Sorry for all the bad info you were given and the wasted $$$ it has cost you and now the many problems you'll have to deal with. Is the Garden Soil a bad idea in containers? Definitely. It compacts badly, drains poorly and leads to plant root rot. Thus the warning on the bag. You'll find many discussions about the other problems it causes over on the Growing Tomatoes forum and the Container Gardening forum here. You'll also find many discussions there about all the issues of trying to grow upside down. It is a passing fad at best and a bad one. While the Celebrity 'might' do ok in a proper sized container of 10-12 gallons and right side up and the Big Beef will need a container of at least a 12-15 gallons for success, the Sun Gold is a HUGE plant - by far the biggest of the varieties you have as it often reaches 4-5' in width and 8-10' tall. It seldom does well in even a 1/2 whiskey barrel sized container without a great deal of extra work and care and feeding. Next year stick with varieties that are bred specifically for growing in containers. There are many of them available. Your plants are young enough and small enough that they can still be transplanted into a proper container mix and proper containers and do well IF you want to invest the money in making the needed changes. Good luck. Dave

It depends on the type of ants but here in zone 5 the answer would be no not a problem. Wood ants etc can be a problem at times and ants are attracted by water and wood. If you take care of your tree and spray regular for insects and use a fungicide things will go smooth. I would recommend as fruitnut mentioned holding off on fertilizer for the moment but if you wanted to give them a little compost or something it would not hurt but let me fully explain that. What I usually do when I plant a tree is get it in the ground and make sure you give it plenty of water until it gets established. Some people have heavy clay soil etc.. like we do so I mix a little compost in the hole when I plant but I do not fill the hole with compost or all your roots will just stay in that spot and grow like they were in a pot. When you plant a tree dig the hole out the shape of the roots and beyond which takes more digging at times but give the roots room to spread out because they get more nutrients and water that way. If water is an issue in your area like it is in mine you can build a shallow bucket around the tree out of dirt slightly elevated so as not to hold the water for long which could drown them but holds it there long enough to seep in so it does not run off down the hill and water the grass instead. That being said lack of water can be your enemy and since you are not there 24/7 to watch those trees and make sure they don't dry out there are a few extra things you can do. Apply a thin layer of compost like 10 year old cow manure or organic compost on top of the soil around the tree 1 or 2 inches thick (not much). It helps to holds the water a little longer and is not really a true fertilizer. Our soil is low in organic material so what I told you puts some back which is why I mix a little compost in the clay soil when I put it back in the soil. On top of the compost I typically apply wood chips if I know they are from a disease free source or lawn clippings or hay which hold the water longer. Don't use cedar or walnut chips if they are fresh chips because they are allelopathic http://www.ehow.com/info_10058507_nothing-grows-cedar-tree.html If you don't let the tree dry out when you first plant it its roots grow faster through the soil and it can uptake the nutrients it needs. You might briefly look at this article http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/drought/mulches.html that covers mulching. I will attach a youtube video that will give you a visual representation of a method similar to the one I use because our soil is clay / heavy loam here in Kansas. Oklahoma has somewhat similar soil. I grow a couple of honey crisp here and they are worthwhile growing. Here is a link that might be useful: planting a tree

Carol, I was just writing in to say Just THAT!! You took the words out of my mouth. I can not for the life of me, understand those guidelines!! I like to think I'm fairly intelligent, but as much as I love the info on the NCFHP, I just couldn't figure out the processing times. Thank you Carol and Dave! You clarified what I just couldn't understand. So I was able to can 8 pints of crushed tomatoes, after your advice. And I hit and kept the 15 lb of pressure for 15 minutes easily with hardly any temp adjustments. The whole process took much longer because I took my time double checking everything and it all went smoothly from processing to lifting them out, after waiting 75 minutes (just to be sure)for the canner to cool down. I have another batch to can tomorrow and I can't wait. I don't have another rack so I can layer them together like I'd like to. Thank you for the advice, you don't know how much I appreciate it! And I will add an index card or small notebook in my Pressure canner box, so next year I can read what I did. Thank you for the idea, Carol! ~ Amanda

"Vascular injection feeding What, pray tell, is that?" I remember reading a few years back about a grower's attempt to provide plants with nutrients by IV drip, directly into the vascular tissues in the plant stem or flower cluster node. Claimed huge "prize winning fruit." Never tried it myself. I think it would kill the plant and kinda seems like cheating anyway. But if it works and is allowable in these contests, well, there you go.