Hi Tracy, Would you happen to have any "Kellogg's Breakfast" tomato seedlings? I really would like to try them this year.

I have always been organic, ever since I was a kid and my grandma and grandpa showed me how to plant a few seeds way back in the early 60's. I ran across Ruth's book in 1978 and it revolutionized my gardening. No more turning the soil! I was already toying with "no till" methods but her simple solution is the ticket, and I've done it basically that way ever since. Hay is not the only thing that works, any sort of mulch will do. You can check with local tree services that have chipper trucks and they will often times drop a whole load (or part of one) off for you at no charge (saves them a fee at the dump). Get your wheel barrow and pitch fork ready and mulch like crazy. The main way I differ is instead of putting the mulch everywhere, I make beds that are mulched and run 2 drip lines over the top, down the length of the bed. (I use T-tape, and use the heaviest gauge) Each time I add mulch, I top dress then use an old hoe handle with just the hook (blade broke off) to lift the line back over the mulch. Beds should only be as wide as you can reach from both sides WITHOUT having to stretch to reach the middle. I lay my drip line over the mulch so that water runs down through it and gets more of the mulch wet. It works with it under though, as enough water still keeps the bottom of the mulch moist. I just like the mulch to break down a little faster so it's feeding the soil. I love Ruth's book, and have recommended it to many a fellow garden keeper. There are also several threads on this site about "lasagna" gardening which is basically the same thing by a more recent author. The term lasagna was one I came up with years ago, but I used the word to describe the way I make a compost pile, with layers, and then "cook" the pile. The author of Lasagna Gardening heard me use the phrase and asked if she could use it and I said sure, so Lasagna gardening was born. Another good book is by Max Alth, How to Farm Your Back Yard the Mulch Organic Way. BTW, I don't do that much compost piling, although it seems I always have a huge pile going somewhere on my 5 acres. Its to much work to move the material twice, plus turning. It's easier to just put it in place as mulch one time and be done with it. Let us know how your garden grows. Arthur

I love this tree too. The one in Scottsdale is nothing compared to the one in Tempe in the lakes community south of Baseline and east of Rural. I talked to a guy that lives next to it, and he said that one of the original renters of this apartment complex planted it in the early 70s. It's got to be 80 feet tall. Truly looks like a tree out of the rain forest. The ones in the forest of uco at the zoo have those great aerial roots because they are constantly misted in the summer. Mine did not produce significant aerial roots until I hooked us some misters around it. Next time you go to the zoo, notice the variation between the trees. It is not just one species of Ficus. There are three distinct growth types at the zoo. The older ones in the forest of uco and the ones near the entrance have straight growing branches with spaced perfectly oval leaves. I think these are the F benghalensis. The one next to the bird cage that is north of the ocelot has longer and less oval leaves and I think it is a F lutea. Across from it, there is one with sharper and darker leaves that was recently planted. It even has a botanical sign - it is a F trichopoda (amazingly striking) The newer ones across the elephants and near the spider monkeys have more erratic growing branches and less perfect leaves. New growth swirls around and is not erect like benghalensis. This is the kind I have. IÂve been trying to figure out what kind this is for a while. It could be one of a dozen species from Africa that look very similar. They all have large leaves and easily grow aerial roots. There are also several large F palmeri (do not grow aerial roots, but sure can hug a rock) around the zoo that look similar, but these are locals from the southern sonoran desert. Tony

I have installed plenty of drip systems that are still fully functional 8 years out, and the plants are very happy as well. The one fact that you tend to gloss over with your praise of "real" irrigation systems, is that the above ground spray is never going to be as efficient in getting maximum water to the roots; a good percentage of the spray is lost to wind and evaporation, on even the most efficient spray systems. I would agree that there isn't much point in putting in drip systems if the landscape design utilizes a majority of high water using plants, or plants that prefer being wet down to avoid insect problems, or where ground covers that root as they spread are being used. In all these cases, it is still possible to use a combination of drip emitters and microspray or misters for the irrigation that is required. The one real advantage I find with installing drip irrigation is that you can target water where it is needed, rather than watering everything. Drip systems also allow for planting different water needing plants in close proximity, and using multiple lines on different valves, a wet plant can be planted next to a dry plant, and both can be happy. Conventional spray systems don't usually allow for such flexibility. Drip irrigation also typically uses much less water to irrigate a given area than spray irrigation does, I don't think there is any debate on this point. As to cost of installation, I don't find that there is that great of a difference between the two types of systems, I never sell my clients on the idea that drip will be less expensive to install, as it typically takes more time to add all the emitters than it would to trench, bury and install fixed spray heads. The savings come over time, with less water used. I do find that animals chewing on drip lines can sometimes be a problem, but this is only occasionally a problem here in most SF Bay Area gardens. As to maintenance, I usually find it sufficient to check the operation of valves once a month, and to clean out filters at the valve once a year. When I have installed battery operated valves, I generally recommend that the client check the battery at least every 6 months. I don't expect to change anyone's mind about which type of system is better; as I don't think anyone can say that one type is always better than another. It really boils down to the actual circumstances of the garden, how it is being planted, soil types, slopes involved, level of maintenance to be provided, etc. I wouldn't continue to install drip irrigation systems if they didn't work, or presented as many disadvantages as you claim they "always" do. In particular, drip systems have real merit and no equal with container plantings on decks and patios, where their ease of installation and operation have no equal. I find that I can install a drip irrigation with large planters and virtually guarantee that the plants will thrive with very little attention required on my part. The results speak for themselves. For homeowners that are interested in installing drip in a more efficient, less hit or miss way, it makes sense to have the system designed by a drip irrigation consultant/outlet that knows their stuff. Two local firms here in the San Francisco Bay Area that will provide free design assistance when buying their materials would include Irrigation Equipment Company here in Berkeley, and the Urban Farmer Store with several outlets in the Bay Area. They both provide occasional free classes on design and installation for homeowners, as well. Either of these firms will be able to point a homeowner in the right direction to use the most appropriate design, materials and method of installation to best match their circumstances. I have no vested interest in either company, but do buy from both of them on a regular basis, and also install both conventional spray as well as drip irrigation systems, with a 10 year and counting maintenance follow up on some of the older gardens I have installed. I haven't found any clients to be complaining about having installed drip in all this time, except where wild animals have become a problem with chewing of lines and/or emitters, and this has mostly only been a problem in specialized designs where I was using drip misters in trees to wet down epiphytic orchids, bromeliads and rhipsalis, and squirrels would chew off the mister heads. Ultimately I was able to resolve the problem by relocating mister heads so that they were mounted on the underside of tree branches rather than the tops of branches, which were more easily accessible to squirrels.