Michelle, Let me say up front that I don't container gardden myself. I have a huge yard so have no need to. But I've given growing in pots a lot of thought, to see if I could come up with helpful suggestions for those that do. Plants "transpire" water, their version of sweating. And just like us, the hotter they get, the more they'll "sweat." So anything you can do to keep your potted plants cooler will help. A. If you have a choice of sites, putting them where they'll get only morning sun, but afternoon shade, will help a lot. Plants really do very little growing after the temps reach the 90s anyway. B. If such a location isn't possible, then just leaning something against or wrapping something around the pots to keep them cooler will help. Remember, only the plants themselves need sun, not the pots. C. If they're available, a nice layer of grass clippings on top of the soil will keep it a lot cooler and moister between waterings. The clippngs will also prevent weeds and provide all the nutrients your plants need. Don't let them touch the stems of the plants, though, cause they could rot them. You could make small "collars" from yogurt cups to prevent that. I'd also like to make some comments on your saying that you are growing things in pots because you are "in (a) hot dry zone 8 with only sand in my yard." I've been gardening since 1972, and like all True Gardeners, I often share things with others. And several times people would say they just loved what I gave them, which would prompt me to ask why they didn't garden themselves. And more than once the response was, "Oh, we would love to, but we have such terrible soil." (Sometimes very sandy, other times heavy clay.) It took several years- I am a bit slow sometimes, lol- but I finally came to realize that many people seem to think that soil is a permanent thing. If you're lucky, you have good soil and always will. If you're unlucky, you have bad soil, and there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing of course could be futher from the truth. If you do the right thing, which is bascially Add Organic Matter to the soil continually, you can transform the worst soil in the world into the best. (I started out with HORRIBLE red clay, great raw material for making bricks or pottery. I now have the most beautiful, black, crumbly, fertile soil you could find anywhere.) And if you started out with the best soil, but didn't add organic matter year after year, it soon would become just as bad as the soil you have. I know a gardener in Michigan who has very sandy soil. He started putting his grass clippings in his garden just this year, and he can't beLEIVE how much better everthng is growing than ever before! He has more tomatoes, peppers, greenbeans, watermelon and other things than he knows what to do with. So, if you did want to grow things in good old Mom Earth, and you can get grass clippings, all you would have to do is add a good 3-inch layer on top of the soil. You don't even have to dig out any weeds that might be present first. Just trample them flat and cover them. I've turned even sections of lawn, both in my yard and in friends', to garden or flower bed simply by covering them with grass clippings. I have not the slightest doubt that you could very successfully grow anything that does well in your area in your soil, and maybe even a few things that are not supposed to do well there? If you have questions on mulching, either post them here or e-mail me. This practice has soooo many benefits that it's a shame many people don't know about it. Tyrell

These are the two best places I know to get water plants and supplies in the sacramento area- Golden Pond is especially nice with cute display ponds. I don't know if either place is open this early in the season, and I think golden pond is only open friday thru sundays anyway, but call and ask. Golden Pond Water Plants Aquatic Plants Phone: 916.652.LILY 3275 Sierra College Blvd Loomis, CA 95650 Flora Tropicana Aquatics Aquatic Plants Phone: 916.369.0644 10255 Grant Line Rd Elk Grove, CA 95624 Here is a link that might be useful: flora tropicana

Plant Swaps! Watch for them on the Carolina Exchange forum. Spring swaps are coming up. I have done so much for nothing or next to nothing. Mostly my time to divide, take cuttings, sow a few extra seeds. I would not have a lot of the plants I have if it weren't for generous swappers! Also rcvd' pots, yard art, etc... We could all put that Exchange forum to a lot more use in this economy... few of us sow exactly the number of seeds we plan to grow. Swap your extras for other things you want with people that live close to you. If you're too far from one of the swaps, start one! Pick a local park, a date, post it, run your mouth a lot to advertise and go for it! Even if just one other person shows you have one person to swap with! Look into strawbale gardening or lasagna beds if you have poor soil. Check out the Winter Sowing Forum, the Container Forum and the Frugal Forum which have some great ideas. Seed sowing... Direct sow (I'm going to sow on top of the snow once it gets here) what you can and for stuff that needs closer watching I use regular potting soil and then a small layer of seed starting mix over top of it. A bag last a long time that way. Compost everything you can get your hands on that's compostable! Starbucks saves their grounds, some restaurants have bags or boxes of salad veggie scraps, veggie stands will often have a box or two of over ripe stuff, shredded paper. Rethink every time you start to toss something in the trash, can it be composted or used to sow seeds/cuttings in, or as a cloche? You can use old pallets which are usually free if you'll haul away, to build compost bins. If you keep a fish aquarium save your water changing water for watering plants. They love it! Catch rainwater. You can add color, texture and money saving veggies by mixing them into your flower beds. Remember (or heard of, if you're younger) Victory Gardens? Checked the price of sweet peppers lately? My sweet peppers did fantastic last year in a flower bed and were so healthy. The pollinators and other beneficial bugs are already there and the soils have been worked for several years (some were originally lasagna beds where I used layers of cardboard, leaves, etc...) so it's pretty good stuff for veggies. Hot peppers did not like it there, I think they like a little punishment to do their best, but the sweet peppers loved it. Tomatoes like it (I have a little grape size in one bed that I don't even need to plant anymore) and Zucchetta squash growing up an arch loved it. Try different things and see what does well with your flowers. I'm trying a smaller type of okra in one of mine this year and scattering in a few greens or anything colorful/edible I can come up with. I poke a few garlic cloves into large outdoor pots here and there or some colorful beans up a trellis. Aside from something like corn most veggies don't need to be planted in neat little rows or even squares. Put them anywhere you can squeeze a spot for them. Even if you don't can/freeze anything just having fresh will give your grocery bill some breathing room. Watch for local Master Gardener groups that have spring plant sales. Get there early! Some schools and other local groups have plant sales. Use freecycle. I've seen people ask for (and get) and give away pots, strawbales leftover from halloweeen displays, plants, bags of leaves, newspapers, cinder blocks. Last fall someone gave us still sealed bags of good potting soil, a plant shelf, plant hangers, etc.. thrown in with pots from someone who had lost a loved one and was cleaning out. I think all gardeners have creative and frugal souls, we just need to tap into it.

Is this it, Elk? I'm posting the link because the thread is very long. Here is a link that might be useful: Favorite Gardening Tips