When it comes to root health, pots with gas permeable walls carry the day. Terra cotta clay pots are better than plastic or vitrified clay pots and fabric pots are better than terra cotta clay. The reason is greater gas exchange through container walls and the fact that an increase in gas exchange comes with an increase in evaporative water loss, which can be a lifesaver when using water retentive media. There will still be a PWT in these pots, and for any given medium it will the same ht in a pot with rigid sides as in the fabric or air pots at container capacity. Container capacity is a measure of how much water the grow medium in a pot or container holds at the moment it has stopped draining after having been watered to the point of complete saturation. The ht of the PWT and how long it affects root function is usually key/critical in determining what opportunity a plant will have to realize as much of its genetic potential as possible (within the limiting effects of other cultural influences). The factor that most affects the ht of a PWT is the size of the particles from which the medium is made. So, reducing the duration of PWTs limitations increases the opportunity for plants to realize a greater measure of their genetic potential. But wait! There's a more important consideration. If you place your fabric containers directly on the ground/soil, from the perspective of hydrology it changes the fabric container to a raised bed; this, because water is free to move through the fabric between the grow medium and the earth, with the earth acting as a giant wick. This means, because of the increase in the force of adhesion in the mineral soil beneath the pot (due to a mineral soils much larger o/a surface area on a per volume basis), water in the soil will be pulled downward with enough source to overcome the capillarity holding it perched in the container. As long as you don't place the fabric container on coarse sand, peastone, or other large particles, the earth will likely pull all perched water from most media one is likely to use in a container. I've mentioned this and the fact that healing in your pots situating them directly on top of soil turns them into raised beds. the only caveat being it's essential that there is a 'soil bridge' so there is continuity of the soil column between the soil (earth) and the grow medium in the container, through the drain hole(s), so water doesn't have to jump an air gap to exit the container. This applies more to pots with rigid walls and is not a factor when discussing fabric containers. Al

I know this is a little late in posting, but I wanted to actually use it for a while before reporting back. We finally got it installed a little over a month ago and I'm so far very happy with it. We got the SHE68T56UC as I couldn't find enough differences with the 800 series that I cared about. It is very quiet, it fits way more stuff than my old dishwasher did, it doesn't dry things quite as good as I would like, but plastics are no different than the old one. The one drawback I do have is that my tall pot doesn't fit unless I rearrange the racks which to me is more of a pain than washing it by hand. Dishes comes out way cleaner and my glasses that had some kind of white haze that I thought was etching are returning to looking clear again. I only switched the dishwasher - not the detergent. It does take about an extra 40 min than my old dishwasher, but it hasn't bothered me as I can fit so much that at times I end up putting some stuff in and running it not completely full as there isn't enough space to fit more plastics for example or glasses in the top and the bottom isn't fully filled. I have yet to be left with anything on the counter to feel like it is taking too long to run so I can load it again. Edit: Forgot to add that I don't pre-wash the dishes except to scrape off large stuff, but DH does pre-wash, although he is starting to come around. So each wash is a mix of the two. Hopefully I can get a chance to test out it with nothing pre-washed at all, but I think it will perform well. I took the wash filter out to clean as the installer said to do it if things started to smell. It didn't smell, but I figured I'd make it a monthly thing just so I it wouldn't get there. There was nothing in the filter so really didn't need to do it. I'm sure as I go along I'll figure out how often it will need to be done. This post was edited by lyfia on Wed, Mar 12, 14 at 12:32

If you don’t have a problem with a door that’s less than 18 inches from the floor, more power to you Sheilaaus, but I seriously doubt most people would be willing to go that route. I’m 4’11 and had to choose between getting on my knees to reach inside (which I tested at the store) or use a foot stool to see inside the soap dispenser, I chose the later. One plus of the Electrolux is they guarantee that their machines won’t vibrate and are suited for 2nd floors. So far so good. I’m not surprised you like your Whirlpool washer though, I really liked ours and as long as I kept the door open after each wash, I never had a problem with mold or oders. The door of our older Kenmore (like the duet) was much higher than the new models we looked at. It was perfect for someone my height. At least we were fortunate in that the store we bought our Electrolux machines from threw the pedistals in for a fraction of what they usually cost. The machines are pretty on the pedistals, but I hate using a foot stool. :c)

I haven't been on Houzz lately, otherwise I could have answered your mystery much quicker! Yes, they are oribatid mites (Euzetes globulus) and are beneficials. Here are some high magnification photos that I previously took with a friend's microscope (he is a microbiologist). If you would like to see the difference between living oribatid and spider mites, here is a video I took. It clearly shows the distinctive anatomy of both mites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrNa9N2olsg Dinie - I suspect you may have gotten them for a certain greenhouse. Oribatid mites are commonly found on cultivated orchids, which is described in this discussion posted by the AOS (American Orchid Society): http://www.aos.org/orchids/orchid-pests-diseases/mites-on-cultivated-orchids.aspx For those who don't like crawly things, these are quite resilient creatures but some miticides will kill them. Personally I find them a bit creepy but they are also fascinating at the same time.