The web is full of em, just do google searches under things like "beach erosion". I've owned a Gulf front house for 20 years and out of necessity have studied the problem for that whole time (I am also a civil engineer so have some technical background). I can tell you that beach erosion is a local problem, that is what happens to your beach is unique to your specific spot. The stuff on the internet is more general or about other locations and may or may not help you. It is a good way to get educated on the subject. The hands down best way to protect a house from beach erosion is a solid well engineered rock wall. But in Florida they are no longer allowed, except in certain circumstances, and for good reason, a rock wall in front of your house can increase erosion of your neighbors. Groins (call jetties in Florida) are very effective, but have been totally outlawed in Florida, for similar reasons, they can just displace the erosion down the beach. I am not so sure they should be totally banned, but they are. Beach re-nourishment is another option, but it is expensive and can only be done by a community over miles of beach, not something the individual homeowner can do. Vegetation can help, but there are limits as to how much. Sea oats are the standard, and sea oats do a good job of dune building. But I can tell you from personal experience they do not have a good root structure and wash away quickly in a hurricane storm surge. There is another beach grass, I don't know what it is called, it's about the same size as a sea oat but the seeds look different. It has a bit better root structure, but I have never seen them for sale, the ones on my beach just came up. I keep my beach from the house to the water very well fertilized, I use 10-10-10 fertilizer every month or two. As a result I have a lot more beach vegetation than my neighbors, and it does catch more wind blown sand. I just started doing this a few years ago so it is yet to be tested in a storm. And as I have said here I am cultivating an Australian pine hedge between my house and the Gulf as a barrier. I am sure all this will help, just not sure how much. Sand fences can help too. Problem is the real causes of beach erosion are in the water, currents and offshore sand sources and sinks, not what happens on the land. So all the vegetation and sand fencing in the world can't have a huge impact, it just slows the erosion a bit. Good luck, on the beach in Bay County is nice!

I'm not sure how tall those peas will get. But I bet they'll be about at their limit when you can put out tomatoes. Chances are, also, that the weather will warm up quickly and the peas will cease to thrive about the time the tomatoes get going. So I doubt you'd have a problem. Just eyeball the situation when it's time to plant the tomatoes. Sounds like a good and novel idea! George Tahlequah, OK

Woofie and others, I am uncertain if the photoperiod effect is seen in species of Ipomoea other than Ipomoea nil. I have read that if seedlings that are grown under long day/short night conditions for 5 days (that is, 5 days of 16 hours light/8 hours dark) then treated to one cycle of short day/long night (8 hours light/16 hours total dark) will induce flowering in the plants. I say total darkness because any break in the darkness, such as a husband turning on the light for just a brief period, will disturb floral induction. What you can try is popping the container with seedling into a light-tight box for 16 hours and see if flower buds start coming on in a big way. I have seen reports of big flowers appearing on very small vines when they are treated in this manner. I haven't tried it but it would be a cool thing to do. Ronnie, I think those products are compounts for inducing root production in cuttings due to presence of certain plant enzymes. The products I was referring to have mycorrhizal fungi that the root must come in contact with so the fungus and root can form the symbiotic bond by the fungus actually infecting the root. The fungus forms a web out in the soil around the roots, and make Phosphorus and other micronutrients available to plants in exchange for compounds the plants make available to the fungi. Google using search term mycorrhizal fungal products should give you piles of products to try out. Check out the videos that are on You Tube, I just watched the one in the link below and it was pretty informative. Joseph Here is a link that might be useful: Mycorrhizal fungi general discussion on You Tube

I saw this Australian tree fern in a greenhouse about 50 miles from me. I had thought you could'nt grow them in containers, but, they are here in a pot for sale, so could I keep 1 in a container over the winter in my basement? I'm in zone 6 Pa, so obviously can't put them in the ground.