That's a great question that are definitely making my wheels turn lol..... I do 100% believe in shampoo (surfactant) aeration which did greatly improve my soil compaction, and significantly increase water absorption. However, the core aeration made overseeding extremely easy and effective as it loosened up the soil, and left plenty of holes, loose dirt, and space for the seeds to naturally find places to grow with great seed to soil contact. This means that I really didn't need to roll, or rake the seed in. I am definitely now an organic advocate because I see now that it yields longer results, better results, and a more consistent quality of lawn. The best comparison I can give is a saltwater vs chlorine pool. My new house now has a saltwater pool (yay!!) which functions on the same basic principles of a traditional chlorine pool, however the saltwater system is much lower maintenance, requires very few chemicals, does not need to be tested and balanced for chemicals and ph constantly, and the water is nicer on the skin. Like an organic lawn, the saltwater pool creates its own balanced eco-system. My only job is to maintain the eco-system by adding basic things like salt, water, etc..... Anyway, I know I'm getting off topic but my point is that chlorine vs salt water pool is very similar to using chemical synthetic fertilizer salts vs organics. The question is what was the biggest difference maker? What worked best? What was most important? Organics + Water for the soil would be the answer. After a year of organics, I would find an abundance of earthworms and a few small mushrooms in the morning, where before I had none of this. My weed re-occurrences were also very few and far between, and my lawn flourished. I created a very healthy environment for my lawn... I think the most important thing I learned is creating great soil conditions (which includes, amendments, liquid aeration, mulch mowing, appropriate amounts of water each week, etc) = BEAUTIFUL LAWN. This sounds obvious, but it wasn't to me. Before discovering you guys, I only thought things like "grass is yellow. add liquid iron" "grass in not thick and growing fast. dose it with nitrogen" "I have bare and thin spots. Throw grass seed on it" If you just focus on the soil quality, everything else falls in place. Thanks again for all of the advice

Most common diseases can't be "cured". Many can be slowed down and managed so that you can bring in a harvest. Some diseases affect fruits, some do not. It can depend on how systemic the disease is (as in the case of viruses) or how severe the disease is. Many spots on fruit are pest damage that are mistaken for disease as well. But some diseases just don't affect fruit just because that's not how the disease organism works. Some affect the fruit only cosmetically, and the fruit can still be eaten and will taste fine--so the market grower may pull those plants, but the home grower may try to manage the disease until frost. When to pull depends on a lot of factors. In general, I would say--always pull anything with late blight because of how quickly it kills, how easily it spreads on the wind, and how destructive it can be not only to to tomatoes but to potatoes as well. I would also pull any viruses that stunt the plant seriously and ruin fruit, especially since many common viruses have no cure, cannot be slowed down, and often can spread to plants other than tomatoes. Viruses and some bacterial diseases also necessitate controlling the pest that vectors them. As for your plants--do you know what they have? And are you taking the right steps to control/manage that problem? Because it's impossible to know whether to pull those plants without that information.

New to the container thing, which means now I have these god like powers to save plants from the winter - not an option I'm used to having in New England! I keep forgetting they're not all sentenced to death like their earth-bound brethren, and realize there's more to it than just chucking their pots indoors. Hoping for some enlightenment regarding plant&pot prep for the transition indoors, such as pruning, repotting, and determining who's worth saving. Some questions I've come up with, in no logical order - I'm scouring the archives as well, so feel free to link to a good explanation of any of this: Treatment vary based on fruiting/flowering/foliage type? Which are okay or better off left outdoors, or in the barn/garage? Cut back fruit/blooms/new growth to conserve energy for the environment change? Pruning to cut down on size, how to decide what to cut/keep? Repotting / refreshing medium / root pruning - too much stress, or helpful? Will seed still on the plant continue to mature one the leaves drop? What about if cut from the plant? Obviously those are a bit generic, and I'm cool with generic answers to get me headed the right direction. Much easier to answer in detail knowing what I'm working with, so I'll add some photos once the uploader decides to play nice. Thanks! ---- Edit #1, c'mon, pictures... So, meet some of the candidates: -a bell pepper plant with a slow start to life as a volunteer; discovered under a squash plant late last fall, potted and brought in and nursed along; spent this summer on the patio. A bit pathetic in the shape department, currently has two fruit on it. Nearly drowned a couple weeks ago with the deluge of rain when exterior container drainage clogged, so its extra pathetic looking. two habaneros sprouted indoors early this year, one main trunk, HUGE leaves, and a shit ton of tiny new leaves, flowers, and fruit at the tops. I'm thinking the huge leaves are a disadvantage as are the plethora of buds.

@Christi Kim what I’d want to do is buy or make a Dutch door for your front entry. https://www.thisoldhouse.com/doors/21015606/diy-dutch-door-for-63 If you don’t want a Dutch door, at least get a very pretty door. Then I would also get flagstone and create a sizeable ”landing” patio/area in front of the door, and have a free-standing or much bigger bright colored mailbox, plus container plants. Not a landing this big, but you get the picture. Maybe I would use flagstone with some red in it. I would some flagstone to make a foot path to your back door and then drop/fix a trellis along the outer left side of your back door steps/porch. I would perfer dark wood or green instead of white, but grow some vines up it. You could even do it with a free standing planter if you can fine one tall enough or raise up one like these You could also use a trellis with a window in it.