"It seems that most of the posters here have more Av's then I have houseplants. That is cool, but I would be divorced if I had that many." Well, there ya go.......sell the big bed, get a twin, and put violets where he used to sleep!! lol Barbara

New homes (like ours 22 years ago and probably yours) are generally leveled and graded with the subsoil extracted from digging out the basement hole. The topsoil is stripped and if any soil has to be added for final grading (i.e., even after spreading the basement subsoil), it is not topsoil generally. This "grading" soil is usually very rich soil but devoid of organic matter. And, as you now know, organic matter is needed to get this soil "alive". You just have to add MASSIVE amounts of organic matter to make it friable. Every year, I mulch mow a HUGE amount of autumn leaves all around the yard and garden. It is something you have to do every year (i.e, adding organic matter). Raised beds are good for veggies and flowers but you can amend strips of the existing soil by adding massive amounts of organic matter and digging it in. (You'll have to make the raised beds out of purchased topsoil, Canadian peat and compost, etc., to get them "ready to use" immediately. I'd keep the compost in the new raised beds at about 10 percent IMHO.) Now is an absolutely perfect time to do this. Go around your area and see if you can find any curbside leaf bags and dig those into flower or veggie growing areas you want in the future and/or mulch mow them EVERYWHERE. Now is the time to do this and I recommend you do this on a MASSIVE scale. You'll have to run the mower over the thick layer of leaves 3 to 4 times to get it real small. Over time you will see dramatic results IMHO. All this organic material addition/amending is alot of work but it is great exercise and very rewarding IMHO. Good luck!! Tidbit: I talked to Dr. Elaine Ingram (she's an expert on soils) a few years back asking about the typical suburban soil around new homes and she basically said: "You probably can't add enough organic matter in your lifetime to make the soil 'too organic'." What she was really saying was "have at it" and don't worry about mulching massive amounts of organic matter onto the soil. Compost, shredded leaves, mulched grass clippings, wood chips, etc. Dr. Ingram isn't big on digging stuff into the soil but she said for new suburban soils this is fine to get things "started". She also said autumn leaves are great organic material.

Aside from all these dwarf varieties, which are generally meant for pots, if you have room, you can grow regular varieties by training. You can top them, espalier them etc. You may get a larger yield doing this, then growing dwarfs. It all depends on how much you are willing to put into it.

Yes Robin, Brandywine is very finicky in our Texas heat. This has been a very rough year as we went from perfect to scorching temps virtually overnight and it has been very humid too. Brandywines, from my experience do not like hot temps and high humidity. The must be started early, set out early and protected from frost to have much chance to get a decent fruit set. Last year one plant was my most successful BW Sudduth (Sp?) ever with 13 tomatoes. We had a "cool snap" with highs in the 80s for a week or so in late May or early June and a second waive of fruit set giving me 4 or 5 more than the original. Given their size and taste, I feel they are worth it, though I didn't grow them this year. If you search, I think you'll find others with BW in hotter climates generally talk about small numbers of fruit set and if you aren't planting out by mid March, you probably won't get any BW in the DFW area (and I suspect in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, too). There are several other heirlooms that set better in the heat, so do some searches, look on Tatiana's web page and find some to try. See how they grow for you and how they taste. When you hit on some you love and they do well, keep bringing them back. For me, my current favorite beefsteak type that does well in our conditions is Indian Stripe and it is doing well for me this year, again. This year I've tried new varieties for me, black and brown boar and goose creek and I'm impressed with both. Good luck.