Received my 4 bags today of 80 Quarts total, which will just about fill one EarthTainer. This is an absolutely beautiful mix. Reminds me of sleeping on a Goose-down pillow. Surprisingly (or maybe not so) the listing of Ingredients is EXACTLY the same as Pro-Mix BX: While the percentages of each are not specified, it does resemble the BX formulation of 82.5% Sphagnum Peat Moss, 12.5% Perlite, and 5% Vermiculite. As an effort to get 2 trials out of this $43 worth of mix, I used the "stock" mix in the right half of the 'Tainer, and did a blend of the Gardener's Supply Mix, Bark Fines, and Perlite in a 4:2:1 ratio (on the left): I have a bale of Pro-Mix BX on order, so hopefully soon, I will be able to add several more trial combo mixes into the fray.... Raybo

The accurate name of our front door colour is "Desert Shadows" and it is a brownish purple...if that makes sense. I love it! I failed twice to get the hue I wanted...and Benjamin Moore came to the rescue. I remember that Benjamin Moore was what Honey (where ARE you???) chose for her smart red room too. As far as house projects, the last thing around here was replacing lightbulbs (6 of them) and some flashlight batteries. No big projects on the screen for a while. Cindy, so nice to hear from you. I hope your weekend is all about relaxation. Glad things are looking UP. Speaking of circus...I'm reading Like Water for Elephants. WOW, what an opening. The retirement home is so depressingly accurate, except that the ladies seem more verbal than the ones I met at Mom's place. Well, the puppet I started as a cat ended up being a bear! In fact, I'm not at all sure it is recognizable as any animal in particular. DH thought it might be a wolf! It is at least fuzzy and brown. Not being able to use button eyes is a real problem as far as critter personality is concerned. I'll try to make the next one a CAT! Woody, I'm so glad to have you posting again. The garage is looking so tidy and clean. (Ours is not, though several garbage bags worth of plastic pots were given away.) That last photo of Randy is not the best I've seen. You ladies have to know that he is one very handsome dude! I am of course glad to have Eden and Martie stopping in again frequently. Today seems to be the day of frantic cleaning and cooking, that is, south of the Canadian border. I have done little this past week along those lines and mainly served soup and cheese and crackers as dinner. That's fine with us, it's Autumn after all! Julie, just always filled with admiration for you guys turning your lives inside out, after retirement no less. It is for the best of causes and I hope DS has an inkling about what you have done for him as well. I can almost imagine abandoning such a project...but I would have done what you did in the end, given your circumstances. If anyone deserves huge thank yous, it is the two of you. Of course we don't always get those...but I hope you do!!! I'm told that Ms Ivy was discovered on the second stair up to the main floor, in spite of the gate having been firmly installed. Such a physical little rascal she is. I guess if you aren't pushing through teeth or growing long hair you gotta do something. She stands next to everything these days: walls, the couch, chairs, etc. She also falls at times too. Drema, that birthday begonia (?) for Marian is one gorgeous plant! I always fall for white blooms...and get teased for it too. And Marian, I hope you are feeling a bit better with each day. DH is in Toronto once again, so I'm off to nibble a few things and call it lunch. Later, 'bug

paulsm Quote: "Has anyone tried this kit from Gardners supply. It has an underground water storage area. The cages on these are quite nice... much better than the round cages that don't stay in place." paulsm, I have a different brandname but it's the same concept as your system from Gardners Supply. I'm not familiar with your system as far as the directions/intructions you recieved with yours. The unit I got had very detailed instructions concerning soil preparation. I am very pleased with the production thus far and maybe it's because my last 2-3 years of tomato growing were so dismal that anything over a one or two tomatoes per plant would please me anyway. :) The watering of my system is fool proof (thankfully :P ) and didn't require much thought on my part except to keep it "topped off" the hotter it is and the bigger the plants the more you check water level during the day. Fertilizing is done at the beginning of the season as you prepare the soil so there was no fretting on my part wondering if they are getting the proper nutrients. Disease was kept at bay for quite a while compared to my previous years using other types of cantainers and hasn't been as pronounced as it was the last few years. I wish your experience had been as nice as mine I wonder what was different about your conditions compared to mine. My plants had at least 6 hours of sun per day or more, I checked the water level religiously, I added lime per the instructions to the top third portion of the soil mix and applied the fertilizer on soil that had been slightly hilled up again per instructions. I planted the tomato plants very deeply as to encourage more root developement and only planted two plants per unit. The one thing I didn't do and I suspect it contributed to the disease problems I have now on my plants is staking the plants properly. I tied them up with the green stretchy garden tape but it was quite flimsy and the plants eventually (heavy with fruit) flopped over and became unruly. Next year I'll but the special staking system that sells with these units. Although the company I bought from said that the soil could be used for 2-3 years I will start with fresh potting soil because of the disease this year. So my decision to "save a little money" and not invest in the staking system has had a cost in both labor and money. I wouldn't judge these bottom watering systems too harshly just yet even though your experience has been less than optimal give it another season and maybe check out the forum over at Earth Box. They might have some suggestions that could help. Wishing you all the best of luck. :)

Oh yeah, baby. It's hatch chili pepper season. Central Market is in the middle of their Hatch festival -- and yes, they sell them raw, roasted, and as ingredients in any number of products. Bread, roasted chicken, marinated mozzerella, scones, to name a few. And Chuy's, my favorite TexMex is also in the middle of THEIR Hatch Chili Festival. Been their twice this year as their hatch special is different on different days of the week. YUM!