Quick tutorial: Most commercial potting media support several inches of excess water at the pot's bottom. This is water that will not drain by the force of gravity alone because the sum of water's tendency to stick to itself and to soil particles is greater than the force of gravity. This is the water you need to be very concerned about. In the images, the shaded area represents excess (perched) water, which will be the same ht in any container for any given medium. Note how much water can be expelled from the container by tipping the pot (see B) or using ballast (see D). It's too late for ballast, since the planting is already established, but ballast can eliminate 95% or more of excess water in any medium. You can also use a wick to drain a significant amount of excess water from plantings for which a water-retentive medium has been used. When using a wick, the best location for the drain hole is through the bottom of the pot where it meets the sidewall. Combine it with tipping with the drain hole at the lowest point for best results. I use a strand from a rayon mop as my wicks. The only way to stop water from entering a pot when it's raining is to use some type of mechanism to ensure no rain falls on the plant or soil. So providing some form of cover (garage or enclosed porch, e.g.) or providing a makeshift canopy/umbrella would be the direction your thinking might take if you don't care to use the methods I described. Al

Gregory! What an absolutely beautiful article and all that you have done..I love teh pictures and that is exactly what I would do to my place if I bought a house down there. I have friends from Thailand that live in St Petersburg and all they do is spend all day in their gardens trying to gorw what they could over seas.. Splendid and I really appreciate you sharing this with us.. What a beautiful family you have too... Thank you Mike:-)))

Similar thing happened here just last week. We're in a rural area, more & more people don't have land-line phones and they don't neighbor like they used to. Lady called saying her dog was missing and wondered if we'd seen it. Unfortunately no, so she left her cell # in case we saw or heard anything. The lady did not have a land-line so people couldn't get ahold of her. That night a friend posted a picture on Facebook of a dog that was lurking around her home and it matched the lady's description. Good ending. But does confirm that all pets need tags with a number to get ahold of the owner.

That's the point. I'm a computer dummy, and *I* found it. And I do know how to put someone's face on another body with my adobe program. It's super simple. You can even do it with the programs that come with Windows. What if I were one of those pedophiles and put your child's face on a naked body and posted that all over the net? It has happened, and it just bothers me that people post kids pictures. I won't even sign permission slips for the news to film or take pictures of my children in school. They have to blurr their faces out. Not meaning to intend an argument here, but it really is a concern to me. I'm really a very laid back easy to get along with person, but I don't like to take chances. Ya know? Play safe? :)