KHoene- You can do this!!! We are building our third house now and I can honestly say it is not rocket science. If you are well organized and have good communication skills, there is no reason you can't save yourself a big chunk of money by being your own general contractor. There are lots of great resources complete with sample contracts available on line to help you. http://www.buildahouseyourself.com/ is one that I've used myself. Don't get me wrong, contractors do make things easier for the builder. We have many friends who are contractors and my husband has worked with contractors for over 20 years with his work. But most just follow a step by step process and stay on top of things. One just this week was saying how people can save themselves a lot of money just by doing what he does for themselves. A friend of mine who is a stay at home mom was the general contractor for their home two years ago and they saved a lot of money and had NO problems. Their home is beautiful and she had never done anything like that before. She was just extremely organized and on top of things. You know what your skills are better than any of us. Time to oversee the project and make sure that everything is completed appropriately and timely will be the most difficult aspect of the process. Good luck on your adventure!!!

It could be that your growing area is very dry and regular watering is needed. If your experience is that this is the case I would suggest transplanting everything now to larger pots. It may not seem the thing to do but I always can skip watering for a week after potting-up. Rootbound plants may actually need watered more than daily and those should not be allowed to remain in that situation for long anyway. Your alternative solutions don't seem feasible. Maybe I don't understand your setup but why do you have those particular plants(other than tomatoes) Started nnow?

Love the poem, but my son lives with me, takes care of me, and does everything for me! I am blessed to have him.

since you are only taking one or two ... do it whenever.. imo ... the only usual qualification ... is on flowering shrubs .... is when you might be cutting off all next years flower buds.. if you are giving it a haircut .. and you did it late in the season ... but since you are leaving a majority of the plant.. unpruned... then this rule isnt really relevant .... you make your cut.. 3 to 6 inches from the ground.. where ever you can get the saw in there ..... without doing a lot of damage to stuff you are leaving ... the plant will rewspond by triggering 2 or 3 new shoots below the cut ... otherwise known as 'triggering dormant buds' a good tree saw.. really helps ... and if you have a sawzall ... a TREE BLADE is best .. it really matters.. when cutting thru wet wood.. as compared to dry lumber ..... either should be had for under 10 bucks ... lilac already has next years buds on them ... and i went to town on one of mine ... mostly because i walked by with the saw ... lol ... and the fact that it was hanging over the driveway and pissing me off ... it only took me 3 years ... but i taught it a good lesson.. on who is actually in charge around here .. lol.. AND I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO WORRIES ... so you shouldnt ... period ... ken https://www.walmart.com/ip/7-Inch-Folding-Utility-Saw-Triple-Edge-Razor-Tooth-Portable-Saw-with-Gear-Lock-by-bogo-Brands/915337201 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-9-in-4-5-TPI-Pruning-Sawzall-Reciprocating-Saw-Blade-48-00-1304/202256181?MERCH=REC--PIPHorizontal2_rr--202256182--202256181--N