Hey Nila, thanks! That weird looking tomato is a Blush, kinda like a roma, really tasty and made for eating right off the vine. I don't really cook with tomatoes, just eat them straight. Definitely going to try those veggies for winter! Terrene, seems like whenever i look at tomato seeds or advice about toms it's always 8 hours or more. The white poly film I have up really helps, makes the grow area feel more like a greenhouse. If bright sunlight is between 30,000 and 100,000 lumens, I'm guessing I'm getting 5,000-15,000 of indirect light for most of the day, which is comparable with indoor grow lights. The grow bags are reusable and look like they'll last a number of years. The Root Pouch ones are much thicker than the Smart Pots and have better handles. I get them locally for $4.50 for a 5 gal. I'd like to have a raised bed but there's just no way to do it. My entire space is 4x10 feet with a little walkway in the middle. Total I have 4-6 pots on each side. And I reuse the soil, mix it in with some mulch and water it when I'm not using it to keep the organic bacteria alive. Here's today's harvest from 3 plants. Not huge, but this would probably go for $4 at a grocery store:

I am confused. Posts here indicate that Cilantro hates the Sun. I also read where morning sun and afternoon shade is probably best. I started a dozen plants from seed in pots with organic garden soil on the east side of my house. They get 6 hours of early sun. They ALL lean (practically laying down) toward the south sun. At first I tried rotating the pot every day. No matter which way I turn the pot, they all lean toward the sun. Funny for a plant that hates the sun so much. Now none of them seem to be able to stand on their own. I quit rotating the pot and prop them all up with soil everyday. But they are so weak that just the drops of water hitting them from the sprinkling can causes them to fall over and lay down again. I had the same problem with tomatoe seedlings last year. No cutworms. Any advice appreciated.

I've had no luck with cilantro this time of year. Not knowing what I was doing and thinking everything needs to be planted in spring last year, I happily planted some cilantro seeds in pots around this time. Well, it was hot and nothing much came up. What did come up quickly died. I tried lots of seeds and most didn't even germinate. So I gave up and used those pots for strawberries. Guess what came up between my strawberries in the fall when the weather cooled down. Lots of cilantro. It's about that time I realized that cilantro is a cool weather crop. Had to learn the hard way, I guess.

You need a soil test to be certain what's going on with the ground itself. No amount of guessing will help. Tell them what you're trying to grow and they can offer corrections tailor made for specific crops, usually. Generally, you need softer soil so the tubers will be able to expand. Incorporate all the organic matter you can find. Compost is supreme, but chipped leaves are great, manures are good, and if you absolutely have to, try peat moss. Someone suggested sand to me, but I believe that red clay plus sand = concrete and I don't want it to be worse than it is already. I plant about 300 slips per year. I do the same thing every year. I get varying results and still don't know why. Last year, I had a decent crop, but not any huge tubers like in the past. So this March, I hauled in fresh horse manure and dumped it and tilled it in. When I was ready to plant in May when the slips arrived, that had mostly rotted. I use a turn plow to make hilled rows. It digs deep. I go both ways to make one row so it's uniform on both sides. Works for me. Then I'll go back and hand plant 18 to 24 inches apart and firm the soil around them on top of the ridge. I make a depression around them to help catch water. Otherwise, it runs off, not in. Red clay forms a crust in a heart beat. I'll water a few times as is, then I'll go back and poke holes in the hill 6 or 8 inches deep and water again into the holes so water gets into the hill. Usually I have to water 4 to 6 times, once every other day, before it rains enough and the plants look like they will survive on their own. I may go 3 days between if it's overcast and not so hot. Watering is done by hand. I'm not near a spigot. Used to be 2 gallon cans filled from a rubbermaid container and spritz each plant. Now I have a 300 gallon tank on a trailer and a hose. I still walk the rows, but I can give each plant more water at a time without fear of running out so soon. 300 plants means about 500 row feet. last year, I dumped a quart of fish emulsion, a bottle of NOG, and a small bottle of chelated iron (needed magnesium or manganese, I forget) and just for good measure, a handful of 20 mule team borax for boron. They need boron. I added 200 gallons of water. Nice fragrant cocktail. I watered both the sweets and the tomatoes and pepper transplants with it. I had the best pepper production I've ever had. Sweets, not so much. This year, I added fresh manure in March and watered again with the cocktail. I dug sample sweets early last week that were the size of gallon milk jugs. Literally. I'm waiting to dig the rest another week or two. I usually dig them right at the September/October change. I've had rabbit issues this year from what I can tell looking at the patch. But the vines are thick and heavy, the leaves are huge. I'm looking forward to the big dig in another week or two. Next year, I should be using rain water. That's the plan anyway. See if this works. If not, click the link below. This is from two random plants near the end of the rows. Smaller regular size tubers are in the bucket... Here is a link that might be useful: