Several things jumped out at me in your follow-up post. Just seems that either it is small seedling or 3 ft plant get transplanted I still harvest the same time as everybody else. That sounds like a nutrient issue and nothing can stunt a plant faster than transplanting a 3' plant. Some unconventional practice? No unconventional practice but usually it is some conventional practice being missed. For example, are these all being grown for production in containers? Not real clear from your post. If so then what soil mix is in the containers? That is the most common cause of problems in container growing. Growing in containers is a totally different ballgame than in-ground growing so have you done any reading on the Container Gardening forum here? Great info on mixes, feeding, tips and techniques, etc. As far as pot growing. I grew peppers, but they need lots and lots of fertilizer in container. Not even sure if I should been eating it that much fertilizer. Yes they do, any container plant does since it leaches out every time you water. One reason why liquid ferts works so much better than granular ones do. But which specific fertilizer are you using? How much and how often? And no, you are not "eating it" anyway. Tomato in containers... I used about 80 gal pots with 2-3 tomato in each. Real potential problems there. To begin with I tried mix in bone meal and blood meal into compost, but it didn't seemed to help. No they won't. Both are slow acting and unless there is an active soil microweb in the container - which would be unusual - they aren't useable by the plants. Using organics in a container is a whole other set of issues. Then I started with tomato fertilizer. Then they started growing. And still very little, usually quite small tomato even on beefsteak varieties. Timing of the application as discussed in the thread I linked above is crucial. What type of fertilizer? After first batch of peppers harvested plants slowly started dying - leaves and blossoms just started falling off. Usually caused by over-watering issues that leads to root rot. Especially common if soil (dirt) is in the containers. In your first post you said I do have greenhouse and tried to grow those thing in pots, but that way they produce small quantities of fruit lots of leafs and usually ends up dying before summers end. As others have mentioned you have the ideal set up then for growing a good tomato crop in that protected environment. Even I can do it down here in my greenhouse with much greater heat problems. So if it isn't working in yours then, assuming good environmental controls and adequate sun exposure, the cause isn't that they are in the greenhouse, its in the methodology - the container mix being used or the nutrient methods being used. More details please on those. Especially nutrients and timing of applications since you mention "lots of leafs and small fruit". ...

I like the shelves posted but that is definitely not a project for a beginner. You can make a shelf easily though. I figure my measurements and have Lowes cut the wood for me. as for face frame I do not do that. I am no expert but my stuff looks good. I use the thin ridged trim and edge the shelves with that. I do like to use crown trim but I need dh to help me with that. I have also done what others suggested by cutting shelves to meet my needs and also trimed out the store brought shelves but it never beats starting from scratch and having everything just the size you want. I tried building a shelf myself because the ones you buy in the store are basically straight pieces of wood. I thought what a rip off. So I tried it myself. I do use shelf ledges and I have painted my shelf. I started with something small. I removed all those horrid wire shelves out of my closet and replaced with wood shelves. My closte was testing ground for a lot of stuff including laying a wood floor. Anyway I like to caulk anywhere wood meets wall and wood meets wood so there is not even a hairline gap. You make a very small slanted hole in the caulk and smooth with a wet finger. Have to be neat with this or it looks like crap. The most fun of the whole thing is using a nail gun (one with a compressor). Man I love it. I will post a photo tomorrow of some of my shelves if I can remember.

Hi Robin, I like your optimism! You'll find "it," just keep looking. I was looking at pictures of Craftsman homes earlier this evening after watching an episode of "House Hunters: Renovation." (I get lots of inspiration from HGTV!") If you can't do a wrap-around, would it be possible to do a deck/porch just on the end? If you did that, and put a pitched roof that is lower than the main roof over it and put pillars to hold it up, the house would look less boxy and could evoke the feel of a Craftsman. I'm thinking of doing that myself, down the road. It's a little hard to see from your picture (I have very poor eyesight), but it looks like that's kind of what you did on the driveway side. So that would be good because what makes Craftsman houses so beautiful and cool to look at, imho, are two or more pitched roofs of varying heights. And, of course, that also happens to be one remedy for making an MH look less like a rectangular box. Other MHs I like do sort of the opposite--they play up the shape of the MH by getting creative with the siding. For example, I've seen a couple of MHs that have used faux logs siding to make their house look like a log cabin. The possibilities are endless. I don't know what your budget would be, but landscaping could really do the trick at possibly a much lower price. Varying heights of plants, flowers, and shrubs (I wouldn't plant a tree that close to the house) could really improve the curb appeal! I like Christopher's suggestion of rhododendrons (as long as you don't have toddlers), and you could use his suggestion of flower boxes, but put them underneath your windows. Sincerely, Debbie

It does look like a fortress, sorry. It's the design and there's not much you can do about it (presumably that facade exists to accommodate some fabulous interior spaces). The nearly two story expanse of siding to the left of the porch overhang and the configuration and size of the windows on the overhang to the left of that are the biggest contributors to the problem. Little pots and throw pillows aren't going to help. If anything, they'll just reemphasize the mass to the left. Over time, you could help the balance problem by possibly extending the porch the full length of the house, or by landscaping to scale (not little shrubs up next to the house - bigger beds, shade trees etc.) but those things don't help in the short term. It is what it is. Keep it clean and uncluttered and focus on the attributes inside.