was supposed to water when I saw flower buds since that was when tubers were forming) and/or temps affecting size of potatoes. I thought conditions were good during June, we got just over 4" of rain but it mostly came 3/4" - 1" at a time and we did have a couple of 90+ degree days in a row end of May, then 60-70's again, then a couple more 90+ days in mid June, plus insect damage/stress. What I thought was LB in early June was probably drought stress. I really thought potatoes spread out, that's why I didn't find any a week ago, b/c I was trying not to get too close to the stems. I did mulch heavily enough to protect against greening, but would hilling with more dirt help produce more potatoes next year? As I understand, it's an old wives' tale that they produce UP the stem, they really only tend to be at the same depth (just above the seed piece?). I left a few marble-sized ones, and am going to water now since it will be 88 tomorrow. Maybe I'll get a few more. But I planted 4.3 lbs of RN, got about 12 lbs (on bathroom scale), 2.88 lbs of YG got about 8 lbs, 2.3 lbs of RP and so far only about 4.5 lbs but they are still blooming. Is that a decent yield for new potatoes, esp. under dry conditions and a first-year farmer? Unfortunately I couldn't produce enough for the wholesale customer who wanted them today, so I have 24 lbs to sell at market tomorrow. Thanks

I always thought that a cobbler made or repaired shoes, but some sources say that cobblers only repair them. Oh well, whatever. We're close enough, I think. :-) You're all right about the last being the form around which a shoe was shaped. It appears that the expression was most commonly meant to be a bit of a rebuke to somebody who gives opinions on matters beyond his knowledge. This, from the World Wide Words site, is where it may have come from: The Latin writer Pliny recorded that Apelles, the famous Greek painter who was a contemporary of Alexander the Great, would put his pictures where the public could see them and then stand out of sight so he could listen to their comments. A shoemaker once faulted the painter for a sandal with one loop too few, which Apelles corrected. The shoemaker, emboldened by this acceptance of his views, then criticised the subjectÂs leg. To this Apelles is reported as replying (no doubt with expletives deleted) that the shoemaker should not judge beyond his sandals, in other words that critics should only comment on matters they know something about. What Pliny actually wrote was ne supra crepidam judicaret, where crepidam is a sandal or the sole of a shoe, but the idea has been expressed in several ways in Latin tags, such as Ne sutor ultra crepidam (sutor means "cobbler", a word still known in Scotland in the spelling souter). The best-known version is the abbreviated tag ultra crepidam, "beyond the sole"... Good job on this, my friends. for Cynthia and Libby, and for Annette and Nancy. TM

WONDERFUL PEACH COBBLER (serves 8) 8 cups sliced fresh peaches (4-5 lbs) 2 cups sugar 3 TBL flour 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 1/4 tsp almond extract 5 1/3 TBL butter Pastry for a double crust pie Combine peaches, sugar, flour & nutmeg in a large saucepan. Let stand 20 minutes until syrup forms. Bring peach mixture to a boil, reduce heat & cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat; blend in almond extract & butter, stirring so the butter melts. Preheat oven to 475°. Butter an 8x12" baking dish. Roll out 1/2 the pastry on a floured surface into an 8x12" rectangle. Spoon 1/2 the peach mixture into the buttered dish; top w/the pastry rectangle. Bake 12 minutes. Spoon the remaining peaches over the baked pastry. Roll out remaining pastry & cut into 1/2" wide strips. Arrange over the peaches in a lattice design. Return to the oven & bake 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.~~from Peachtree Bouquet

Iron Skillet Blackberry Cobbler  2 tablespoons Cornstarch  1/4 cup cold water  1 1/2 cups sugar  1 tablespoon lemon juice  4 cups blackberries, picked over, rinsed & drained  1 cup flour  1 teaspoon baking powder  1/2 teaspoon salt  6 tablespoons butter, cold, cut in small pieces  1/4 cup boiling water In a large bowl, stir together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Add 1 cup sugar, lemon juice, and blackberries; combine gently. Transfer to a cast iron skillet, about 8-inches in diameter. In a bowl, combine the flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1/4 cup boiling water and stir the mixture until it just forms a dough. Bring the blackberry mixture to a boil, stirring. Drop spoonfuls of the dough carefully onto the boiling mixture, and bake the cobbler on a baking sheet (line with foil to avoid a mess) in the middle of a preheated 400 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes or until the topping is golden. Serve warm.