Carla Burke

I don't think anyone here is trying to tell you what to do - but, merely answering your question. There are a many reasons for doing thing a particular way as there are people doing them - maybe more.

Some HOAs don't allow anyone to plant in the ground. Not all of us are able to avoid them - thankfully, not an issue, for me.

Accessibility, particularly for the disabled - definitely an issue for me.

Raised beds/ containers offer the opportunity to individualize soil types & watering needs.

Season extension - many of us want plants that aren't compatible with our climate, and containers allow us to move them into the shade/ sun, or indoors, as needed - especially if the container is on wheels, as all my big ones are.

Containers allow people to take advantage of small nooks and a type of 'vertical' growing beyond just trellising.

As Nancy mentioned, critter protection - my containers are all on the deck, both both my easy access and protection from critters that can't or are afraid to get onto our deck.

My daughter is in an apartment, and can *only* plant in containers on her patio. My son is in a small,  strict-ish community, and can't plant in the ground, but can put containers, anywhere he wants.

Yup! If I want bananas, but can only get green ones, I'll also buy an apple, then put them together in a paper bag. Usually overnight is all it takes. Or at funny bunny, Lola used to do ANYTHING for a piece of banana. I sweat, if she had thumbs, she would have washed the dishes for payment in bananas. I use the peels for banana extract or banana peel tea, which is great for getting to sleep. If I'm sitting on a huge board of peels (I toss then in the freezer, or dehydrate them), then some might make it to compost or directly around the plants that need them.

Hanging them by their stems, so that they're not in contact with anything else helps them stay fresh a few extra days. Beyond that, I like them frozen, but I do that in several ways. Some I'll cut into small chunks and freeze on a baking pan, for dog treats; some get cut or broken into somewhat bigger chunks to freeze for banana 'ice cream' or shakes; some get frozen whole, for later baking into banana cake, muffins, cupcakes, or bread; some get cut in half, and get a popsicle stick shoved into the cut end, then frozen.

For the ones that get the popsicle sticks, I melt chocolate (chips, bars, whatever) with a little bit of coconut oil (1T or so to each 1/2C of chocolate), and dip the frozen bananas in, to make 'monkey tails'. Sometimes, if I'm up for peanut butter & bananas, I'll melt some peanut butter, and add some coconut oil together, and dip the frozen bananas in that, for 'pb tails', and sometimes, I'll do them first into the peanut butter, let them harden a free minutes, then dip them in the chocolate, for 'crazy monkey tails'. Or, I'll do them in one or the other, then lay them on chopped nuts to harden, for a little extra crunch and flavor. It all just depends. If I know we're going to have company, sometimes, I'll make a big batch, ahead of time, for dessert for everyone.

This was on the outside wall by the front door, yesterday

My guess would be farm, school, or fishing/ smallish ship's bell - as you said, a call 'em to dinner (or in from recess, or gitcherbuttmovin', before we sink!) bell.

I use a sugar/ diatomaceous earth blend - roughly 1 part sugar with 10 parts d.e. The sugar draws them, and the d.e. sticks to them and they take it back to their colony, where it kills all of them. I just put a thin line of it along whatever path they're already walking along, so it's easy for them to find. It takes a few days, but it works.

Oh! And, I'm pretty sure I know how the tomatoes found their way to where they grew, this year - um. I feed my omnivore dogs raw food - and share my garden harvests with them, so... they may have ehhh "planted" them, lol. Because of where they were (in the area where the little dogs go potty), we didn't eat those, but I did give them to the pups. The squash... I had a squash that had gotten lost in the kitchen and by the time it was discovered, it was beyond being fit for human consumption, and I threw it off the deck, as far away as I could, figuring the wildlife would still be able to enjoy it.

Wow! Thank you all for sharing your thoughts & experiences! One of the things I'm looking at, is I also have a lot of seeds that are several years old - because I keep missing the planting window! So, another choice I'm left with is, let them lose all viability, or get them out there, while the combination of my current thought flow, my physical ability & the weather is conducive to getting it done, and risk losing them to critters. Spring is more difficult, because our spring rains are long, intense, and cause me so much pain, I just don't have the spoons to get the planting done. Our Autumn is more reliable temperatures, with enough rain to keep things from dying out, but not so heavy & violent as in spring, so I'm more able to get out there.  And at least if I get them out there, they stand a chance. Last year, I went for a short walk in the Autumn, and just wandered around, tossing mixed wildflower seeds, randomly. This spring and summer, I had loads of flowers I hadn't seen on our land before. I harvested some of those I recognized, for herbal preparations, and the goats thoroughly enjoyed munching on many of them - I just hope there are some seeds left from them to recreate themselves, next year.

Y'all have helped me decide - there are some seeds I'll go ahead and scatter randomly, again, and others I'll make an effort to protect - like the St John's wort, and those black peach seeds (I received them from May, and I think she said they originated from you, Judith!) that are sprouting in my fridge. I think it's time to go through my seed, and see which ones are simply down to - now or never, and start with those. Thank you!!

Maybe a more natural approach to it would be planting in Autumn? My attention span and life combine with the typical refrigerator/ freezer stratification process to typically result in science experiments lost in the black hole of the freezer &/or fridge. So, I MUCH prefer to plant those seeds that need it, in Autumn. And, here in the northern hemisphere, that is coming up pretty fast.

In fact, I'm finding myself doing more of my planting - particularly of perennials - in September and October, along with my bare root pants/ trees, rather than in spring, when I mostly plant my annuals, like tomatoes. But... I've even been thinking about those. Last year, I had volunteer spaghetti squash, and this year, volunteer grape tomatoes. Both in places I've never intentionally planted anything, so it's got me wondering...

If I toss the seeds in a favorable area, in Autumn, the seeds will pick their own perfect time to germinate, then I don't have to fuss with them, in the spring, doting on them and pampering them, worrying if they're getting too leggy, or if I missed my planting widow, altogether, or if I'll end up killing them as I move them in and out of the house, to harden them off. And then, there's all the springtime work it could save me, during a time when my goats are kidding, and my chicken & duck hens are brooding... and I'm dealing with goats having Spring fever, wanting anything that is on the other side of their paddock fences...

Does anyone else do this, or have you thought about it? If you do it, how well does it serve you? Is there any reason (other than critters possibly running off with the seeds) why this is not a good idea?