Ciao all- Ok, I think I've got all of this straight, but I wanted to put it all in one place so I have it for tomorrow. These are my trades as I know them: With Wildflower: Giving: golden raspberries, red rubin basil, strawberries, peppers Getting: peonies, asparagus With Thehills: Giving: golden raspberries, +/- strawberries Getting: purple/blue iris, 2 year rooted red currants, blue queen salvia With HomeMommy: Giving: heirloom tomatoes, strawberries Getting: double decker coneflower, mini rose, +/- blue/purple clematis With Skraps: Giving: heirloom sauce tomatoes, I'm not the one with the datura swirl..I can't grow daturas because I have pets and a young child. Have a look at all the other stuff I'm bringing because heirloom tomatoes were all I had from your wants list. Getting: Anna Bell hydrangea, +/- bleeding hearts, +/- lady's mantle, +/- pink columbine With Sunita: Giving: yellow yarrow, pink soapwort, +/- purple violets Getting: we hadn't discussed a trade and I've totally forgotten what you're bringing, so I'll have to look that up and ask you in a follow-up post. The +/- things are either me being confused or a trade not confirmed, so any of you who are trading with me and you see a +/- thingie next to the stuff I either asked about or we both did, just confirm if that's what you want or if it's cool that I get what I asked for. Does that make sense? Sheesh, I'm getting more confused as I write this!

Gorgeous specimens of Halcyon, Harry! That scene makes a beautiful picture...compliments re the play on colours - very lovely! Nope, no outside pips emerging...lots of rain, snow melting rapidly and I can see some potted hosta exposed now YIPEE...but they have chunks of ice covering them. Here's something you don't see often....this is a "pot" sculpted out of ice that sat on my deck all winter. I placed an empty pot inside another and it got buried under our first snowfall....never to resurface till last week. I'll never forget this sight!

Dang, I wish I could go, but we have other plans. I took a course from one of the speakers, Gary Koller, last fall and he's really great. I never knew daylilies were edible!

7.5 gallon is more than one cubic foot, an more than some bagged soil. IMO, it is enough to support a normal tomato plant, with proper pruning and mainteance. Also, keep in mind that the soil is a medium. What plants need is the nutrients and the moisture. In a hydroponic system there is no soil. Water is the medium. So as long as the plants get what they need, the amount of medium is secondary. The challenge here, in container gardening, is how to provide moisture and nutrients constantly. That is why having a bigger container is advantageous, as a matter of convenience for the grower. In ground planting is even more convenient than big container. Another point to consider is that tomato is an annual plant with 5 to 6 months life for most of us. It is unlike a house plant that will be there for years. Even if at the end of season it becomes root bound, it is not critical. JMO