Our experiment with Kopke’s Greenhouse is almost at an end, and a recap is perhaps in order.

Enticed by ads on the liberal radio, we drove out of town in June and then again in July to visit Kopke’s and purchase some plants. We had issues with the first set, which I (foolishly) chalked up to bad fertilizer, and got another set, quite a few of which they just gave us for free as they were about to close for the year.

I should have been more suspicious.

Of the plants we purchased at, or received from Kopke’s, easily 90% died within two weeks. The plants in question or perhaps the soil we purchased from them seems to have been infested with gnats, and now we can’t get them out of our apartment. The few plants that lived were stunted, and even they are fading now.

On the other hand, a few plants I purchased on clearance at Wal-Mart, of all places, are doing beautifully. Go figure.

So as it turns out, buying local can be a real mistake, and Kopke’s Greenhouse is a complete disaster area. Stay very far away.

I publicly apologize for turning this blog into an attack on that moron Sam Harris, but torture defenders really get to me. Heh.

Flickr now has Ridgeland Harvest Weeks Eight-Ten up on the photostream, visible here:

Week 8
Week 9
Week 10

Overall we’re really happy with Ridgeland Harvest, though the broccoli has been too bitter for Jenny’s taste.

We finally got raspberries too. I haven’t had any yet.

While we were dining out for Restaurant Week, we saw our first 2010 Prius here in Madison.

Read more…