First some questions; their answers might pull up to the forefront in your realization what you probably already know needs to be done. * Does the pool leak? * If the debri is kept cleaned away, and you are able to keep the pool serviced and maintained properly, will it then be adequate for the needs you and your family have concerning a pool? * Does the pool hold a high enough place in you and your family's priorities to justify the bite out of you budget that any major and minor repairs the pool may presently or in the near future cost? * Are the apple trees the only trees which need to be removed for the pool area's benefit? * Will you be happier if the pool is brought up to a better level of enjoyment, even if that will require the apple trees being remove, Or will you be happer to keep the apple trees for preserving some of the "history of the place;" even if, that would mean the pool had to be filled in with dirt? ******************** As per your question about topping the trees to make them short enough for you to reach the fruit. That would set them up to be invaded by pests and for the trees to decline and die soon anyway. Even if the pest and fungi did not invade, the topped trees could no longer reach enough light to feed their root systems and to stay strong and healthy. ***************** As to the issue of the apple trees being a part of the history of the place. In the condition they are in right now are they really representing their history. Orchards are usually taken care of, and owners of orchards keep the woods and volunteer seedlings at bay. The condition you describe that these remaining apple trees are currently growing in, sounds like they are a far cry from what they historically used to be. The damage from years of neglect can not be restored in the way you are thinking. If so, you would have to do what ever it takes to preserve the trees. That would mean clearing away all the trees, brush, and overgrowth from around them and return their environment back to an orchard conditon. That means the woods must be kept back and out; the swimming pool must be filled-in or removed since it is not appropriate to be positioned so close to the small orchard that its dropping fruit can render the pool into a state that cannot be kept and maintained. Even then the apple trees could not be retuned to their lost years and the roles they represented in their past history.

If you second floor is not cooling, you most likely have a poor cold air return on the second floor. Increasing the condenser size will make the condition worse. You must return 60% of the air, in a 2-story home, near the ceiling on the second floor. Hot air will float on the cold air. Without a process to remove the warm air from the ceiling the cold air will stay in the first floor. If you can feel your head getting hot as you climb the stairs and air is comming from the vents, it's the return. Poor air flow is common place in new construction homes. New construction homes are sized for A/C using the worse case sonero. Front facing SW because that is where the summer heat comes from and most of the windows are. Winter time loads are based upon the front facing NE. Now, every home in the development will get that HVAC package plus a little for Grandma.( 1/2 ton to a ton extra and twice the number of Btu's in the furnace) Why? Because neighbors will compare sizes and the developer does not want to explain to the customer about Manual J, if he even knows what it is. A good load calc program will allow you to rotate the building and see how the direction the home faces changes the load. SEER tells you how efficiently the equipment converts electric to cooling. Btu/$. 13-SEER will give 13,000 Btu/ kW. 15-SEER= 15,000 Btu/kW. etc. If you think a larger A/C unit is better, you are mistaken. A properly sized unit will yeil a home with lower humidity and more comfortable. If the home needs 2-/2 tons and 5 tons is installed, cooling costs will be the same if identical SEER units are installed. the 5 ton unit will run 1/2 the time amd the house will be more humid. Remember, SEER= Btu/$. so operating costs will be the same, you will not be as comfortable and your wallet will be lighter than it should. The internet is a good way to find out about contractors and a poor way to size an air conditioner. Find a responsible contractor, have him do a Manual J (heat load) and go with his recommendations. Do not pay attention to what the guy next door has. He may have a friend that knows a guy that installs A/C. Run like a deer from that guy. You may get a good price but no comfort. BIGGER IS NOT BETTER. When it comes to air conditioning.

So glad that the OP posted and that everyone else commented. Am just at the beginning of a huge remodel. My first. In the past I've only bought houses that were "ready to go" or "good enough" and did not even imagine that I would be able to go to the fabricators and "OK" the slab before cutting. This lurking on websites is part of my research, so thanks to all who gave me some good stuff to read and learn. I have put "see slab at fabricators" in my "countertop" file front-and-center to make sure I don't forget to do that, whether I purchase quartz or granite. This is extremely helpful information for newbies. FWIW--the blob was hideous, mostly because it was not conforming to the rest of the counter top pattern. Blobs in other patterns/styles look "fine" because the slab is full of them...and that is the POINT of that particular slab. not with this one though...it was not conforming in size or frequency.

Sorry but I thought I had made it clear above that only liquids will work if you are determined to grow using only organics and in containers. So of the four you bought only the Dr. Earth and the liquid fish emulsion would be of any instant benefit. I guess if you wanted you could brew a tea out of the red box tomato and vegetable food but I wouldn't because you have no real control over exactly how much of each nutrient. I'd return it and the spike things. The Dr. Earth has the additional problem (to the odor problem Jenn mentioned) of being only a foliar feed in that set up and foliar feeding has a whole other set of issues. The Dr. Earth in a regular bottle that is intended for mixing with water and using as a root drench on the plants is much better. So personally I'd return it too. So that leaves you with the fish emulsion. Not the ideal but usable IF mixed at 1/2 strength and used to water the plants every 7-10 days. Honestly I think you need to slow down and give this all some more thought or it is just going to be a big waste of more money and best you'll end up with is a few tomatoes that will cost you $10 or more each. You have already been taken advantage of by the local nursery and are stuck with that loss but why spend more? Think of it this way. You started off with a very handicapped tomato plant, put it in a container rather than in the ground so handicapped it a bit further even tho you are using a good size, spent $$ on an expensive but unnecessary soil mix to fill that container, and then you decided you only wanted to grow it using only organic supplements. That complicates the whole process even more. So while you are learning a great deal and that has value for next time I wouldn't take advantage of you further by encouraging you to throw anymore money at this plant. Instead I'd use what you already have that can't be returned for a refund and settle for just taking what you can get from this particular plant. Meanwhile I'd use the rest of my time to learn more about the better varieties available, learning about how to successfully grow tomatoes in containers, and researching why you want to only grow organically and why organic growing in containers is challenging. Does that sound like a plan to you? Dave