While I think that the "FAQ" as outlined by swanoir was presented tongue in cheek ('the humus'), many of the subsequent comments and/or links to threads that could/should be included in a FAQ were presented in a more serious tone. And maybe they do make sense as a foundation to a real LD forum FAQ. But I've also sensed something else in these comments that may contribute to the apparent lack of communication between new posters seeking advice and those that regularly frequent this forum and offer it. And that is that the long checklist provided by Miss R must be (or should be) answered in detail before posting. Well, of course not! But it is definitely something worth reviewing and giving some thought to. This checklist, or something very similar, is what most designers utilize when first meeting with a prospective client. It gives them a feeling for what the client wants to do with the property, how they intend to use it, what they hope to get out of it and how much effort (time/$$) are they are intending to put into it. Hopefully, reviewing an outline or checklist such as this could help to refine and focus some of those blank slate questions and even educate those new posters totally unfamiliar with the process the degree of complexity, the number of variables and exactly what is involved in the formulation of a landscape design. Even DIY landscape texts intended for the homeowner with no previous design or landscaping experience offer similar checklists to get one started thinking about the process. Obviously, this is overkill for those questions that are more issue-specific, but I think very appropriate for those that are much broader and far less focused.

Jodik says: The coir might look dry on top, but down in the center of the pot, it could be quite moisture-laden! I have found it helpful to insert little wooden skewers carefully into the soil to about root level, and leave them there... I take them out and press them against my cheek to test for dampness... if they feel at all damp, I wait to water... but if the skewer comes out dry, it's time to water. My coir is 4" deep in a closed pot. I put the skewer to the bottom of the pot. When I take it out how many inches of bone dry top "soil" should there be before it's time to water again? Is it 1", 2" or 4"? I just went 10 days without water and only 1" of the top was dry so am I supposed to water this direct sun pot once every two weeks or so to avoid over watering, really? And how much water for my 6" closed pot? I had been watering 1 1/2 cup or so once a week and my plant was fine but I'm now worried that was too much so I'm re-evaluating. I know what conventional wisdom says (water deep, not shallow) but that advice doesn't seem to apply to my situation. Also how long should it be before I see new leaf growth in the summer time (first season outside)? My 18 month old Red Lion so far has only grown new leaves once a year. At potting and at dormancy end.

Maybe we can repost this with a note NOT to reply that way it stays at the top? Is there a way we can sticky this?

For many folks the FAQ's DO answer their questions and many are simply not aware of the FAQ's and Search feature, but for some the FAQ's and Search will NOT answer their questions, so of course they can then post about that and all those who wish to answer in that thread can do so. ***** Is what I posted above. Of course the FAQ's are general but as I've said they do help many folks and if they don't, then the person can start a thread and ask. If you look at my first post in this thread I said that the reason I posted it was b'c I knew that many folks didn't even know about the FAQ's and the Search feature. And it's for them that I tried to help. So of course the FAQ's are NOT a substitute for a more full discussion of some issues and I had thought that I had made that abundantly clear in what I cut and pasted to this post. As it is, most of the folks who have posted here already are not new folks, but those who have been here a long time. And for those of you who haven't been here a long time what happened back in the early 2000's was that many folks ASKED for such FAQ's and I volunteered to coordinate that effort and what was to be put in the FAQ's was available for ALL to read before they were posted. After it became too much for me to do b'c of other obligations Paul took over and did the uploading after each of them had been presented to all GW members for input. And yes, it took a great many people and a lot of hard work and dedication to do those new FAQ's , meaning, some of them were there from before after tomatoes were moved to this Forum from the Vegetable Forum where at that time the majority of posts were about tomatoes. Just a bit of history on the background of how the new FAQ's came to be. And never were they intended to be anything other than general b'c no way could ALL aspects of any of them be mentioned b'c sometimes no one even knows what issues will be raised. So, speaking personally, for those who are NEW to GW and those posting here already and didn't know about the FAQ's and the Search Feature, I at least hope that they will be a useful beginning to learning more about tomatoes. Carolyn