I grew acorn squash last year in +/- 30 gallon plastic construction tubs (used for mixing cement, etc). Drill plenty of holes in the tubs and elevate on bricks to aid the drainage and use a good soil mix that won't get too compacted (VERY important!). I over-planted and started with 3 per pot but thinned later to 2 per. The plants turned out to be 2 vining and 2 semi-bush, I think. That's probably because the seeds were saved from a squash I bought for eating. This year I'm going to try purchased seed of a semi-bush variety. I'd actually have preferred a true vining type to take advantage of the trellissing but the variety is limited here in Holland. For growing in pots I don't think you could get more than 1 per pot of the true bush types because they'd block each others' light too much. Maybe someone else can help with that info. I placed the pots about 2-3 feet from a fence and leaned 4 x 6 foot plain metal garden-fence trellis panels from the base of the pot to the stockade fence. The holes in the trellis were about 6 inches square. As the squash or pumpkin grows you will need to gently guide the vines toward the trellis and upwards. Squash aren't natural climbers even though they do put out anchor tendrils (suckers?) that will twine around the trellis. Use either coated wire, clips or fabric to loosly tie the vines up. The thicker the anchors the better, as the stalks are hollow and break or bend easily. This year I found some thick foam coated wire specially for tying up plants and it should work well. Last year I used plastic C clips and moved them as needed to areas that needed support. The suckers will help anchor the vines but aren't super strong so you can't rely on them alone to keep the plant on the trellis, especially once the fruit gets bigger. One of the plants really took off and ended up growing along the top of the stockade fence, which was fine with me! I didn't bother tying it up a lot at that point, just looped it around so it would stay put. My plants last year didn't produce a whole lot. I had trouble with blossom end rot and later from mildew. But when the fruits did start to form I gently guided them through the holes of the trellis so that they hung on the back side of it. So the vines and leaves were on the outside of the trellis and the fruit had plenty of room to grow on the fence side. The bushier plants didn'd need any support until later in the summer and I used some 1.5 foot high shelving units from a small portable greenhouse to support the short vines with fruit that grew over the side of the pots. Anything about the same height as the pot should work, like a plastic deck chair or something. I just was afraid that the vine would break if it just hung over the side with a squash dangling in mid-air. It was great fun and a good experiment, growing these. We made a big event out of eating the 2 biggest squash and then enjoyed the little ones in a nice stir-fry.... :^D Hope you have as much fun. Susanne

Hi, Zackey. I just got them a few minutes ago and wanted to answer a questions you had in your letter. The inside of the package was very moist. So, I planted them straight in the shade, without soaking. With the thicker stemmed varieties, I have luck, just planting the nodes. Since this kind has more slender stems, I kept them intact, straight up and down, with just the top leaves showing. I wasn't able to taste your samples, because they became alcoholic, on the way here. I was able to show my family how they look and salvage the seeds. Most people know things like pruning spurs down to the second and third node, every year, but not why the grapes come out different than the ones from the store. I'm ttaking the time to learn how it's done on farms and coming up with new ideas of my own. I wasn't worried that the leaves had started to go into dormancy for the year. I do not typically water when the plant is showing no heat stress or when the plant is not in fruit, although it is sometimes very dry, here. I find that very slow watering of fruiting vines makes the grapes big without splitting them.

High gloss enamel over thin steel. Like the old fashioned plain steel backsplashes that used to be done here that you could buy with white on one side and black on the other and that you can probably still find at a box store. Any steel roofing or building supplier can get you the steel and any autobody paint shop can custom tint the paint to match. The tone on tone look is achieved by the different gloss levels of the same tint. It's a popular European look and you can even buy decorative thin steel backsplash panels at Ikea.

Taken from spray foam under roof commentary........ "Ready for this… here it comes… roofs leak. They always have. They always will. Sometime you see the leak, sometimes you don’t. This is true regardless of what system you use. There is no greater risk of roof damage with SPF, regardless of type, under a roof deck when exposed to a leak than the risk compared to structural insulated panels (SIPs) or typical commercial compact flat roofs. We can build with multiple layers of insulation and membranes and decking, and somehow we manage to deal with roof leaks. It is not the end of the world. SPF is not a greater risk under a roof deck than the risk associated with commercial compact flat roofs with multiple layers of insulation sandwiched between roof membranes and metal and wood structural decks. SPF is not a greater risk under a roof deck than the risk associated with SIPs." Realize when I say roof leaks I am talking about roof leaks from a roof deck with no insulation of any kind (no panels - nothing) They are comparing their foam to SIPs. I am talking about just OSB decking no panels no insulation of any kind on roof deck. If there is a roof leak you will see it in a Katy, Tx rain storm. I am talking about a sloped roof. Realize Houston total rainfall is comparable to places like Oregon. Except the rain fall in Houston area tends to occur in big and some times long rain storms rather than smaller rain storms all year long. Taken from spray foam under roof commentary........ "Ready for something else? Here it comes… sloping roofs are less of a risk than flat roofs. Wow. This gravity thing is a big deal. With a sloping roof you have less hydrostatic pressure and if you do have a leak it is more likely to be seen inside regardless of roof type. Note the “regardless of roof type” comment. Built up compact, SIP, SPS… it does not matter." Sure but once that roof is saturated for hours and hours long of rain fall, if there is a leak the water will find it. If the roof deck is insulated you will have to rip all that insulation out to find where the leak is. Gravity works against you here. That is the point is it not? The water travels how far down the insulation until at some weak point in the insulated roof deck it starts dripping. Yeah that's going to cost you. I can't make this point any more clear to you. You must realize the people selling this product are doing what they can to keep selling it. It creates more problems than it cures and it's costly. If you're made of money then you probably have other problems dividing your attention right now. All across the nation if you've ever ridden on an air plane or flown in a helicopter... look at the top of commercial flat roofs. What do you see? building after building? I'll tell you what I see.... HVAC package units sitting in the out door weather. In some cases even the duct work sits on the roofs covered in what is commonly referred to as a 'dog house' to protect the ducts from the weather. Everybody and their brother has something to sell you, no? I don't know maybe you are trying to sell it to me? (good luck, I know better) They all claim they have the best thing since sliced bread. I am here to tell you it's not what it's cracked up to be. (I have been in rental homes, I have been in home owner homes for over 22 years now... I have personally found roof leaks on more than one occasion, not only in homes of others... but also my own. I am not a roofer by the way.... For those reasons, I will never agree with mentality of insulating a roof deck. It doesn't hold water. After what I have pointed out, if you choose to continue to think it's a better way you may never have a problem with it. Roofs in various parts of the country can last what? 30 years? By the time people start complaining of roof leaks and big messes with an insulated roof deck you could retire huh? )