If in Oregon you have HomeDepot... LOL!! Is this an assumption that Oregon is somehow out in the wilds without the usual retail amenities?? FWIW, Home Depot has nearly 2000 stores covering all 50 states and most of Canada, as well as outlets in Mexico and China. imstillatwork, I am assuming you are located in the Brookings area? This has nothing to do with the topic at hand, but you might want to research your hardiness zone further. While southern coastal Oregon offers a very benign climate, it is typically listed as a zone 9, not 10. Not a significant difference but one that may have an impact on container culture. If finding bark fines locally continues to be a problem, I might direct you to an excellent prepared container soil (actually several formulations) marketed under the Gardner and Bloome label. This brand is carried by Del-Cur Supply in your area. I have used this product myself for years for all my container plantings, both personally and for my clients, and I have had nothing but great results from it. IMO, it is one of the best commercially prepared container mixes available on the west coast.

lettucebabies, you have not killed any of the plants...yet. Here are my thoughts. Lettuce: the seedlings appear to want more light. They seem to be growing towards the right and front of the container. You can rotate the container or expose the whole (gradually!) to more hours of sunlight. The watering seems to be OK because of the color of the soil surface and there is no evidence of water collecting in the saucer. The seedling at 'one o'clock' appears to be suffering most. The one at 'five o'clock' might be a different variety from the rest and may be the type most suited to the conditions that you provide. Incidentally, there is a fungus (damping off) which attacks seedlings at the soil line. One way to protect the seedlings is to sprinkle a thin layer of sand over the soil surface right up to the stem of the seedling. This keeps the stem dry. You might try that now as a precaution. Lettuce is a 'leaf crop' (the leaves are useful) and a 'short crop' (30 days or less to maturity). Therefore nitrogen is the most important element. One choice is to apply a slow release all purpose fertilizer at transplant time or else apply a liquid fertilizer at weekly intervals. I favor "Osmocote" 14-14-14 at transplant time. Zucchinni: There is nothing noticeably wrong here. The 'seedleaves' have brown edges but this is normal. Their function is to provide nourishment until the true leaves begin to function; they then wither away. The true leaves are well-formed, nicely green and the youngest ones are 'clean and green'. The dark coloring of the soil around the plant indicates that watering is concentrated in this area. I would suggest that the watering be spread more evenly over the whole surface of the container. It makes for 'better use of the water used'. Basil: The only explanation I can think of is "sunburn". Is it possible that the plants were exposed to bright direct sunlight for even a short time? This can happen on the trip from the nursery. The plants are put on the floor of the back seat in full shade. But during the journey home they get some exposure which can be enough to cause sunburn. Although its leaves are the useful product, this is not a leaf crop; treat it like a tomato or pepper seedling as far as watering and fertilizing are concerned. The holes on the leaves are caused by insects, typically beetles. The leaves develop their fullest flavor when grown in full sun and not over-watered. The "Earthbox": In my opinion the symptoms on the plants are an indication of conditions in the box itself - set up and operation. It can sometimes be difficult to get the fertilizer spread according to the instructions; it can also take some time before the water distribution functions properly. Sometimes top watering is necessary. The very sick seedling nearest the watering tube might be suffering from moisture stress or fertilizer burn or both. The seedling next in line appears normal and healthy (just look at that growing center). Then the third in line looks wilted. Only you can know if the fertilizer was applied in the narrow band down the middle of the box and whether the soil mix was put in to promote even watering from the reservoir and if the refilling has been adequate and timely. But in time the system settles down to a routine of adding water to the reservoir and keeping a sharp look out for pests. You should get a very good crop of beans; indeed I think that you will have to remove every other plant in order to obtain quality beans. But time will tell you if that will be necessary. I only wish that my first attempt at growing black-eye peas was that successful; I over watered the container and earned an "F" in Gardening. Will you please tell Mr. Griffith how far I have come? That is, if you yourself think so.

Thank you all for your kind comments. We built the ponds over a weekend mid June digging the holes on Saturday and inserting the liners and smoothing out the dirt on Sunday. I actually waited a week and 2 days before adding any fish. We live on Long Island, no raccoon here but I saw an opossums twice in my yard about 5 years ago, but the most dangerous predator here are cats (one likes to drink every morning in a fountain we have). Thanks for reinforcing the "wait and see" strategy. I have about a third of the water coveren in lettuce now, will probably get some more next trip to the garden place. On a happy note when I checked the pond this morning the boys were schooled up at the far end looking for food on the surface. They seemed happy and healthy, and I did get to see Nemo and Goldie (the two Kois).

I leave some leaves in the pond for them for the winter. My fish hide in them also. My pond is much bigger (about 6000 gal) and I always have some frogs die each year. I cover part of my pond, and run a small pump under the cover. this year I added an air pump under the cover and some roof deicing cable. I have not found a dead frog yet! I read somewhere that frogs optimum winter temp is (if I remember correctly) 35-37* and I have been trying to think of a way to get some heat into the water without it costing a fortune. I wove the cable thru a piece of dog crate so it wouldn't touch itself anywhere. It was warm to the touch out of the water. Then I put it in the water kind of upright so the top was at the surface. I used a 60 ft cable and I think it cost about $10 a month to run. There was no ice under the cover and outside it stayed thin near the cover. So maybe it did keep the water a touch warmer and help the frogs! Sherry /frugalgardener 5/MI