DRAGONFLY - As for watering, I water from the bottom until final plant out. Then, unless I have the plant in a SWC (I build my own), all watering is from the top. And you're right, I judge each plant individually as to its needs. I am fully retired now and have all the time I want to spend on my hobbies. I'm happy you found the spreadsheet useful. Don't forget to change any data values to reflect the world of growing tomatoes where YOU live. Also add any toms (or ??) to track your garden's results. NATURALSTUFF - My plants are normally still bearing fruit at first frost. If you give a plant all of its needs, it doesn't have to go "rootbound" in a container. Rootbound plants are telling you that they are not receiving all of their needs, and they're extending more roots to try and find what they need. Last year, the last plant to go was a Cherokee Purple that was in an 18 gallon plastic pot. The plant had four toms left and they eventually ripened on the kitchen counter. I only had 23 containers last year, but they produced more than 270 pounds of tomatoes. I think that's a pretty good yield. I had plenty of tomatoes here at the house and gave away enough to have my neighbors knocking on the door this spring saying I should not forget them this year. I control the heat of "Hot-lanta" by giving my plants some shade when the sun's intensity is its strongest. I also don't allow the sun to have much direct contact with the few black nursery pots that I'm currently using. Watering in the AM also helps offset the heating of the container. Each grower needs to deal with the environment they are given. I've grown both in the ground and in container over the last 55+ years and have decided now the potting mixes and fertilizer/soil amendments available are far better than growing in the ground. So, even if I could have my dream 5 acre tomato ranch, I would still grow in containers - lots of containers. I mean, just think of all the soil-borne diseases that you eliminate. Anyhow, I hope the season goes well for all. Take care Ted

Rusty, I wanted to make the wild rice special. otherwise it will always be just a side. The recipes is very simple, not to take away the subtle nutty taste of wild rice. It is just wild rice with chestnuts cooked in concentrated beef mushroom stock. Wild rice is not sticky. I added tapioca flour as a binder. After that I rolled the rice into balls and froze them in the freezer. The frozen rice balls is very easy to coat with a simple egg batter and deep fried. It was very interesting to bite into a crispy ball with wild rice in it. I am working on a different batter to make it even more interesting. dcarch

Thank you everyone. bizzo, I forgot to mention that sesame noodles are mostly served at room temperature. I am not sure what the veggie chicken is made of. It has a very nice and meat like firmness texture. Vegetarian cooking in the Far East is an art form because of the Buddhist tradition. It has a very long history of development and has become a very unique and complex cooking style. People go to Chinese vegetarian restaurants not because they are vegetarians. They go there to enjoy the good tasting food. Zen Palate is a very good one to go to in NYC. dcarch Here is a link that might be useful:

Thank you Teresa. Winging it is not a big deal, since I don't follow recipes very well normally. Not that I am any good, just lacking patience. :-). That is a wild maple started from a flown in helicopter seed. Maple seeds leaves are edible, not just the sap. Thanks Clare and Silvia. The scallops were dry scallops. Normally $19.00 a lb. It was on sale for $13.99 a lb. Amazing sous vided at 120F, seared and coated with bacon powder. I had a few other dishes. Vegetables, bread and fried bananas. No stuffing. Thanks trailrunner. Storm Sandy was terrible for many people, but Thanksgiving is a time for people to count their blessings. Thanks Ann_t. I had nothing to do with the perfectly done turkey. Modern electronics assured me that the entire bird was cooked at exactly at 150F, +- one degree, inside and outside. I did cheat. I gave it a one minute instant browning with a hot soy sauce braise. What's the difference, few people eat the skin anyway. Thanks Annie. Yeah, My guests insisted to go shopping with me so they could pay for the meal. They ended up picking up all kinds of meats. The supermarket we went to had both fresh and frozen turkeys, all big ones. I am not sure where did the other two friends shopped for their turkeys. Miisa69, thanks for viewing my post. If I ever need to source D-sauce, then I may click on your link. Not sooner. Thanks jasdip, Cathy. It was a challenge for sure to have to deal with unplanned ingredients. I kept imagining I was in an episode of Master Chef having to cook with surprise mystery ingredients. dcarch