"Ashita, I'm no expert tomato grower, but at this hour of the night, I may be the only person online here in the states, so I'll tell you what I've heard, which is that for fruit production the second number should always be higher than the first.in the N-P-K series posted on commercial fertilizers That would be the phosphorous, not the potash:" Uh-oh In many cases you would be correct jll0306, but for tomatoes you are sadly mistaken. Tomato plants use very little phosphorus compared to other flowering plants, it is only needed to initiate flowers so it is important to have in some quantity, but it doesn't take much. "In tomato crops, the requirement for potassium is about the same as for nitrogen in the early crop stages (from seedling through until fruit development). After this, the requirement for potassium keeps increasing with fruit load while nitrogen levels off. While nitrogen is important and is used in large quantities for vegetative growth, potassium is the predominant cation in tomato fruit and has major effects on fruit quality." -Dr Lynette Morgan of the Suntech hydroponic consultants I have posted a link to the full article from which this is taken below, it is hugely informative. @ashita: You are correct in your assumption about potash (K20) the molecule that provides potassium. It is the most heavily used element by fruiting tomato vines and is needed in unusually high quantities if one desires a good harvest. It is needed in a large ratio compared to nitrogen and phosphorus which is hard to find in bagged chemical fertilizers. The good news is there are readily available organic sources for potash, usually taking the form of burned organic matter. Wood ash is a good place to start, providing 4-7% potassium by mass, but if you are really serious about getting a big harvest you'll go for corn cob ash which yields 30-35% potassium! These organic ferts can be added in a tea, but it is best to pre-load your soil with them before you've done your planting. Be liberal with it as it is impossible to "burn" your plants with them like you can with chemical fertilizers. When it comes to your tall spindly issue digdirt is right, more sun exposure will help this problem, but I know that may not be possible. Another solution would be the technique of supercropping, which is the practice of crushing the phloem (the outer veins which carry things downwards) of the stem while leaving the xylem (the inner veins that carry things upwards) intact. This makes for thick, hardy stems that to a great job of holding the plant up and exponentially increase its water-carrying abilities. I have outlined the process in detail and posted pictures of the resulting effects over in my own grow diary: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg1222213220075.html?28 You may find some of my other techniques helpful. A more aggressive nutrient delivery method such as mine can help supplement a less than perfect light situation, but there's no true substitute for more nourishing sunlight. Do your best to get the most of it possible. Good luck and happy gardening! -Zach Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Nutrition

Huh? Ashley who said your DH uses his German heritage, I missed it. I never heard of any job privileges for Germans in the US, there are advantages of being German in Germany but not in the US, so i don't see how being German is any advantage? One does not put in on job application (no box for that), "Hispanic" is on job application. By the way racial terms are very confusing in the US. Spanish people in Europe are Whites, yet in the US people of the same decent are Hispanics as a separate race. They are not separate race but separate ethnicity, different thing. lonepiper, of course everyone has rights to post whatever and ashley has rights to reply to their "whatever" with her "whatever". And it is cool, let's all say "whatever", but there are some things that are crossing boundaries here like saying that "n" word is harmless and is embraced by blacks. No need to do that. And we have African-Americans on this forum too.

Oh suzie2003's post reminds me! One June, years ago, we had our wood floors refinished. Because of the humidity, it was too tacky for the guy to finish them for days. It didn't bother me but it drove my DH crazy. Every day the flooring guy would show up, crawl across the floor on his hands and knees and then say, no, it's still too tacky for the next coat. The guy even came to the house on a Sunday morning, clearly looking like he rolled out of bed, his hair all sticking up, slapped a tool belt over his cut off sweats, and came to our house to touch the floor. The floors look great and, to me, it was worth it so when we added hardwood to the kitchen we called the same guy back. He seemed to be the poster child of what can happen if you breath in too many fumes. But we also suspected it might have been more a result of a misspent youth.

I'm sorry to tell you these things, but I think he's a dangerous person to be around and I would not have him visiting in my home. He's already hurting people but masks it by the silly-factor. But he's hurting them just like he hurt you. That was not funny! :( I think the age difference in itself is a huge concern, this is not a healthy relationship in any way. Maybe she likes to feel needed and he needs a mother (although probably more so just want someone to take advantage of), and maybe it makes her feel young and attractive that a young stud wants HER! But this is supposed to be an upcoming marriage, not an adoption of a troubled child. Ask her if she really believes in her heart that he will be a great husband in the long run, and will be there for her, supporting her and protecting, helping her in daily life and when life gets rough (he isn't, even now...) And will he be a fantastic father of her children, loving and protecting them, be a strong role model, guide, teacher of good and bad, give them healthy boundaries, help them grow up and mature to one day be responsible, healthy, independent adults? I don't think so. Definitely try to help her, but realize she may or may not listen. Some women (and men) will go ahead and make a poor choice even with all the warnings in the world. This marriage (if it happens) will not end well. I personally know so many who were warned not to marry a certain person, did it anyway, and have had nothing but problems. See if you can get her to read 10 stupid things women do to mess up their lives by Dr. Laura Schlessinger, that might open her eyes to the danger of what's she's doing. It may be all cute to her now, but later on she'll need a MAN. This guy is a boy at best. A predator, perhaps (probably). I'm very sorry, and I hate telling you these things because I know it will make your heart hurt so badly! I'd love to give you reassurance that it will be just fine. But I think you already know. So now, just work at reaching her. Definitely try your best to help her see that a huge life decision such as a marriage is worth pushing back to make sure she's making the right decision. Hopefully in that time she'll realize the mistake of being with him. All the best to you and your daughter!!! (((HUG)))