Susan, Yes, I plant beets every year. I like them pickled with cinnamon, as small whole baby beets and later when they get bigger, I slice them and pickle them. Yum! Ten times better than the ones you get in jars at the store. Have a very earthy taste that gets processed out of the 'store boughten' ones. Just can't compare. They are easy to grow, too. I like to plant them in 3-4 ft. blocks, but sometimes I just plant them in rows next to the onions. Yes, I have a well. Even with the pump coming on every few seconds, the electric bill for my watering never is more than 5 or 6 bucks and I water plenty. (Sheeesh! Don't tell anyone! They might hike up my rates!) I have a white grape tomato that I bought from a co-vendor at the Stillwater Farmer's Market. It is called, Snow White and it tastes like a grape, I kid you not. They are kind of a creamy white color - just a touch of yellow to the white. really pretty in a bowl with the little red grape tomatoes. Delicious as antipasto and yummy just as a snack. Anyway, I saved some seeds and anxious to grow some this year. I grow several varieties of tomatoes, so I am sure to have gobs of extra tomato plants that I can can bring to Swap. I will have Sweet basil, Lemon Basil, Lime Basil, Spicy Globe, Thai & Cinnamon Basils, too. As long as it doesn't drop down into the 20s and last for days, you can cover your plants with sheets and weight them down with small rocks. You can cover them with lots of hay, too, and that works great. Hay is a great insulator. If you want to get really clever, here is one of my methods that works fantastically: Fill black plastic trash bags with leaves or hay. Damp is okay. Tie them shut. Lay these along both sides of your plants, down your rows. Secure them with sticks so they won't blow or roll away in the wind. The black plastic will really warm up the soil around the plants during the day and if it is supposed to get cold at night, you can just throw a sheet or lightweight blanket over the bags of leaves. The bags will keep the blanket off the plants and help hold in the heat. Makes sure that you cover them back up before it gets dark to conserve the heat in the hay or leaves. I have used this method to extend my growing season well into the colder months. I grew green beans all the way into December several normal wintery weather years. In fact, I harvested enough fresh, crisp green beans on Christmas morning one year to feed my entire family that came to dinner! Blah, blah, blah! Nuff said. ~SweetAnnie4u

I started brush hogging this morning only feeling a drop every now and then. I quit a while ago and still did not get wet. The rain this morning was not much more than a heavy dew, I hope it starts raining harder this afternoon. I really cant complain because we have had more rain this year than many of you have had. Larry

According to the PCA, concrete slabs on ground need 7 days to cure at a temp above 40-degrees F. Moisture and water along the edges of a slab on grade can, over time, undermine or weaken the slab, particularly if the soils are expansive which many are in the Bay Area. Step one should be to create positive natural drainage away from any and all slabs, new and existing. Step two is to use gutters, downspouts and splash blocks to carry away roof run-off when the new structure is complete. If your topography is such that there is substantial surface run off which fall against your foundation, you may want to consider a subsurface gravel and tile drainage system to pick up and remove the water against the foundation. Hope this helps.

Ken, I think you’re referring to the Joe Pye in the green planter? They were small plants from Bluestone received this year in early May. I was tiding them over until we finished regrading our yard and installing drain tile and a dry bed to put them in the ground. They looked lovely last Monday morning lol. Re the weather, it’s been hot and dry, for MI anyway. Very dry. I was watering deeply ~3x per week. For fertilizer, I haven’t added anything since maybe the Fourth of July weekend. I’ve read you shouldn’t fertilize after July as it encourages new growth that may not have time to “harden off” before the frost comes. Prior to that, the blueberries, azalea, viburnum and hydrangeas got some HollyTone in April. Blueberry and azalea also had some Ericoid mycorrhizae watered in around April and May. Viburnum had a foliar iron spray in June as it was looking chlorotic. Otherwise, they’ve all had a few waterings with diluted orchid fertilizer. I sprayed most all of my plants with pre-diluted copper fungicide in May or June. I can’t think of anything any of them, healthy or the currently unhealthy/dying/dead, have had since late June/early July. Prior to these two rain showers, some looked a bit droopy but seemed to perk up after a good watering. The only plants I had concerns about prior to this last week were the blueberry bushes. They all had some dark spots developing and 1-2 canes of the dry silvery-bronze foliage that’s overtaken all the leaves now. Those canes were pruned out roughly 3 weeks ago.