There is a cheaper alternative to the gritty mix. I have the very highest regard for Tapla's knowledge and his detailed explanations on this forum and in no way have any criticisms of his mixes - but I cannot afford them for vegetable growing. I have about 80 five gallon pots and 26 assorted larger pots and my wife has countless pots with ornamentals. We buy one ton of mixed soil from our local nursery and mix this with half a ton of washed sand. The mixed soil which is sold by the nursery as topsoil contains one quarter loam, one quarter sandy loam, one quarter mushroom compost and one quarter composted mulch. We mix this by shovelling to form a cone and turning it twice more. At the time of potting my wife adds some slow release fertilizer for the ornamentals and for the vegetables I add some sheep manure or garden compost at about one to ten. After every crop I add some more sheep manure or our garden compost. As an alternative to the sand portion we prefer fine scoria (lateritic gravel) when it is available. During the growth period of the vegetables I add a little NPK 21:5:8 granular fertilizer which we get from farm suppliers (very much cheaper this way). Alternatively I use 1:10 diluted urine in the mid stages of plant growth. The key thing with soil mixes in pots of over 5 gallon size is to have at least a quarter of coarse sand or grit.

Monica..copy the URL of the album on PhotoBucket, and paste it into the "Optional Link URL" line below the post's message box. Give it a name, and preview it. If all is well, post it.

I make plops of Patek's Curry pastes and freeze them in the same manner as the tomato paste above. After they are frozen on a sheet of wax paper, I put the paper sheet and the frozen plops into a plastic freezer container and cover them with more wax paper before sealing with the lid. Curry paste can stain anything beyond repair. Just the other day I made my own "butter blend" with oil: soften a stick of butter (1/2 cup) at room temperature, beat it very well with an electric mixer or in a food processor, slowly drizzle in 1/3 cup oil of your choice (olive, canola, or I used safflower oil), blend very well, pour into a suitable container with a tight fitting lid. The mixture will be quite runny, but will firm up as it chills. Teresa

In my area, the northwest, prices start at about $1,500 for 5 hours of coverage and go up to over $3,000 for all day coverage by a husband and wife team. For those prices you get an album. Most photographers today place the proofs on-line so that family and friends from all over the country can order directly without having to wait to see proofs. If you consider hiring a photographer that works in a studio with others, be sure that you see actual samples of the work of that photographer. The best shots will be on the walls, in sample albums, etc. but they may not have been taken by the person that you are considering hiring. In this area we don't pay extra for photographer's helpers. They are optional. I often fill in as a helper if needed. If a photographer chooses to bring a helper, they usually pay that person out of what you pay them.