I have about a dozen varieties but all except some of my adeniums are still pretty small. I hope they will one day look like the pics in that book. My problem is that after seeing some of the photos I will begin an obsessive search for more varieties. My kids don't need the money we've put aside for college, do they? lol

I know you don't feel it now, but it will get easier. You will smile again I promise. One day you will feel peace again, I promise. I lost my mom 2 yrs ago. Yes, it still hurts. I cried tonight, out of the blue, because I missed her.But it is the first time in 2 months that I have done that. I have came a long way. I am not where I want to be, but I thank God I am not where I used to be.I am still healing. Please remember this. Nobody, not even God, can fully take your mother away.You will always be part of your mother. You have her genes, her blood, maybe her hands, maybe her eyes, maybe you laugh like her, walk like her. She made you. You were inside of her, and you are part of her, always. You can't get away from that. She is with you everywhere. Go outside, look up at the stars, and talk to her. Find a star, that you connect to, and close your eyes. Connect with her, and she will guide you. She is your angel now.

I've got to chime in on this because I need your help. There is currrently a Grohe in the house we just bought that I am looking to replace with a new one since it's old and looks cruddy. I can't decide on the Grohe or Price Pfister. We currently have a PF and when it leaked they sent replacement parts at no cost to me with no hassle. I liked that guarantee. I'm also looking for the 360 degree swivel since my sink is huge. The Grohe LadyLux Plus has a Dual Spray control to switch from spray to regular flow, the Ladylux Cafe you show seems to have a button you have to hold in. I do like the Vinnetta - you can point the head and keep the stream or spray on. Now I have a strange question - on the Grohe, there are red and blue marks (hot/cold), but I can't seem to see if they are on any of the others, the Vinnetta or PF. I've also read that some folks had problems with the pull-down ones like the ones displayed here in that they had to push the hose back up into the sprayer because after a while it wouldn't release up easily. So, bottom line, I need a great guarantee, a 360 swivel, a head that locks spray/stream, one where the hose will last and I was looking for one that goes with a black granite sink (but not chrome, we have horrible hard water)..........any suggestions?

You can either buy your plants from nursery or you can start them from seeds, which I recommend to reduce risk of bringing home diseased plants. Starting seeds: You want to know what is your "last frost date", this is the date when you are no longer risking frost in your area. Start seeds indoor around 6 weeks before this date. This will get you a healthy seedling large enough to transplant into the big pot once it's warm enough outside. You can start seeds in a sterile potting mix, don't water too much. As the seedling grows, you can begin to water with a weak diluted fertilizer. When you first bring it outdoor, try to not give it too much direct sunlight in the first week while they're adopting. Choosing the type of containers: There are many different container growing methods. My favorite type right now is "fabric grow bags". Grow bags have very good aeration and drainage ability which allows the plant roots to grow very well and reduces the risk of over watering, which is a common mistake for new gardeners. And they are affordable. If you want something nicer looking, wine barrels and terracotta pots allows better drainage and aeration compared to typical plastic containers. There is also self wicking containers which have a water reservoir that holds several gallons so it water the container by itself over time and is low maintenance, such as City Pickers and Earthbox. Growing medium: For containers, you want to use "potting mix". The potting mix should be not too heavy and drains well. Do not buy "potting soil". Some brands of potting mix are very water retentive and acidic since they are mostly peat moss, so you need to add dolomite lime to balance the pH. I try to find a potting mix that have pine barks in them which improve drainage. There are many ways to go about making your container mix. Some people are completely against using compost in containers and uses 100% potting mix. I personally use a mix of 75% potting mix and 25% compost in plastic pots. Though lately with fabric grow bags, I go up to 50/50. Poor quality compost can have disease or herbicide contamination. Fertilizers: To keep it basic, you mainly don't want to feed tomato too much with fertilizers high in nitrogen. Too much nitrogen will produce lots of leaves and little flowers. Two main type of fertilizers are water based which are fast acting or organic slow release. Personally go for slow release, there are many brands to choose from such as Ecoscraps, Espoma, Jobe's, or whatever is popular locally. Sometimes if a plant is deficient I might give it water fertilizer for a quick boost. You don't want to abuse the plant with too much fertilizers which would be detrimental to it's growth. Many synthetic fertilizers have salt and using them too often can be bad for plants. Just follow the instruction on the box. Other than that you want to buy a tomato cage or trellis to help it grow. --- The only kind I have heard of is Beef Steak There are many varieties with different sizes, colors and flavors. If you look up tomato seeds catalog you will be overwhelmed. For starter, you want to grow something standard and popular that is known to be productive to give a higher success rate. Beefsteak is a good start. This is the most discussed aspect of growing tomatoes, so you will get all kind of different recommendations. I recommend Jaune Flamme. It is an orange salad sized tomato that is very early and prolific, but you will have to start from seeds. How long does it take to grow until you can eat it. It depends on the variety, how healthy the plant is, how much sun it gets and many other factors. Each tomato variety have a different time it takes to bear fruit. Look at the "days to harvest", this is the estimate days from when you transplant the seedling until you get the first ripe fruit. Some variety are early as 45days, these are usually cherry tomatoes, larger sized tomatoes tend to take longer up to 100 days or more. So it's important to choose the variety that will give you harvest before it's too cold. What kind of insects are likely to attack? Each region can have slight variation, but the main ones are moth caterpillars. I recommend "bt" sprays which will kill them and is an organic approved method, a popular brand is Thuricide. Here in the south we have lots of whiteflies which sometimes carry "yellow leaf curl virus", once a plant catches this virus it's incurable. What insects or diseases should I watch for? There are lots of different tomato diseases. Having a good draining grow mix is key to minimize it imo. It is generally agreed that tomatoes much more likely to get disease if their leaves are constantly wet, so water the base of the plant, not the leaves. Pruning can be very important, you want to prune the bad yellowing or diseased leaves in the bottom of the plants as it grows, this let more air pass through the bottom. One issue you may get is "bottom end rot". This is cause by the plant lacking calcium, but actually due to pH issue and uneven watering, where the mix is too wet or too dry for period of time. Do the flowers mean that is going to turn into a tomato? Tomato flowers are self pollinating, just a bit of wind or shaking the plant will allow the pollinating to happen. Not all flowers will become fruits, there is an optimal temperature range. Too cold or too hot, diseases, lacking nutrients are some of the things that will prevent fruit forming.