Thanks EG! It doesn't seem like a lot, but I figured why not try a little of the plants I REALLY like :-) As I said, the drip irrigation system worked really well and when I expand the garden next year, I plan on expanding that also. Although not as 'elegant' as the EB AWS or Raybo's, the water timer helps with the overflow since it only allows water to enter for about 15 mins 2 times per day. I thought about the nutrient leaching and so I did exactly what you suggested by placing the drip hose directly into the fill tube. The fertilizing...especially over the long-term, was problematic for me mostly because I really didn't think it through enough. The mix I add to the soil at the beginning of the season got the plants off to a great, sturdy start, but about half way through it, I knew I was in trouble. I'm thinking about burying a small, covered container at the same time I plant the veggies. Then about half way into the season, I'll push aside the large bulk mulch, remove the cover (which will be at ground level), place in a mixture of potting mix and another batch of fertilizer and then see what happens. I'm not sure it will work, but I much prefer adding the fertilizer to the soil rather than top-down watering. And since minerals are heavier than water, I don't think that a completely soluble fertilizer will give the plants all the extra nutrients they need as they head into their fruit production. The 'natural' fertilizer formula included in Ed Smith's book was a CRF so that may be all I need (in addition to the extra lime.) What do you think? Donna H.

Go to: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/houseplt. Scroll down to bottom of page to Search and type in Money tree plant. There are quit a few entries and I am sure somebody willhelp you. Good luck with your new hobby.

some time has passed since your original post and i wondered how your aquarium is coming along. To answer ur q's: do not be afraid of marine/reef tanks. many are, but no need to be. i have had one off or on for many years and they are very rewarding! as for not killing animals, you will have to learn to accept this fact, it is painful, and can be expensive, but it happens even to old hands. start w/less expensive, hardier fish and upgrade as experience grows. Marine fish keeping is more expensive, there is no way around that either. you received an estimate of about $25 per gal and i feel that is reasonable. a 20-30 gal tank is not very large, so dont overload it and tax your filtration system - it will cause a multitude of problems, extra work and be very frustrating! i personally would not recommend starting w/a brackish tank if your goal is a reef tank - but i would highly recommend a saltwater fish only tank first. this way you are already halfway where you want to go and you will gain invaluable experience in saltwater keeping. there are a couple of things you need to be aware of with reef tanks (ok, many...but i assume u are doing all that recommended reading - lol): mixing vertabrates w/non-vertrabrates can be a very risky business - be very careful of the verbrates you put in w/live rock and corals. when i first ventured into invertabrates, i purchased an incredible purple urchin. my niger would give it no rest, carting it from one end of the tank to the other trying to flip it over; in the meantime, the urchin cut a swath across my lovely new corals, purchased at the SAME TIME! no one in the shop had told me that the coral was food for the urchin! and obviously, i had not done my homework first. Also, most 'cures' for fish will kill your invertabrates. there are ways to deal with that but it is more stressful for the fish. if the reef aspect is what you desire most, i would consider going ahead w/your corals and live rock and only adding one, maybe two, reef-compatible fish (a lionfish would be one excellent choice for this) - these type tanks can be breathtaking. if it is the variety of fish, with invertrabrate interest you seek, i would lean more towards anenomes and clowns, as healthy anenomes can easily be removed from the tank for purposes of medicating the fish. woes - thanks for the links! as i moved from fla to tex my tank sitting in the garage, i hope to set up again my the end of the year. i'd like to upgrade old systems first so this link will be helpful. Jo

Hi HDD You make a very good point about addiction; something that we often overlook. I got the shock of my life when I looked at my collection the weekend and the realisation suddenly dawned on me that my collection (which almost fills the back yard now) will at the very least have doubled in size by this time next year. It's a pity you don't live handier Zach because I could give you plenty to experiment with. Oh well, more freebies for other budding enthusiasts or more trips to the dump. I live one street back from the ocean and often get salt on the roof of my shade house as well as all of the garden plants, but they don'r seem to suffer any ill effects. Maybe its because they get a bit of a slosh with the hose after the breeze has been blowing salt air in from the sea. As for mounting on driftwood; be very careful and make sure you give the driftwood several long soaks in fresh water (changing water between soaks) and then leaving it out in the sun for a few months to bleach and weather it as well to be on the safe side. As for the frosts, you can bring your plants inside during this period or cover them with frost cloth or some other suitable frost protection. Also, brom's hate wind; so you will need to build some type of wind protection because the plants get blown over and leaves get broken which makes them look unsightly. As a guide to growing conditions, I have found that if I feel comfortable in the environment I have created for my plants, then so will the plants. All the best, Nev.