Ianna, Because I have limited garden space at home, each summer I'm forced to grow a few tomato plants in containers to increase my seeds supply. Two tomato varieties that I've found repeatedly grow well in containers and yield plenty fruit under minimal caretaking are Indian Stripe and Bradley ... both open pollinated, "old fashioned" varieties. Indian Stripe is an indeterminate vine with nice sized fruit for slicing and has a deep pink color with chlorophyll retention that make it appear "purple." Indian Stripe begins yielding ripe tomatoes about 75 days after transplant and yield continuously until frost. It's fairly heat tolerant and has an excellent flavor much like Cherokee Purple. Bradley is a determinate type but yields over an extended period of time beginning about 80 days after transplant. Bradley fruit is deep pink when ripe and appears deep red in the slices. It's sweet with a mildly tomatoey flavor and heat tolerant. Both varieties grow well in 10-gallon containers filled with well drained soilless mix if irrigated frequently ... like as soon as you can stick your finger down into the mix and it feels dry. You might want to mix in a bit of time release granular plant food and then follow up with a dose of half-strength Miracle-Gro tomato formula once every week or 10 days when the plant begins flowering. There are other tomatoes that have done well for me in containers, but those are the two best I've found for size and flavor of fruit and for which seeds are easily available from Victory Seed Company.

I think you overreacted a bit about this one. I understand that you were twitchy after the compost article fiasco, but on this one, you were a bit too sensitive about the editors comments. Whenever a writer is writing for publication they are at the mercy of an editor, and sometimes this is a good thing. The editors loyalty and interest lies with the publication and the people who support that publication, so sometimes they make decisions that writers dont agree with. I have had articles published that were barely touched during the editing process and those that were entirely rewritten. That is just the name of the game, and if I am to have any peace of mind while selling (or donating!) written work, I must accept it. It was reasonable for the editors to want seasonally appropriate material for the article; the gardening public usually does not remember unfamiliar details, so the clover information would, in all likelihood, be long forgotten by next fall. And if they want a consistent tone in Master Gardener publications that is their prerogative. In some ways it makes sense because the public often feels most comfortable with a uniform style coming from one organization. In someway, Eddie, such "heavy handed" editing protects you, the author. In our litigious society it is not unheard of for someone to sue if they take advice and something untoward happens. The material the extension publishes is approved by extension agents, so they are the responsible party should someone decide his or her plants died because of your recommendations. Its sad that we have to consider these things, but we do. It sounds to me like you really dont care to write for this MG group right now, and if thats the case, you dont need to fight in order to separate.just tell them that you need a break. If thats not how youre feeling, ask the editorial board what subjects need to be filled for summer publications and start working on one. You have a great deal of knowledge to share, and you do it with such personality that its fun for the readerit may just not always be a good fit with every publication. Post your piece on your blog, and move on to the next.

Some gardening magazines end their issue with a "Last Word" type of essay. A couple are: Fine Gardening and Georgia Gardener (or is it Georgia Gardening?) plus other state magazines similar to GA Gdng. Wish I could help more.

Alan Lacy, especially his first two books, and a more recenty one "The Gardener's Eye". Henry Mitchell's "One Man's Garden" (Still re-read that book if bored on a winter's nite.) Christopher Lloyd........who threatens to stop on sight and heave certain plants right over the fence and outta your garden because they're soooo obnoxious. two writers out of New York who write on indoor gardening, who's names escape me for now...Hmmmmmmm... Jamaica Kincaid.......only person I've come across who can make me long for something called yellow Russian hollyhocks. A local writer here in S Calif....Tineke Wilders. I just plain like her style. :-)