I grew up in corn country in central Ill. Bring a pan of water to a boil at high heat, put the corn in, bring back to boil or near boil, cover, remove from heat...ready in 5 min. or less. But the first thing you should do is test your corn before you cook it...stick a finger nail into a kernel near the small end...if you don't see milk it is already old! In that case it is really good as fried corn!

I'm just finishing the batch that I grew two summers ago (habaneros and cayenne). I had them in the freezer all this time and they're fine. Don't expect the crunch of a fresh one, but I've been using them in salsas and sauces and my family is still around exclaiming how hot they still are. They're definitely a good storage commodity. Love em. Be well, Elliot

Laura, you're right in that I use the pro. We have two small mom and pop nurseries by us that order Fafords for their business and will sell it to the public if you ask specifically for it. I always ask the owners themselves, not an employee. I've never used the retail version. It's always been so easy and available here that I've never had to look for it! Ralph, I don't think I would change the percentage...sounds like it would give a nice medium mix. If you do decide on more pine, I wouldn't make a drastic increase... In fact I would do some pots one way, some pots the other! ( that's just me!!!) What size pots are you using? Definitely controlling the moisture has been the biggest challenge and some plants definitely did better in my pots then others. I have the 200 white five gallons. Peppers did the same in pots and in ground. They are more forgiving with drying out and hot soil. Cherry tomatoes and dwarfs also faired well. Not so much the heirlooms tomatoes! Even putting them in 20 gallon containers didn't fair as well as my in ground. So...I'm not sure I would paint the containers as much as I would locate them in late afternoon/evening partial shade to help with July/August heat . I wouldn't use the bubble wrap. I've never done eggplants in pots. Can I ask why you're doing pots vs in ground this year? I'm doing the opposite ! I'm heading to Europe for a month in end July/August and my best bet for survival for the garden is in ground! 3 days without watering and all my containers would be fried!

Here in my garden (Va) I plant them outdoors around mid-May and they'll last until late Aug or early Sept (like now) before the vines get old and weeds and disease takes over. The last of the melons (Ambrosia) are ripening up now and are a bit smaller and most likely not as sweet as the earlier ones. Pests and diseases in one's own area usually determines the life time of the production line.