Thank you Plantknitter for that information. I checked out the exchange forum and I would love to take part in that one. I have just finished school and am anxious to have more time to work with my first love - gardening. Dorothy

Maybe I have to add some fertilizer? I was hoping I wouldn't need to. Why were you hoping that? ;) Under MOST circumstances supplemental feedings are needed throughout the growing season. A 1 time only fertilize-when-planted approach MAY work in a very well amended in-ground garden if the weather and all other factors cooperate. But barring that, yes you will have to feed the plants. A commonly used routine for in-ground plants is to amend the planting hole, feed shortly after first fruit set, feed again 4-6 weeks later, and then, depending on the length of the growing season, once again in early fall. Plants in containers will have to be fed on a regular basis of course as the nutrients leach out of the containers every time you water. But too many fruits? Do you have to remove some? No, the production and the rate of ripening is genetic to the variety. The fruit will ripen when the time is right and the rest will continue to grow. But all this does assume that adequate nutrition will be made available. Dave

Hey, Fori, the repair guy called! At a reasonable time, and I was already gone to meet the cabinet maker and contractor. We had a very productive session. I'll call Mr. G. tomorrow. Meantime, I'm going to post about the cool factor in Appliances. I got 2" of countertop on both sides because the cabinet maker was making pretty frames around the ovens and Advantium. Instead there will be 1" nice frames. The ladder is too tall for the right of the ovens, and I wan't still more counter, so that's going to be a tall pullout like Gizmonike's, only with trays for spices, etc. The little cupboard over the ovens is only going to be about 8" tall anyway, so will have a flip up door rather than swing doors. Should be good for oven pieces. He can do rails and stiles with the bamboo, so the stemware cupboards in the butler's pantry will have inset glass (probably pebble) in the uppers and glass shelves. I think this will cure the bamboo forest problem, because it'll draw the eye away from the slabs. The only view I was ready to go all out Gumby for was standing in the prep area of the island. That, and my mother's jazzy hardware. :) No gumby ;( Glass would be too heavy and unsafe. There will be a message center with an 8" deep flip down writing surface in the center of the pegboard cabinet (on the right from the pantry. We also hashed out a lot of drawer depths, etc., and things look good. I came away feeling very good about the whole thing. I even might have found a top for the island. BTW, sorry for going off on the dye. I'm a fiber artist with respiratory issues so I took that literally. :D RIT's a different story. ;)

My idea is much like Sharon's but carried one step further. Get a good amount of carrots and celery to combine with onions and make a large batch of mirepoix which, frozen in small portions, would simplify brazing or making soup or sauces by eliminating some tedious prep work. There are innumerable dishes which can be made with mirepoix. I've suggest this before but haven't done it myself yet. But I will. I still think it's a good idea. Jim