As with any kind of recreational activity, there are start up costs, but I think each year, I spend less and less. I am just finishing up about half a dozen seed trades, sending folks seeds collected out of my garden, for varieties I don't have, so for the price of a couple of stamps, I'll have several new peppers and tomatoes to try this year. David, last year my DH ran across an ad for an upright deep freeze. Someone up in Aspen just giving it away. It is full of bags of pesto, shredded zucchini, sliced carrots, peppers, apricots (free from a neighbor), etc. So the only expense is the electricity to run it. I also canned about 150 jars of jams, jellies, applesauce, salsa, pasta sauce, and pickles. I gave away quite a bit for Christmas gifts, but there is still plenty left over for our family to use. Just last night, I made spaghetti using a jar of my homemade sauce, and then we had some applesauce for dessert. Way better than anything storebought. The jars will get reused, so the only cost this year will be new lids, and the electricity to run the canner. Gardening is one of the only recreational activities that I know of that can pay for itself. DH spends who-knows-how-many-$$$ on motorcross bikes, gear, gas, replacement parts, etc., and has a great time with the kids, but it certainly won't make us any money ... not unless one of the kids turned pro or something, LOL. Bonnie

It depends on the variety. Check the seed packet out

Cindy, Spongeop is correct...it takes as much as it takes. You want your pool water to turn over (be run through the filter) at least once every 24 hours, sometimes more in the summer. You can definitely save some money using non-pool-store "chemicals" that are chemically equivalent to what the pool store sells you; sometimes they're even better because they don't have a lot of extra chemicals you don't need. I've linked PoolForum.com below as a great site with a wealth of info to help you out. Unfortunately, they're not accepting new registrations, so you can't post questions there. However, a number of knowledgeable posters on PoolForum also post on TroubleFreePool.com where they DO accept new registrations. All I know about pools came from this site and Pool Forum (TFP wasn't in existence when I started). Their advice really works!! Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: PoolForum site

Do not pull them out to see if they rooted. If you really have to know, just tug cutting gently - just enough to feel if there is any resistance. If yes, that means roots started growing and are anchoring the plant. If I had some cuttings in water, I would take them out and set them on some paper towels to dry off. They could be gently wiped off too. I would then make sure stems are not too soft or discolored - that is likely sign of rot. If some parts are, they should be cut off or possible mold/rot could spread. After a day or so, I would stick them into mix. I prefer to let them callus first, since 'open wounds' are easy to get infections. I do not water rootless cuttings for a while, usually when the roots started to grow or some new growth is visible - that usually happens when some roots have grown. Without roots, there is no 'transportation' of water to rest of plant. I have at least 45-50 pots of cuttings right now (few have more than 1 cutting) and all look like they are rooting. Some I am sure of - they have been potted longer, some I just potted in past few days and it is too early to tell. I do not use any rooting hormones or fungicides; sometimes I dust lightly with cinnamon powder, but only on big cuts. This is how I do it and have to say that vast majority of cuttings root - leaves or stem cuttings. Maybe not 100%, but definitely over 90%. There are few plants that are more difficult to root, but pretty well all I can see in your photos should.