Thanks to both of you for the info/advice. I have no room for a kid's swimming pool, and barely enough room for a couple large pots for growing peppers and spacemaster cukes, so I'll see what I come up with. I didn't know mint could cross a 2 car driveway...I'll take precautions before planting! Maybe heavy harvesting and competition with bermuda will keep the mint in check. Also, I can grow both Peppermint and Chocolate mint together, because both are varieties of peppermint which is sterile and won't drop mixed-up seeds. But I might not grow the two too close together, or all the shoots will become intermingled and would make sorting a hassle...

Thanks Michelle:) No idea what these black spots are that are sticky? I called it soil, but I'm pretty sure I got a potting mix, I spent so much for these roses from the mini nursery that knowing I was potting these I would have gotten the mix. I have bad non stop headaches and I go to fast talking and memory isn't the best sometimes, I blame it on the darvocet I take:) I will make a trip down to Lowes though and get just a plain mix no fancy stuff and just plain viny or plastic pots and no rocks after the holiday. At this time of year I think I'll just add a little miracle gro transplant shock after I do it and water and see how they go through the winter. I've never had a plant in a pot survive this long, much less wintered one. I do remember even here in the valley my roses will eventually loose their leaves and go dormant so I'll just take my cue on them from the minis in the ground. I think I'll also repot the smaller one because the soil is right up to the top of that one also, you think? Thanks for your help and your comments, these are my experiments to make it or not and for next spring.. Leslie

Greetings: Many years ago when just out of college, I worked at a small greenhouse. We had plants in clay pots and plastic pots (geranium, Dracaena ect). These days, nobody would commercially grow in clay pots. To heavy to ship,move ect. However, it was interesting to see the same crop in clay versus plastic. Those in clay were just a little bigger, healthier looking and definitely seemed better compared to those in the plastic pots. Cooler roots with clay? Better root system with clay? I wonder if the wood whiskey barrels work the same. Cooler roots? I use plastic these days too as the big plastic tubs are way cheaper and more available than wood barrels. The issue came up again when working at a garden center years ago that potted bare-root shrubs into fiber pots. When the pots ran out, we switched to plastic pots. The fiber pots produced a nicer plant sooner. Plastic works but is not always the best container for the plant. Just cheaper, more available and convenient since it does not rot away.

I am getting good yields from green beans - Royalty Purple Pod and Romano are producing well. Rattlesnake and Blue Lake beans are just starting. Emerald Delight zucchini is also starting to produce. I just finished harvesting Mexican papayas, first time with papaya and enjoyed the results. We got 19 papaya fruit from 3 trees. Basil plants are large, lots of pesto coming soon. Okra plants are getting started, they should love the heat. My cucumber plants are also new starts, last year I did better by waiting until June to start them because they also like heat. My big disappointment is tomatoes - they started out looking wonderful. They are now diseased and attacked by mice. I am taking care of the mouse problem but the disease is probably too far gone - septoria leaf spot, early blight. I am in coastal Southern California.