Hi crmjtm, You can just use the cement planters as receptacles for bottom wicking pots. These are pots in pots, with the upper one's holes drawing water up from the one it stands in. The bottom one has no holes & this way your cement leakage is solved. The cement planter just becomes where you place several dual container growing sets inside. These are sold ("Dutch" pots among other names) & also do-it-yourself ideas can be searched for on the GW "Container Gardening" forum as "SWC" (self watering containers).

> Ok, so my cucumbers still looked dead today... completely wilted > by noon as were the cantaloupes. The cantaloupes weren't wilted > as bad as yesterday, but still they were wilted. > I am 100% sure > those beds were wet, no doubt as I watered them last night and > the dirt was nice and dark (it turns light when dry because it's > very sandy). The only way to be 100% sure is to actually poke a finger in the soil, or dig into it, to be sure that it's watered down deep, not just on the surface. I realize that if you're going out in the morning dressed all nice for work, this is not an appealing habit, but it is the only way to be sure. BTW, sandy soil drains very quickly, and therefore needs more frequent watering, than other soil types. > Should I water it until there is one > inch of water present, which I can figure out a way to measure an > inch somehow, or should I water it longer?? Water it until you can tell, by poking the soil or digging a hole, that it is watered to the bottom of your six-inch depth if these are the six-inch beds, and deeper if they're not. What you're looking for is moisture all the way down, basically to the center of the earth :), with no dry layer, but there's obviously a limit to how deep you can check. I'd recommend that at least a couple of times, you poke/dig into the soil, water some, poke/dig again in a new spot to see if there's a dry layer, water some more, and keep it up unti you can't find a dry layer. You may find that watering thoroughly takes a lot more water than you thought. Over time, you'll learn what it takes to keep your soil at the right moisture level, but while you're learning, you'll have to keep checking. The issue is _probably_ water, because that's what I believe until you tell me that you actualy dug into the soil and looked. :) But once you're positive that the soil is staying reasonably moist - it doesn't have to stay sopping wet, in fact sopping wet is bad - then I should tell you that sometimes in very high heat, a plant will wilt no matter how much water is available to it. The roots and stems just can't pull up as much water as the leaves are losing to the sun and heat, and it wilts. And with only six inches of sandy soil, this is likely to be even more of a problem - the roots are going to be pretty hot. (Mulch!) > Does this help keep the soil cooler too in the > summer?? I have more problems keeping the moist and cool than > warming it. > > What else can I do at this point to keep my plants from wilting? > I don't want to lose them as they are producing nicely. Thank You > so much!!! Mulch. Mulchmulchmulch. Fine-grained mulch that can later be dug in as a soil amendment, preferably compost, preferably organic. (_Don't_ use bark chunks or other chunky mulch in a vegetable garden! And have a look at the package to try to be reasonably confident that it's not dyed, or municipal mulch that might have herbicides... I try to find certified organic.) Mulch keeps the soil cool and moist. If you get a look at the price of purchased compost and groan at what it would cost to thoroughly mulch everything, buy some anyway and thoroughly mulch one small area (preferably an entire bed) to give yourself some experience with what mulch will do for you. ChickenFreak

(...continuing...) ATTACHING THE CASTERS: I chose a caster with a rubber-ish wheel and a locking brake mechanism, that swivels. Here's the label (I got these at Home Depot): Place the caster on the bottom side so that the caster plate is lined up with the 2x4 - not with the 1x4 plank that rests on top of the 2x4. (This photo is out of order, but it demonstrates what I mean by lining the caster plate up with the 2x4. This way, when you screw the caster plate into place, the screws will drive into the 2x4, not the air next to the 2x4.) Holding the caster in place, mark where you will drill your pilot holes. Then drill the pilot holes, (Ignore the two holes I drilled there at the bottom; I misaligned the caster initially, and was going to attach it wrong.) then screw the caster plate into place. Now attach the other three casters in the same manner. The next step will be to line the planter with the landscaping fabric. (I actually have to head to work now, so I'll post the landscaping fabric part when I get home.) (...to be continued...)

Yes, I move each crop down one bed so it's a few of years before the same plant is in the same soil. At least in theory. What happens in practice, of course, is that I see a space and stick something in or have some plants left over and put them in the 'wrong' bed. I let things self sow and they don't always put themselves in the 'correct' bed and I also put salads into any spare spot regardless of which bed it is. In my climate one bed can have 3 different crops in it from November to November. And often there are two things in a bed at once. Favas for example with baby winter Brassicas in amongst them waiting for when the Favas are cut down and the nitrogen in their root nodules returns the the earth. Then as the Brassicas start to go over the next spring I might pop in some lettuces and then have runner beans or zucchini ready to go in amongst them. Successional, inter- and catch cropping. A garden plan needs to work in the dimension of time as well as space.