You would need to buy some bagged topsoil to pot your aquatic plants in. It is cheap at big box stores. Many tropical and hardy aquatic plants thrive in Phoenix, I had a ponding friend there who had a business selling off her extras as they grew so fast. You didn't say you were in Phoenix that is just where I used to live. You can grow plants from tubers at the Asian market. You can also get them from other ponders, a lot cheaper than retail. There is an exchange as part of this forum and there are others too if you google. Many allow plants to be sold but this one does not. Many aquatic plants are fast growing and small starts are fine. There are not so many that are suitable for a home gardener to grow for food production. Most are ornamental.

Mrs. Frodo, I'll let you keep your first-born child! lol The tomato plants are rather large, and except for taking a beating from the wind a little now & then, and getting too dry once or twice, they've been fine. My driveway will be quite lonely once they leave our home for yours (grinning). The four o'clocks and black-eyed susan vine are still available, and I'm bringing lots of each. The verbena bonariensis forms a mound about one foot in diameter. Then very thin, tall stalks shoot up. At the top of the stalks you will have tiny cluster of lilac-colored flowers. The stalks also branch out some, and flowers form on each branch. The bees and butterflies fight over the flowers. If you deadhead by cutting the flowering stalks off near the ground, the plant will re-bloom over and over again. It is a very light and airy plant, amazingly tough and drought-resistant. Sometimes reseeds itself. I've attached a link with a picture of verbena for your viewing pleasure. And, what am I looking for? Just about any herb or veggie. Or flower. Or anything else. I'm not picky and I like trying new things, so anything you have to trade is fine. And, if you run out of things to trade, that's fine too. Thank you so much for all the work you've done to organize the swap. I hope you know how much your efforts are appreciated! The 2 verbena photos are at the bottom of the linked page. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Verbena details/photo

I have grown Miracle fruit from seeds, I rough up the outer coating, and plant in a miracle grow mixture. Have not had any trouble getting them to sprout. I live in zone 9b outside of Orlando. You could bring them in at night, with the cooler temps. I did not use any bottom heat and kept the soil moist but not wet. I have about 6 seedlings. The most important thing is to plant the seeds when they are fresh. Germination definitely declines with time.

Haha I guess by "every year" I mean this is our second year in our current house and although we expanded the garden, still happening. Previous to this it was always container gardening. Honestly I am a pretty low maintenance gardener...I barely weed, don't fertilize really at all (though I do compost), and have to try very hard to water regularly (we have city restrictions but I have rain barrels). Regardless, everything I plant grows like crazy! I attribute it to having amazing gardener grandparents on both sides. So it still surprises me when my vegetables do so well, hence the underestimating of the growth of the zucchini plants. I didn't even know there was a bush variety! Next year I will definitely look into that. Thank you for the advice about trimming!