Just a side note and I in no way mean to contradict the stress that ya'll put on "more" light. I agree that most need more light, and I push mine as well. But a good friend of mine here in Boulder puts all of his phals in a north window and they are constantly in bloom. I even gave him, years ago, a dendrobium that i was killing and it too constantly blooms in a north facing window. It has been awhile since I lived back east, and I do remember that the sun is less intense there. So maybe it is because our sun is so fierce. I think I am about 6,000 ft. above sea level. I have one phal in a north window now as my own experiment. At first I had a boston fern in that spot and it was too much light for him. I would say listen to Jane as she is also in NY. Good luck and enjoy, kudos on getting your wife an orchid. You are a good man.

Yes, you need to ID those oaks ASAP. Summer irrigation will kill a native oak really fast! It's why when we get those terrific windstorms, property and people get hurt by falling oaks: the trees were dying already so the root system was compromised, unable to keep the tree upright under pressure. We are in a drought year, and fall/winter is a much better time to plant anyway. In the San Francisco Bay Area it will be early summer season when May 1st arrives. My freesias are already done, the roses are finishing their first blooming, the late blooming bearded iris are out and will be done in 2 weeks, the rhodies are finished and the hydrangeas are leafed out with little bud heads already. I prefer soaker hoses to drip. Quick-connect couplers allow me to water when needed. Soil prep is everything; the soil in CA usually is very poor. Drainage is critical; you should always know exactly how fast your site drains in different seasons and group plants according to their watering requirements. Gardening in CA isn't like gardening anywhere else. Some plants love our warm dry summers but croak under our chilly wet winters. Plants that do well often grow measurably larger than standard measurements on a sales tag. Pay attention to developing good bones with evergreen shrubs and foliage. We got rid of our grass and I have 15 separate garden beds totaling over 2000 sq. ft. of cottage-style beds, but the first and foremost requirement is that it look as good in January as it does in July - which takes planning and experimentation. Good luck!

I can only assume that the 10 or more 55 Qt bags I bought this year must be a local mix or something then. Maybe it varies in different parts of the country which I believe it states on the bag. Mine has quite a bit of pine Bark fines in it already, in fact it looks like more bark (some of it very fine though)than anything else. Next is Peat then the "coir" and the Perlite. It can have up to 60% pine bark and compost according to the MSDS. All the bags I have gotten seem to have about that percentage. In 15+ gallon pots it seems to work very well for me, and in the 380 Qt Vegtrug it works great. Also in my part of the country blight is rampant regardless what mix you start it in unless you grow in a temp/humidity controlled greenhouse. The insane humidity here is a perfect breeding ground for it and spreads like wild fire. In zone 5 you are correct, not that much blight there. Craig Lehoullier just a couple miles from me just pulled all but about 30 of his 212 plants last week mostly because of blight. MGMC works just fine as long as you use large containers so that the perched water is not that much of a problem. I am going to pull my first 2 tomato plants probably within the next week, I will take pictures of where the perched water is in the container. I do plan on amending this years MGMC with a few bags of Orchid Mix next year which is nothing but perfect size pine bark fines and small charcoal and fired ceramic bits just to loosen it up just a bit more. But as long as you use at least 15+ gallon pots you should be fine with straight MGMC, at least what I get here in NC. I water my plants every single day unless it just rained. When over 100 degrees sometimes 2 even 3X a day. The 3rd time is mostly just to cool the roots. But I have never had any problems with this MGMC it drains quite good in large pots, the plants take a nice big drink, it drains right on out except for the bottom 2-3" is soaked the rest is just moist. All of my plants have done great in it. Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, Lettuce, Mint, Rosemary, Bok Choy, Blueberries plus all my wifes flowers all planted in MGMC all are doing great. So I cant complain about it, even though I do think for "Tomatoes" that it should be amended with more Pine Bark and maybe some vermiculite, Perlite or what ever to lighten it up some.

Happymary: I myself am frequently astonished at the incredible amounts of $$ people spend on remodeling. Truthfully, when I see some of the posted pics, many of the expensive new kitchens, baths, etc. look much alike, not much individuality evident. Anyway, I am in the central TX area (N of Austin). We are in the process of remodeling an old TX farmhouse while living in another house that I am also trying to update in preparation for selling when the other house is ready to move-in. DH and I are both "of an age", and he will be eligible to retire in 4 years if he wants and he is adamant about not having a mortgage or similar payment post-retirement. Perfectly understandable. I teach part-time so we live modestly and frugally. We bought the TX farmhouse for cash (due, in part, to the sale of DH bachelor house) plus savings. We are financing our remodel with our savings, too. Thought about a construction loan, but are trying to do the pay-as-you-go thing. We are acting as our own GC (another cost savings) and the crew doing the framing are also doing the metal roof on both the new part and existing house. DH will do the electrical himself, as he is skilled in that area although we probably will hire an electrician to check his work at the end. After the framing, roofing, and electrical are done, we will re-evaluate our finances to see the next step, likely plumbing which could get complicated as we are doing a rainwater collection system that will be pumped back to the house for use in the new bathroom. We don't want to deplete our savings entirely for our remodel as everyone needs an emergency fund for those unexpected expenses (car, medical, hail damage, etc.) Much work on the existing house needs to be done, but we've prioritized our primary objectives (that is, what absolutely needs to be done before we can move in), then our secondary objectives (sadly, the awful, but functional, kitchen fits into the second category). Absolutely, do not bankrupt yourself to do a remodel. Sometimes there are creative and innovative ways to make your existing home more pleasant and livable without spending a great deal of money. I reiterate what many on this forum have said; be creative and research, research, research. By the way, the place in Gonzalez is called Discovery Antiques and they are quite pricey (cater to the Yuppies in Houston and Austin, I think). A better bet is the Habitat for Humanity Re-Stores. I've been to the one in Austin on Comal St. and surely there must be one (or more) in the San Antonio area. They often have the old longleaf pine flooring, solid wood doors, and other materials that have been removed from the tear-downs of old houses in the area. Also, salvage yards, if visited frequently, can provide a lot of materials. I recently bought 10 boxes of white Daltile subway tiles for $7/box (each box covered 10 sq. ft.) at a salvage yard. I redid the bath surround in my current house with those. IMO, especially in light of today's housing market, no remodel is worth going into debt for.