It's true. Gardens are not static. Like they say, if it's not one thing it's another. In the past my biggest problem (if I remember right) was lack of water for the roses. Then I discovered accidently that my roses do much better with daily water. So I installed a micro sprinkler system through all the beds. Wow! Did it work and work wonders!! I've been all happy and self-satisfied for over a year, but lately the worm has turned. My nemesis is squirrels. SQUIRRELS! I remember one of my rose-sisters in CA warned that squirrels were a big problem for her drip system (maybe Rosefolly?). Little did I know... These buggers have chewed through several plastic/pvc connectors, 1/4" tubing for the pots, shrubblers, drippers, brass knobs, resin chairs, stacked nursery pots, the corner of the shed... causing geysers and mini-firehoses that shoot water everywhere making my water bill spike off the chart and reducing pressure in the line so nothing gets water. Since it operates while I'm asleep, I don't know about it for a while - until plants start looking bad - or I get a utility bill in the mail. The only thing that stops them is hardware cloth so I'm looking at wrapping all the 1/4" tubing in hardware cloth. That should be fun. After they had breakfast on a new hydrangea plant (not in the ground yet) I declared war and decided I would put out D-Con, taped to the top of the shed (their super-highway through the trees) where kitties can't get to it. Early the next morning I awoke in a panic - what if the birds eat it? I got up and peeled it off. A friend told me it wouldn't work anyway because squirrels are smarter than rats. I was looking forward to picking up the bodies. Thrips ruined the end of the first flush, and Anna Olivier's second flush is a disaster. I may have to reconsider her future along with E Veyrat Hermanos who, despite a beautiful beginning, balled completely after a poorly timed rainstorm. The upside of that is looking for replacements. :)) Encroaching shade may be the end of Mrs B R Cant in which case I'll buy another hydrangea. They're deciduous (I hate bare bushes all winter), but they don't mind neutral soil. The armadillos dig up the beds every night, but so far haven't damaged any plants - just make the bed ugly and make the sidewalk & driveway messy. Apparently, for some of us gardening is the proverbial "two steps forward, one step back", and for others it's "one step forward and two steps back". And next year we'll all switch places. Sherry Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...

Hi Sheri, Although this sounds like a relatively simple question, the answer is vexingly complex. Now (and I am not being a smart-aleck here), the simple answer is that you water the plants when they need it. And, yet, that really isn't a very helpful answer at all, I know, because you are going to ask yourself 'how do I know when they need water?" There is no simple formula like 'deep water them to a depth of 6" to 8" once a week', or 'water them for an hour every other day' because there are too many variables. How much water any plant needs at any given time varies, depending on the air and soil temperatures, how hard the wind is blowing, how quickly water is evaporating, how well the soil holds moisture, how large the plants are, how well-developed their root systems are, how cool and humid the nights are, etc. Here's how I do it, more or less. But, because I have parts of my garden in heavier, more clayey soil and other parts in sandier and more quickly draining soil, even within that one garden, some plants need water more often than the others. In a typical July, with high temps in the 90s-100s and low temps in the 70s-80s, I like to give my plants a good deep watering at least twice a week, using a soaker hose. This can take a few hours depending upon how fast the hose is dripping water as well as how deeply the water is penetrating the soil. If the plants are showing heat stress, I will give them a light drink in between heavier waterings, but I hate doing that as it encourages more shallow roots, and you want deeper roots. I try to judge when they need water by observing how they look. Is the color of the plants good? Is it still a vibrant green? Is the foliage yellowing or browning? If so, is it a sign the plants are thirsty, hungry or ill?Is there any wilting of the foliage? (Foliar wilting can be a symptom of several problems, so wilting alone is not a true indicator of whether a plant needs water, since a waterlogged plant will wilt as well.) Tomato plants that are truly thirsty will have a lighter green color to their foliage than usual. The leaves may droop and wilt. Even the green fruit may assume an off color--sort of more dull than a healthy well-hydrated fruit. Since spider mites appear on heat-stressed plants, I almost always take the appearance of spider mites as an indication that I need to water more, unless the plants are stressed because they have been too wet (like this year). For what it is worth, we haven't had any rain here in well over a week and I haven't watered my in-the-ground plants at all, although I water my container-grown plants once and sometimes twice a day. If you water too frequently, you will have fruit whose taste is watered down and your plants may produce lots of foliage and fewer fruits, so it is better to err on the side of keeping them a little too dry than a little too wet. Lots of people water WAY too much and have huge, thick, lush plants that produce very few actual tomatoes, and I know that is not what you want. There is nothing wrong with sticking your fingers into the soil to see if the ground is moist, or not. Keep in mind that well mulched soil will always hold moisture longer. Plants that receive full sun for 10 or 12 hours a day will need more water than those that are in full sun for only 6 hours a day. I hope this info helps. Like I said before, this question is hard to answer since there are so many variables. It probably took me at least a decade of consciously trying to 'not water too much' to finally reach the point where I was watering enough to keep the plants producing well and not watering so much that I had all foliage and little fruit. I have always leaned towards wanting to water them too often, and it was a hard habit to break. Dawn

This just happened to us- it was a failed vasectomy. My wife and I never wanted children, in fact we never really liked them. We don't hate kids, but we just don't enjoy being around them for very long. As I said, my vasectomy failed after about a year and in June my wife found out she was 6 months pregnant. If you're relying on a vasectomy for birth control, don't play around- get tested, get pregnancy tests. We gave birth to a wonderful 6 lb boy who we gave up for adoption- we don't regret doing so, and seeing how the adoptive parents responded (6 yrs trying childless couple), it was the best thing I've ever done for anyone. But the thing thats scaring the h3ll out of me is Janet seems to have gone off the deep end thinking about how nice it might be to have a child of her own. My feelings haven't changed at all- I love our son and he's in a home with absolutely commited, loving parents, but I really don't want to be a parent. If this is in fact how she ends up feeling after the post-birth hormones stop rampaging through her, I face the prospect of either divorce or somehow acclimating myself to being a father. I know many people must have gone through this, but I simply don't want it. Janet & I started out because we've always felt on the same page about this. I love her so much and I just can't see getting a divorce from such a wonderful woman over this- but I tell you I am possibly caught on the horns of a very big problem. Anyone who says "Parenting is the Natural/Moral/Good/Right thing- or Its The Will of Some Higher Power..." as the reason why I should somehow welcome this can stuff it- the world is a big place and more diverse than anyone can really know, and its not fair to put philosophical boxes around people. Some may welcome and/or desire parenthood, more power to them- I simply don't want it. If I have to, I will do my best, but I feel as if I will be abandoning the last shreds of control I have over my own life- and having to accept the consequences of the choices only my wife wants- for the next 18 or more years. If she really ends up wanting children, its not fair for me to categorically refuse either. I've been searching around for support groups speaking to this kind of issue, but they don't seem to have a very big presence. Gregm

Not that crazy over this one. Is there a reason that I missed that you want an overhang for sitting when you plan on having a table w/ seating so close? Reviewing some of your previous posts, it sounds like you are most fond of the galley layout. Why not stick w/ that one and try tweaking to the extent it will make you happy (after all, it IS your kitchen!). It also seemed like your SO/DH would get to keep his sunroom intact w/ that one so he should be willing to compromise on any plumbing & electrical work that would have to be done to make it work!