I understand, Seil. More than 25 years ago, I would leave an overhead, oscillating sprinkler going over large areas of my Newhall garden, requesting the community gardening staff to turn them off when they left for the day, on triple digit days. The horse manure mulch disappeared quickly. The foliage was huge, plants even more so, and they flowered amazingly. Water was cheap and plentiful, so not an issue there and then. There were no disease or insect issues. The plants were fully clothed in very dense, durable foliage and there was no such thing as sun scald nor Flat Headed Apple Borers which became great issues once that type of watering had to be discontinued due to availability and cost. Black spot and mites were frequent issues with the own root plants we propagated as volunteers at The Huntington. I learned early when bringing home any new plant such as those to pull off all of the foliage before bringing it into the garden. I had an area in filtered sun under a tree where I kept a pile of horse manure. I'd clump the newly arrived own roots in their pots together, surround and fill between them with the manure, often inside them as mulch, then overhead water until new foliage began developing. No mites, no diseases and the plants exploded into growth quickly. A bit of hardening them off in larger cans and higher levels of heat and light and they were ready for planting once they'd filled the five gallon cans. Growing them up in larger cans also permitted me to move them around to see what position was best to their liking. It often made quite a difference. At the beach, I had a number of customers who regularly used my "proprietary blend" of Ultra Fine and Miracle Grow sprayed every two weeks except between the middle of July through the middle of October. In the Perma Fog, it prevented disease, eliminated the constant aphids and saw flies and kept really terrible things there, like one lady's beloved and hated Paul Neyron, viable. He caught her heart in books and she was determined to grow him. He languished until I suggested the Ultra Fine and MG foliar application. She had severe bronchitis, but made sure she brought me a bouquet of beautiful Paul Neyron from her bush! Used during the heat, that mixture did burn, but when there weren't heat and light intensities to contend with, it worked wonders. NO way I could have ever used it in any garden at home! I tried it once, learned my lesson the hard way right there and then! Anything presented as being even slightly phytotoxic WILL burn here. I am in total agreement with your walking the roses daily. I can't imagine having them unless I wanted to walk them every chance I got. Each has its own personality, likes, dislikes, needs and will quickly let you know if you don't provide them. It's the best way not only to head off problems early, but also to detect sports. They can happen so quickly right in front of you and seemingly behind your back. A big part of the serendipity for me! Kim

Ummm..using words like "cruel & inhumane" on a board is a sure way to send some flames your way. I think when choosing between a paper wasp chewing their way through a live caterpillar and a nice cozy paper bag, they would choose the paper bag everytime. But I might be a little anthropomorphic here (a word you might want to check out). I would love to hear what Larry would say (hee hee). I am sure there are studies out there that talk about ideal humidity levels. There are single studies for different species. I also think that removing the leaf from the plant runs the risk of disease taking the egg. The plant manufactures secondary compounds to fight fungus and bacteria and when we remove the leaf, it stops making these compounds. I have lost eggs because they failed to hatch before the leaf turned black. That is why I try to take as much stem as possible so the leaf can continue to live and maintain if not manufacture it's secondary compounds. -Elisabeth

Agree with the others, patio tomatoes and other small varieties should do fine in 5 gallon containers. Lowes's sells them for about $2.50. If you're doing a traditional container, the MiracleGro Moisture Control will probably be fine - although Al's 5-1-1 better. If you go with a self-watering container, you're better off using Ray's 3-2-1 mix (with regular MiracleGro or, preferably, a better medium such as Pro-Mix). I also recommend, with 5-gallon bucket SWCs, just use a single hole drilled into a cup or deli container as your wicking basket. Last year I didn't listen to this advice myself and believe my plants were too wet as a result.

"basil can become bitter ..." Not my experience. I keep basil cut back to keep it from flowering so it will produce for longer period of time. As basil matures, the leaves will become less tender, which is perfectly good IMO for making pesto, or for putting in the freezer for winter. I also plant new basil every few weeks through summer so we will have the tender leaves for chopping when fresh basil is called for, like in tomato salads. Later in the summer, I let some of the basil plants bloom. Bees love it, and so do hummingbirds. Then it produces seeds which can be saved for the next season. I have never known basil to become bitter, but mature coarse leaves can have a slightly peppery taste which I do not find offensive.