Charms: Welcome and good first question. Oranges are ready to eat when they taste good. Usually that will be about the same time each year. So in a couple years you will know. But you say they are great now. So that means you can pick the others if you want. In a couple years you will also figure out when they start going over the hill. I don't know how long they will keep. But I'd put them in the frig. I'd test a few by tugging on them and see if they are about to fall off. I'd also leave some on the tree. That is usually a good way to store them until they start over that hill. The Fruitnut

redheads...im in long island and growing tomatoes for first time... have approx 35 plants, 30 of which are heirlooms, and the other are SunGold, PurpleHaze, and several russians. These five are the only ones showing fruits..the others dont even flower, and the cluster wilts and shrivels. I think my big mistake is that I'm growing them in a trench, according to Mel Bartholemew's SFG method with the trellis. I dug a trench a foot by a foot, filled the first half with rotted horse manure, then the rest with some dirt and peat moss. The ground level of the trench is approximately 3 inches lower than ground level. He argued this method so the plants get lots of water. But I think with all the June and July rain, they got oversaturated. Can I ask.. are you growing mostly hybrids? Any suggestions ? Can you please elaborate on what you do, from starting seed, to now ? THANK YOU.

Mellisa is at home. The surgery went well. She was in a lot of pain and had a difficult time breathing. They did keep her on oxygen until, I think it was Saturday. They also left the drainage tube in until Saturday, and altogether (surgery and post op) about 1000 cc of fluid was drained. Lab was done and no infection or bacteria found. She was discharged yesterday, and her husband and two of the kids (teen age daughter and step daughter) made the trip home with her. Thank you so much for all the prayers and good wishes. They help more than anything! Next hurdle is to find out if this will be successful long term.

SunnyDJ, It's good to see you here again. I am sorry to hear of the loss of your son. I send out about 60 cards to our family and friends each year, and organize the card exchange here. This year, I organized one for another board I am on. Between the two exchanges, I sent out an additional 40. So I am pretty close to what Steve sends each year. I don't write a letter, or most times, even a note in them. Mostly because everyone I send to has already been kept up to date on what is going on in our lives, and I am not good with words. I am doing good to sign them the way my writing is getting. I start out fairly neat, but it doesn't take long before my hand cramps and it gets progressively more squiggly. I do, however, make my own cards at Christmas. There are only two reasons why you would get a Christmas card from me that was not hand made. 1. You are a family member that I know doesn't appreciate such things, and it will very quickly hit the garbage. 2. I was unable to make any cards that year. Which is what happened in 2001 when my dad had his heart attacks, and spent a month in the hospital, coming home the Friday before Christmas. The rest of the year, if you get a card from me, it may or may not be hand made, but you are thought of with love, because not many people get cards from me the rest of the year! I enjoy getting some of the photo cards. Most that we get are from family out of state, and we don't get school photos from. Those are the ones that come as a package deal. Well, I can't exactly say those are the only ones that are package deals. Studio shots usually are package deals as well. We get the ones taken just before Christmas, usually are those that are purposely printed at places like Costco or Sam's and you specify how many you want printed, even with the ones with the message on them. I think I get like 3 each year. I have a cousin that was stationed in San Diego for years. Their DD is 7 months younger than my DD, and is married now living in Ohio, but their sons are teens. We only got to see them when they were here visiting family, once a year. We did get to spend a day with them when we went out by train, which was nice, and I still 9 years later, think of the boys at that age. So it's nice to get their picture every year. They were here for 2 years after cousin retired, so we got to see them a little more often, but they have just bought a house in Florida. Yes, social media like face book, has made it much easier to keep in contact with people. That is why I have a face book account. I can keep in contact with all of my cousins that I would only get to see at weddings, showers or funerals. Mostly funerals. But at Christmas, even tho I may wish you a Merry Christmas, or Happy New Year on face book, If I have an address for you, and I want to wish you a Merry Christmas otherwise, you will get a card from me. But don't expect it to have a note in it. I will sign it and send it. And sometimes I have been known to forget to even sign it, for which I apologize! Sometimes my holey brain gets in assembly mode and misses a step, so it's a good thing I put a return address on the envelope! And I have received that way also, so I understand. I do enjoy the letters that come with the cards, but we don't have that much to write about that isn't already known. There is one I might put a note in, but even that one not always. For me, I show how much you mean to me by sending you the hand made gift of a card. Tami ..... who is very ramblely today.