Hi Gary, Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas. And you are absolutely correct. Tropicals are way tougher than they are sometimes given credit for. I have many tropicals planted in the ground here (even peace plants) that not only survive our winter's here, but as you say, thrive. I live on a high knoll above the river swamp in what is called a Hickory - Oak Hammock. The canopy is massive. The heat collected by the river and swamp during the day is held in by the canopy of trees and keeps me a few degrees warmer in winter than the surrounding flat lands. In summer, there is a constant breeze, and I stay a few degrees cooler. We do get a few nights of frost, and sometimes even a freeze, but that few degrees has saved me from that many times over the years. Cold is not the problem...... Heat IS........lol.......... Where my GH is located the heat is only bad 11:30 - 1:30.........then I'm shaded by tall trees. I tried a lot of stuff ...and added to the shade cloth, and exhaust fan......I finally landed on misters to get me thru this time period. It works, believe me. But........it does wet the plants (orchids) OK, then I have to run more fans to get them dried off. I already water overhead early in the morning, so when the misters come on at noonish.......it's just more water the orchids don't really need, and the humidity just goes wild..... The old gentlemen's theory was something like - don't let the heat into the GH to begin with - so will misting the roof outside keep the heat out?? LOL .....I don't know, but I'm going to try it when it warms up here again. I have about a million questions about how he makes this work - but it doesn't seem he's really into two way conversations ......LOL......bless his heart. I'll keep records Gary, you bet, and if all else fails I can always go with "the open method"................Hmmmm.................... Thanks Gary ........see ya...........

Millet, 1. Brazil -- more than twice our acreage at this point with cheap labor. 2. Hurricanes have wiped out vast areas of production 3. Canker continues to take its huge toll. Why plant a grove if it could be burned on a moment's notice next year? 4. Tristeza continues in areas on Sour Orange roots 5. In the Indian River area, particularly, you can make more profit selling the land to developers, now, than you could hope to make on grapefruit sales over the remainder of your life, even if you're fairly young. 6. The ever-present problem in agriculture in which grocery store prices can vary wildly, but the return to the grower does not change and, most importantly, doesn't go up even with cost of living, year after year. I rather suspect the Florida Grapefruit is an endangered species, and will disappear almost completely from the market in the next couple years. Certainly, it is hurricanes and canker that have led to the current industry-wide sense of doom, though. I am not as pessimistic. The OJ market will continue, and as you may have read a few days ago, there has been a preliminary finding that the Brazilians are unfairly dumping product on the U.S., so there may be some legal action there. Citrus is not (and never was) a farm subsidy crop, so our only legal protection is through tariffs and/or fines to keep the playing field fair.

Hi Lehua 13 I might have a blight. ItÂs only on one plant to any extent. I keep cutting the yellow leaves off. It makes the big tomatoes show up more. I hope they donÂt get sun burned. The Ortho disease control spray may be the reason they turned yellow. I sprayed my rose for black spot and it seems to make all the leaves that have black spot show up. I mulched my tomatoes with some oak leaves that were decomposing. I should have used the ones that were not decomposing. Now I know. I also had a couple of tomatoes planted near the spot I have my tomatoes planted now. I donÂt have space any place else. If you only have one tomato plant it looks like you will stake it or use a cage. You could wind it around a string, or wire. From your photo it looks like you have a cage. Are they planted in the ground or container? It looks like the ground. That is how I grow mine. If you plant a seed and have good tomatoes what else could you want. Your tomatoes should cost you anything but your time, and tender loving care. When I was a kid my dad had a cow, and we filled our containers to plant flowers with the sand from under the compost pile. When I came to Atlanta nothing would grow in the red clay. If you donÂt have a compost pile forget growing anything. Check out the square foot garden. They have lots of good thing to know. Karyl ==== Here is a link that might be useful: The Square Foot Gardening

I'll throw in my 2 cents worth here and try to address several points that have come up. I've taken the class and am a Certified Lead Renovator Since you are doing the job your self (with the help of friends) the law does not apply to you. If you were using a contractor it would apply to the contractor and he/she would be required to be certified. They would need to test for lead in the areas being affected and if lead was detected, and if they would be disturbing more than 6 square feet they would need to take appropriate steps to contain the lead and protect their workers and your family, and properly dispose of the contaminated material. If the intent of the remodel is to upgrade, improve beautify etc the home it can be done by a contractor who is EPA certified as a Lead renovator. If the intent is to remove the lead then it must be done by a contractor who is certified for Lead Abbatement. The lead requirements that went into effect on April 22 is a nationwide EPA requirement. It affects every state and locality. Some states, like California where I live and work, have even more stringent requirements over and above what the EPA requires. Lead is not that hard to contain, the law should not add huge amounts to the cost of a project. We are estimating that it will add roughly $300.00 to the cost of a typical kitchen remodel. We need to test for lead in the paint, the cabinet finishes and the glaze on ceramic tile and take appropriate measures if lead is found. If you live in a house built prior to 1978 your contractor is required to give you a booklet titled Renovate Right within 60 days of the start of the project, and get your signature that you received the booklet. The cost of the 8 hour certification course will vary depending on who is offering it. In Northern California I saw it offere for as low as $160.00 by a local NARI chapter to as high as $400.00 by a local training company. I hope I've answered a few questins.