it got to the point pictured below, and then the #%@$!& snow and artic cold came. It is still roughly as pictured below, although I did shape up the corners, remove some roots, and more or less level out the bottom since this was taken. If I was to take a pic of it now, it would be a white indention in the ground, surrounded by more white :-(

MrsHanson, we have an above ground pool which we put inground in 2005. It is not one of the brands which are designed for inground, however, we decided to take the risk and see what happened. Since installation, we have invested a 10 foot aggregate surround around the pool. We know that when the liner goes, so goes the entire pool because it will collapse. We had a leak in the liner two years ago, and a great deal of water was leaked, but fortunately, my husband was able to find the leak and patch it. Ours sticks out above the ground about one foot. Keeping our fingers crossed for this year! But, we feel seven years has given us great return on the investment. I will be happy to post a picture of it if you would like, we just took the cover off for summer and it appears a little green, but when clear, it's a beautiful crystal clear blue pool! I will look up the brand as well if you are interested. It's 33x18, and was very inexpensive. Hope this helps! and good luck

Most of my roses are grafted on Fortuniana for our South Florida soil. I pay a premium for that rootstock so I make sure to try to preserve that graft. Conversely, if I buy a rose on Dr. Huey I tend to bury the bud union in hopes that the rose sprouts roots on its own. I know that a Multiflora or Dr. Huey rootstock will not survive past three to five years in my soil, so I try to extend its life by getting it to root. This can backfire if the original rose has a root system that doesn't fair well in my soil, but that has been the minority in all the cases I've had. If you live in areas that get freezing temperatures, it is better to bury the graft in order to preserve it and have the rose you want sprout back to life in the spring. In your case, I doubt you need to bury the bud union. Your roses will probably do much better on the grafted rootstock.

Yep. Yep. Damping off for sure, some call it "wire stem". To me it seems like beets and chard are especially susceptible to this, at least they are in my garden. If you are doing the watering, you need to back off as the two above mentioned. It can be hard to keep it dry if you are direct seeding in the ground and getting a lot of rain. If it were me, I would go ahead and pull the plant. It may survive, but it will never fully recover and be productive. Next season I will be starting beets, and chard indoors to give them a head start.