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

Oh, wow, y'all. I was sure if I had rain that practically everyone else did too! Isn't this a switch? Usually, we're really dry here and everything is burning while most of the rest of you have so much water you're practically floating. This year, it is exactly the opposite of the norm. For us, this is the second mostly-wet year in a row. About all I can say about that is that the law of averages will catch up with us and we'll "pay" for these two wet years by having a couple of really dry years. I hope y'all get some good rainfall today or tomorrow, or if not then, then as soon as possible. Plant roots that are very dry suffer more freeze damage, so everyone needs a nice good rain before really cold weather arrives.

@Silica @JoJo (Nevada 9A) Thank you both for chiming in here! As far as the watering issue, I know there is something awry, but I do not know if it's a lack of water. I gave this tree a HEFTY soak when I had posted this, and the soil feels moist around the dripline. It was dryer than the Sahara before this. I can't dig around too deep, because I know there's a gas line there somewhere. Now for the issue of the irrigation system. This house is duplex split in half, and we have one side. There is one water valve which I am assuming "irrigates" the area where my trees are in the rear of the house, and may not be regulated. In the front of the house, there's an Orbit irrigation system, with a manual on/off valve at the top (this is currently turned off). however there's some sort of wiring that looks like it was originally hooked up to something. I have no idea what it was hooked up to, but the white wire runs into the wall of the house, and I can't determine what it is. Sounds like I may have to speak to my landlord on this one first, but it seems that the soil is still moist. The Meyer is the only tree that I'm concerned about at the moment, as the leaves seem to look funny, although they're producing lots of fruit. Here are more photos if you care to see :)