Outsmarting the tree rats (squirrels) around my house is a full time job. This past spring I hit on a new idea. When I plant a container I invert an empty wire hanging basket over the container and the plant gets sun and can be watered but the squirrels can't dig in it. Another idea: I bring in a lot of plants to "over winter" under lights in my garage. I have so many that it is hard to reach my hand under the lights (4 shop lights) to the middle for watering. So I bought a pump sprayer with a long wand and it works great! In late winter I add a little liquid Dawn detergent, few drops, to each gallon of water and not only does the soil get wet easier but the worms that are waiting to hatch into distructive pets just don't hatch. Don't know what it costs me to run those four shop lights all winter but I don't care. It is a small price to pay to be able to "garden" every weekend in the garage. Many people have mentioned that they mark their outdoor plants with a "permanent Sharpie". In my experience there isn't a "permanent Sharpie", they all fade and quickly too. A grease pencil/china marker or expensive "no fade" garden center marker are the only markers I have found that won't disappoint you by fading. Eight years ago I decided to learn about gardening so I tapped into my local library. I checked out nearly every book they had on gardening and learned so much. The Gardenweb forums are also a wealth of information and entertainment. There is always something new to learn and I appreciate all of you who take the time to write in your ideas. One last idea from me...I keep a small notebook on my computer table and jot down any idea I find that's new and I will want to try. Little pieces of paper get lost but I always know where my notebook is and also use it when I order "on line" so I will remember the name of the company and the order date. Tina or Trowelgal

We are in similar marketing situations, Canuck... Nowdays I try to get a higher price by marketing individual tomatoes or smaller quantities for the farmers' market consumer. I don't have yield figures but my field grown marketable yields were definately more than ten lbs/plant. The problem was that those tomatoes had many blemishes and I sold many more bushel quanities for canning at discount prices. Toward the end of August my field crop was succcombing to disease and weather stresses so my harvest season was limited to a few months when everyone else had a glut of tomatoes. And I'll admit that I planted the shorter season determinate varieties almost exclusively and simply set a 30" cage over each plant and let them sprawl over the cages. With the greenhouse grown tomatoes I can extend harvest by 2-3 months on each end of the season and well over 90% of the crop is of high quality. That is in spite of over 90 heirloom varieties I grow that are more prone to blemishes under normal conditions. Because of the earlier harvest of greenhouse tomatoes I start my prices higher but lower my prices as the season progresses so we can't compare sales figures but on average you should be ok with your price if your crop is good. One thing I found is that the customers can tell the difference between a fresh picked, vine ripened tomato and they will let you know by return purchases so if you want to be known of as the "tomato guy" for your markets you need to earn that reputation.

Cure? Is there a cure????? I think you are outa luck on that one Kathleen. LOL I keep telling myself to just not go to any of the stores that have the neat dishes and accessories--but I do love to browse and see all the pretty things. However, looking makes me want some of those and more of that! Even my little 4 year old GD told me she has the "I wants", I told her I have the same problem. I asked her if she was ready to go to work so we'd have more money to buy things. She said "Gramma, I don't know how to work, but we could ask my Daddy to give us some money so we could buy them!" Out of the mouths of babes! LOL Of course I told her I thought that was a wonderful idea! ;o) Luvs

Here is ear full.... I found a new still in box double burner electric Hotplate. It sure came in handy while I was apt hunting and living in a motel while I was in community college. There has been dozens of other things over the years that I have found. One time a crushed watch with real jewels ( like rubies, pearls and opal's ) and a few diamonds that I sold for $50...I think back now and realized I was cheated as the jewels and diamonds were worth much more but I guess I needed the money. Found a $20 in grocery store, bought my daughter a school jacket with that money. Have found a ten here and a five there...on and on I could go. So many other things I have found that I could write a book. Bought a purse once and it had $9 inside...the purse was a buck. A dollar pair of pants that I found a ten inside the pocket. Bought a real leather coat at a thrift for .25 and found a whole pocket of change. Have dug up gold rings with my metal detector, watches that worked and other types of jewelry. Found $36 wad of bills on floor of Walmart isle, ( no name ) turned it in to the manager with my ph #, someone called claiming it and I gave directions to her to come to the house and pick it up....no thank you after I handed the money to her. Found a Disney trinket with a name, called and the father came to the house and said his daughter had lost it and he was nice, no reward though. When Sams Club first opened I found a pkg of two in a cart on the very far end of the parking lot, there wasn't anyone around so I didn't feel guilty. Another time at Sams I found two huge rolls of A. foil, again no one around . I found two full bags of groceries at a Winn Dixie shopping center on the other coast of Florida, t but I took it inside the manager took my name and said if no one claimed them within a couple of days it was mine. I remember there was a beef roast, chicken and canned stuff. so it was a lot of groceries I found. He called me to come pick it up. I think God had a big hand in that as He knew I was poor and hungry during a difficult period in my life. Found two twenty dollar bills but it was 2 separate times, wind blown money on ground outside. Ten dollar bill in my drawer where I keep underware only..nothing with pockets in that drawer. Odd. Not very many losses except one I will never forget, someone stole quite a sum of money out of my purse while I was in Beauty College.