I have to bag all of my fruit or spray them; there too many insect pests already flying about or soon will be emerging to not bag my fruit now. I am using the cheapest bag that I can find, right now that is the Wal-Mart store brand. As far as cutting a V notch, I probably will just make a straight cut in the zipper. Since that you guys think that it is not necessary to remove the excess above the zipper I probably will leave that too. I know that the excess wonÂt be a problem on the pears. Some of the apples may be a different story though. The reason that I am bagging this year is mainly because of the Apple Maggot Fly, they are the bane to my fruit growing efforts. Even though I am bagging I am still going to set out traps for the AMF to try to continue to reduce their population. In addition to the traps for AMF I am going to use beneficial nematodes to get those that may still be in the soil. I have a question for those of you who are much more experienced in bagging fruit. I want to do this right from the start, I donÂt want to have to go back and cut more out. How much should I cut out of the corners? Thanks again, David

My Walmart has been accommodating when I bring my bags, and most cashiers are very willing to put as much stuff in as few bags as possible. They are even selling reusable bags as well. If you have a Trader Joe's around you, they have a raffle if you buy one of their reusable bags, or bring bags to reuse. I'm not sure how long it will last, but you get a ticket, and a chance to win another reuseable bag with $25 worth of groceries inside it! Pretty cool idea. I get a $0.02 discount per bag I use at my local store. Dee, I had to laugh about your story about your husband wanting bags...my mom called me one day all excited..."you won't believe what I've done...I bought those reuseable bags at the grocery store, and I love them", then at Christmas she and my aunt kept telling me the "green things" they had done this holiday season. I was very proud of them, but the best was the baffled look on my cousins faces, like why are they telling you that! (I'm active in my church's global warming group, which my mom and aunt are always hearing about)

Start with chocolate-coated mint leaves! Dip the leaves in melted chocolate, or paint some over the leaves. That's it. IMO, it's best with peppermint, but spearmint is nice, too. Or try these: Frosted Mint Leaves 1 egg white, lightly beaten castor sugar mint leaves Lightly brush each mint leaf with the egg white, roll lightly in the castor sugar and place the leave onto a cake rack. Leave for about an hour while the egg white dries with its crust of sugar. Use to decorate cakes, pavlova etc or as an after-dinner treat. Mint Jelly (2) 2kg tart apples 3 cups strong mint water 2 cups white vinegar sugar To make mint water, steep 500g mint in 3 cups water overnight. Next day, chop apples and place in a pan, barely cover with water. Cover and simmer about 1 hour until apples are soft. Strain. Combine apple juice, mint water, and vinegar and strain again. Measure and place in a pan, adding cup for cup of sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to boiling and cook rapidly until the jelly will set. Bottle and seal. Serve with meat, especially lamb, or on toast, in sandwiches etc Mint Liqueur 2 cups any fresh mint leaves, except eau de cologne 3 cups vodka 2 cups white sugar 1 cup water 1 teaspoon glycerine Use mint leaves only, stems removed. Measure 2 cups of snipped leaves and put with the vodka in a large glass jar with a non-metallic lid. Stand for two weeks, shaking occasionally. Strain and discard leaves. Combine sugar, water and bring to the boil, then cool. Add to mint liqueur base, add glycerine and stir to mix. Pour into a sterilised jar and leave for at least 6 weeks to mature. Sip a small amount to aid digestion either before or after a meal, or enjoy with after-dinner coffee. Mint Sauce with Syrup Half fill a small bowl with golden syrup, leave a few hours to thin. Chop mint leaves and fold them into the syrup to make a thick paste. Transfer to screw-top jars. To serve, take a small amount and thin it down with vinegar. This sauce will keep indefinitely and does not need to be kept as cool as mint jelly. Serve with roast lamb. Mint Cookies 1 cup butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon ground dried mint leaves 2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt Cream butter and sugar. Add mint, flour and salt. Mix thoroughly. Chill dough. Form small balls and roll in sugar. Press with thumb in the centre. Bake at 180C for 12-15 minutes. Mint Syrup 2 cups water 1 cup mint leaves, loosely packed 4 cups sugar food colouring, optional In a saucepan, bring the water to the boil. Remove pan from heat, stir in the mint leaves, cover, and let steep for 5 minutes. Strain out the leaves. Bring the liquid to the boil again and add the sugar, stirring until it is dissolved. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the syrup is reduced by about one-third. Add colouring if desired. Pour the syrup into small, sterilised jars and seal. Place the jars in the boiling-water bath and process for 5 minutes. Other herbs can be prepared in the same way. Make extra of everything, and send the excess to me! LOL!

I usually use zip locks (after a couple slices are off)for just weekend baking but last Christmas I had picked up decorated ones from JoAnne's they were actually for cookie trays. after we tied them up had to trim them a little. I ended up making over 12 loaves - white, polish sweet, cinnamon, Houska, quick breads, didn't have much money (don't this year either! so a baking I will be in a week or so!!! Dough hooks on a mixer - a wonderful thing!