Thanks Ruthie and Jim. I realize that they are not for everyone, but I really do like them. I guess that one of my favorite meals is some of them along with some hot buttered cornbread, fresh cream style corn off the cob, new potatoes, and sliced tomatoes, meat optional, don't have to have it. The only tomatoes out of the garden that I have so far are some cherry tomatoes, but they sure do taste good, and it won't be long before I start getting some . I think that they are healthy, easy to raise and being legumes fix some nitrogen in your soil too. I have started finding a few stink bugs showing up in the garden, and just late this evening found my first hornworm, but one end of him looks atrophied like perhaps one of those parasitic wasps may have already done him some damage. He had already got the leaves on . When I tracked him down and located him, he was waving that damaged end like he was in agony of something. I put him in a glass jar with a lid and some leaves in there with him to see how he looks in the morning. Bill P.

Good morning, I read the article http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/jul/18/conservation.food about the Carruther's Purple Podded pea, though I was looking for seeds of the Carlin pea. I have been a member of the Seed of Diversity program for many years. It was the first time I read about the Carruther's Purple Podded peas. I heard about the Carlin peas in the teleseries on the Victorian Garden Kitchen by Peter Thoday and Harry Dodson a few years ago. I grow heirloom and traditionnal vegetables and have done so for about 30 years. If some of these seeds are available in Canada (so that I could obtain some, preferably by trade) - the Carruther's Purple Podded pea and the Carlin pea, I would like to know where I could address my request. It could be an exchange of seeds since I grow the Monk peas and other beautiful varieties that we cannot find in commercial catalogues. I welcome any kind of help in this.

Hi Grampe, Utsharpie's advice above is correct. A good hydroponic garden that uses a growing medium is far better off using a medium that is completely inert, i.e., contains no nutrient. Using mulch, whether bark chips or lawn clippings defeat the purpose. Now for the size of the medium. This depends on how you are going to operate your garden. I use coarse sand with the fines screened out. There are a few 3/4" stones in it but that does not bother me. The average sized particle would be a bit less than 1/8", which means that I can plant most seeds directly into the medium, which would not be possible with 3/4" stones. Frequently, one needs to dig into the medium with ones fingers ... which is much easier with coarse sand than with larger sized gravel. In effect, it boils down to how you wish to run your garden. I invite you to see my site below for more ideas. Jimr007 Here is a link that might be useful: Simple Sand Hydroponics

Good news, random width is affordable. Will probably copy "pattern" below. Wish I did it on the first floor (have walnut there), but I didn't know about random width when I made that choice. It was before I realized you should - research every decision. :-) THANK YOU everyone, your comments really helped me. The lack of a clear winner with a good reason for that choice, helped confirm my decision to do random width even if it cost a little more.