Well, shrubs, I don't disturb the soil much with my method of growing potatoes. I simply lay the seed potatoes on the surface and cover with mulch, usually chopped leaves. Harvesting involves pulling the mulch off and picking up the spuds. Having said that, while Ma Nature doesn't get out there with her 6 HP Troy-Bilt tiller, I don't see her growing much in the way of eggplant, peppers and tomatoes out in the wild either. I wonder why that is? I'm in favor of a program of limited tilling when it is necessary. When is it necessary? Every garden or field will be different but if the difference is not tilling and waiting years for the earthworms to do their thing so I can grow a carrot or getting organic matter into the soil and crops off it in the same year, then some form of tilling is the way to go for me. I double dig most of my raised garden beds. The disturbance of the soil structure seems to have little to no visible negative effects and I for one am not alarmed at harming the mycorrhizal fungi. Nor am I going to avoid tilling when it will benefit me in order to avoid injuring the earthworms. (Earthworms, which as noted in other threads, are noxious invaders of this northern forest I call home.) Nor will I rely soley on methods Ma Nature uses to build soil, since in my limited years left on the planet and my need to feed myself during those years, I recognize that Ma Nature has had approximately a 10,000 year head start on me in the soil-building department. Wayne

mmqchdygg, no problem on the questions. Keep asking all you want. This was a new thing for me last year. My gardening ability was very crimped last year do to emergency spinal surgery and I couldn't do much gardening. I had to improvise, get lots of help and just dump seedlings where ever they could fit or whatever containers where handy to put things in. I ran out of room on the fence after I had about 40- 50 different varieties of MG seedlings planted. Since I wanted to keep varieties separate, I couldn't plant more than what I did around the fenced in back area. I had read on line about the Japanese growing lots of morning glory vines in pots so figured, if the pros could do it, so could I. I didn't find the vines got too long and figure it was because they where stunted in growth from being in pots. the first thing I did was put the cheapest brand of coffee filters in the bottom of the pot and moisten it to cover all the drainage holes. This holds the soil in, lets the water drain out and prevents the roots from getting into the ground. then in went miracle grow potting mix and depending on the size of the pot and the number of seedlings of the variety I was planting, the seedling/s. Once in the pot, I covered the top of the soil with a thin layer of the cheapest bagged bark mulch I could buy. This helps to keep weeds out and some moisture in the pot. Then I put a plastic tomato pole in the center of the pot to start the vine going up it. I rigged some wire coathangers that I got from a local cleaner, (they gave them to me free) together and tied them with some twine and stuck them into the soil with the pole in the center. As the vine grew I kept twisting it around the coathangers and the pole. And, when they got a little to long for my likeing, I held my breath, and clipped them back. All that did was branch the vine into 2 more vines and more buds. They didn't bloom quite as profusely as the ones on the fence, but was more than happy with them. 2 of the MG I put in a 12 inch pot, with 4 seedlings and put them in a plant stand beside the front railing and trailed the vines up the railing. A couple of others went into a couple of hanging pots and I hung them from an arbor that I bought at Brooks Pharmacy a couple of years ago. Had to assemble it ourselves and put it in the ground (a real pain) but it has held up well for 2 winters. Brooks pharmacy has them on sale this week for more than I paid a few years ago, $19.99, but I bought mine in August and they where marked way down. It's 8 feet tall. those did really well too, I just kept wrapping vines around themselves and if they got longer than I wanted them too, I just pruned them back. There are some nurseries around me that sell vining plants in large pots to keep them in. They use some kind of metal trellis type thing to keep them vining. I can't remember the name of them but when I saw them they where all out last year. I plan to get at least 10 of them this year and will let you know what they call them. What I've found over the past 4 years of WS is that just about any annual and perennial can be grown in a pot. All it does is not allow the plant to grow as large as it would in the ground and it won't bloom as fully as it would in the ground. So many of my plants went into pots and bunched together last summer to make it easier for others to water for me, and everyone was really impressed with they way they grew and the fact that the pots could be moved all over the place to brighten up various spots in the yard. I'm planning to do the same thing this year. I had a coleus in a 12 inch pot that grew to 4 feet!!!!. I got it at my plant swap and it was only about 4 inches tall in June 3rd. It kept getting moved to a bigger pot till it got it's final home in the 12 inch one. My tomatoes where all in pots and did great too. I even had perennial malva's in pots and just put them in the ground in the fall. (I could garden in Sept., I know, the timing was not the best but hey, this year I'm fine and can't weight to get in the dirt). By the way, not that I'm a big Walmart fan but when it comes to my gardens, every place to shop is fair game. They have the best prices on plastic pots for outside use. Got my first ones there 4 years ago and you would think they are brand new. All the pots come with a saucer, which I don't use outside 8 inch $.88 10 inch $1.98 12 inch $2.98 17 inch $4.99 holds 16-17 qts of soil. use these for my tomatoes. They come in terra cotta color as well as dark green and a grey color that looks like stone. BE brave and put those MG in pots and have fun. The link below is from a website about growing mg in pots. I've linked to that specific part of the site, but do check out the whole site, really great and facinating info from a real Japanese pro on morning glory and growing. Ask if you have any more questions and when I get the name of the stake things from the nursery will let you know what they are called. You could check with some local ones around you as well. Fran Here is a link that might be useful: Japanese methods of growing morning glory in pots

To paige 16 Yes it is true that most of those items really have no place on current tables for most of us. I think that collecting is so important rather than just melting the stuff down. I have bought items in my set because they were available for purchase. I did not expect to have the number of place pieces or serving pieces that I have. That is why I am thankful that Ebay does exist. I am sure that it it did not, I would not have had the set that I was abel to put together. The writes of the silver books said it was a hard pattern to collect. It really would have been had it not been for Ebay. This is our history and heritage. It is beautiful art as well. Just remember that some companies have given up trying to reproduce some of the "vintage patterns". Its because those men that created those early pieces were craftsmen. Just think, the silver companies as we knew them vitrually don't exist any more. They have been sucked up into holes and are no more than another part of a holding company. The people that own them at this point really don't understand or appreciate good American Silver. The younger people are there just because it is a job. Replacements does think it is doing the customer a favor by buying their silver. They are not all that honest either. I have tried selling there and found that they do try to take advantage of the original owner but make pretty good profits off of what you have sold to them. Be careful when you negotiate value with some of the folks out there.

Agree on the declawing thing. When Mushroom was a kitten, she would climb the curtains and sleep on the rod until someone would come home from work to get her down. We finally decided to have her declawed. My brother-in-law did the surgery, so she had a lot of special attention after that. I didn't think anything about it until I read about surgery itself. It is VERY painful - worse than having nail tips pulled off - OUCH!. At the time she wouldn't leave the front door even if I left her there all night - until she was in season, so I didn't worry much about the protection issue. She was a Siamese and LOUD!! Before she was spayed, my neighbors would complain for me not to let her out because she sounded like a newborn that had been left out, outside. I have hesitated to get another cat because of the clawing thing. If I do, I'm pretty sure I would - at least the front claws. So, at this point, I haven't decided - tough one because I really think I want another Siamese. In fact I know of one now -male. But I can't do the furniture/curtain clawing thing either.