inside. Use them like little time capsules or part of a treasure hunt. And, of course, the covered jars look like pretty jewels in the garden.

1. Cover any used jar (keep the lid) with flat-bottom marbles (also sold as 'florist stones' or 'glass gems'). I use GE Silicone II sealant (clear, waterproof) as an adhesive.

2. Mount the lid on a post or dowel.

3. Attach the jar.

Notes and tiny treasures can be added at any time.

Full instructions, material list, and sources are listed on my blog here: http://www.empressofdirt.net/gardentreasurej...

reaches a full size and the fruit becomes a pale green, it begins the ripening process. After the tomato reaches a stage when it's about ½ green and ½ pink, a layer of cells forms across the stem of the tomato- sealing it from the main vine. At this point there is nothing moving from the plant into the fruit. At this stage the tomato can be harvested and ripened off the vine with no loss of flavor, quality or nutrition.

Red pigments in tomatoes don't form above 95°F so tomatoes ripened in extreme heat will have a orange-red color. Tomatoes held indoors at cooler temperatures will ripen slower. You can speed up or slow down the ripening process by raising the temperature (to an optimum of 85°F) or lowering the temperature (to a minimum of 50°F). Tomatoes develop their optimum flavor, nutrition, and color when the tomato is in the full red ripe stage but this doesn't have to occur on the plant!

and has the flavor of an orange and a lemon combined. Yes they are apparently edible as I ate many this year and some last year as well. I have never seen these before but there are several in the woods around my house and I saw one up in Rome Georgia last year, but it didn't have any flowers or fruit on it. The birds just decimate this fruit when it is ripe. I got some pictures of it when it was winding down its flowering and hopefully someone can clue me in.

Thanks for any input.