I've included a link below to a fantastic article on container soils and how water moves through them. The article also has recipes for free draining mediums you can mix yourself. I think the 511 medium would be perfect for a half barrel. It would be worth your while to begin again, drilling the necessary holes, placing some mesh over them, and using a more durable, free draining soil that will hold up well and give your plants' roots better aeration along with excellent drainage. It really helps when you know what the purpose of soil is, and what plants actually require... and Al's article in the link covers it all. It dispels some old wive's tales, gives excellent and very pertinent information, and if there's anything you don't understand about the concept of a more durable, fast draining medium, please feel free to ask us! We're all here to help! :-) I use the recipe for Gritty Mix in all my long term plantings, which would be my house plants, and I'm going to use the 511 medium for some large patio pots I have outside. Some will contain annuals, and others will hold my Japanese Maples and other trees, or roses. Either way, the larger pots get wheeled back inside the unheated garage at season's end. I'm waiting on pins and needles, too, for the nicer weather of spring to stay with us a while! I'd like nothing better than to get all the plant material out of the garage! Happy Gardening! Here is a link that might be useful: Soil Recipes Included...

"Jim, when you say rum cherries, do you mean pin cherries?" I have come to realize that I have not correctly identified the wild cherries. I know them by the appearance of the trees but haven't attached the correct names in some cases. There are three, possibly four, which are familiar to me. Black cherry (Prunus serotina) is a large tree from the forests of Pennsylvania from which we get cherry lumber, a very attractive wood for making furniture. Pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) is a small tree. That is the one which is so abundant around here and from which I have harvested cherries for cherry bounce. I just checked near my house and found that birds have largely beaten me to the harvest. Choke cherry (Prunus virginiana) is a large shrub. The fruit can be very astringent, although it varies from one plant to another. So far as I can tell, all wild cherries are useful for making cherry bounce. The fruits of all are about 1/4" diameter and have more pit than flesh. Some are just more easily harvested than others. It would be difficult to pick black cherries from 70 foot tall trees in the forest. Picking from pin cherry trees can be done without a ladder if you aren't too short. I'm still a bit uncertain about the taxonomy, but this is the best I can do right now. Jim

Well, three of the recipes are these that were posted on the greatest hits thread. I will have to look and see if I can find the others. Chunky Basil Pasta Sauce Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 8 cups (2 L) coarsely chopped peeled tomatoes -- (about 9-12 tomatoes or 4 lb/2 kg) 1 cup chopped onion -- (250 mL) 3 cloves garlic -- minced 2/3 cup red wine -- (150 mL) 1/3 cup red wine vinegar (5 % strength) -- (75 mL) 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil -- (125 mL) 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley -- (15 mL) 1 teaspoon pickling salt -- (5 mL) 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar -- (2 mL) 1 6-oz/156 mL) can tomato paste Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, wine, vinegar, basil, parsley, salt, sugar and tomato paste in a very large non-reactive pan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until mixture reaches desired consistency, stirring frequently. Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of rim (head space). Process 35 minutes for pin (500 mL) jars and 40 minutes for quart (1 L) jars in a BWB. Yield: "8 cups" Note: This sauce also makes an excellent base for a quick pizza. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * Exported from MasterCook * Multi-Use Tomato Sauce Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 10 plum tomatoes -- (about 2 1/2 lbs./1 kg) 10 large tomatoes -- peeled and chopped (about 4 lbs./2 kg) 4 large garlic cloves -- minced 2 large stalks celery -- chopped 2 medium carrots -- chopped 1 large onion -- chopped 1 large zucchini -- chopped 1 large sweet green pepper -- chopped 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes -- (125 mL) 2/3 cup dry red wine -- (150 mL) 1/2 cup red wine vinegar (5% strength or more) -- (125 mL) 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon pickling salt -- (15 mL) 2 teaspoons dried oregano -- (10 mL) 2 teaspoons dried basil -- (10 mL) 1 teaspoon granulated sugar -- (5 mL) (optional) 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon -- (2 mL) (optional) 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper -- (2 mL) 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley -- (50 mL) Combine tomatoes, celery, garlic, onion, zucchini and green pepper in a very large non-reactive pan. Add 1 cup (250 mL) water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently, covered, for 25 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, stirring occasionally. Soak sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water until softened. Drain and dice. Add to sauce with wine, vinegar, bay leaves, salt, oregano, basil, sugar, cinamon and pepper. Continue to boil gently until desired consistency, stirring frequently. Discard bay leaves and stir in parsley. Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of rim (head space). Process in a BWB 35 minutes for pint (500 mL) jars and 40 minutes for quart (1 L) jars. Yield: "12 cups" Pear and Currant Chutney Makes 2 - 3 cups 1 cup dried currants 6 tbls pear brandy 4 pears, peeled, cored and cut into ½" pieces 2 ribs celery, cut into ¼" pieces ½ cup sugar 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 3  3 ½ inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated pinch cayenne Put currants and brandy into a medium saucepan and simmer over medium heat until currants are plump and have absorbed most of the liquor, about 7 minutes. Add pears, celery, sugar, lemon juice, ginger and cayenne and stir well. Return to simmer, reduce head to medium low and simmer until pears are very soft and translucent and juices are thick and syrupy, about 1 hour. Put chutney into a clean jar with a tight lid or hot water bath 10 minutes. If not processed, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Allow chutney to sit for a couple of weeks, the flavor improves with age. These are from my Ball Complete book of home preserving. I can post the recipes if needed but it is a lot of typing and I know that several of you have the book! :) Pear Port Compote pg 169 Cranberry Rum sauce pg 180 Blackberry Liqueur Syrup pg 198 Bruschetta in a Jar 223 Lemon-Sage Wine mustard pg 270 I know I have seen a couple more on here in threads but I will have to look for them. I figure I am pretty safe on the fruit ones since they are high in acid anyways but I wanted to make sure, and I know that Carol said that one of the recipes above was not safe without the wine. So I guess that the juice is not an acceptable substitute? Dave - Yes I understand that, but due to the fact that it is for religious reasons I will also not cook with it or even purchase it at all. So that's why I need the substitutions! :) Thanks! Carly

I pay around 20$ in Florida for the Santa Margherita, same price in Montreal ( the gov. surtaxes all alcohol so I'm surprised it's not $30 here) ; you could probably get some online for cheaper than in your area. Our liquor board is run by the government and I order online, they ship 18 bottles for $6. it's well worth it. Shipping would be $12 but they pay half. Some cheaper pinot grigios can be pretty tasteless, imo... Here is a link that might be useful: Santa Margharita