Hi Linda - glad you are excited! I've been growing CP since 2003. In general, I've been able to get about 12 - 15 tomatoes off of a plant, which isn't too bad. I don't have a good pic of CP last year but here is another view of my CP and Brandywine Sudduth in 2003 (earlier post here had them in 2004): Here was a ripening CP: The plant has generally topped out at about 5ft - 6ft (in its container) on average (as compared to something like Burpee's Beefsteak that I've had grow to 7ft or more in a container). The first year I grew a CP, thanks to the Tomato Forum, I finally got to savor the below. YUM! The good thing about Cherokee Purple that it is not fussy, is more resistant to disease than other tomatoes (considering it's an heirloom type), and it is a good consistent producer. Here's a pic of a typical cluster: In 2004, I tried Marianna's Peace but the seeds did not appear to be the more "famous" $5 a piece seeds (the taste wasn't as was touted). I also tried Black Cherry seeds then and had one of my sisters grow them (turned out nice). I am currently starting some Snow White Cherry & some San Marzano for one of my sisters and a San Marzano and Big Beef for me (trying to rotate and probably will order some new CP seeds for next year). I am also going to try some tomatillos again. With respect to MGs - I have grown Heavenly Blue, Grandpa Otts, and Scarlet O'Hara. Because those latter 2 reseed so, I haven't had to plant MGs for the past 2 years (and I expect that will be the case this year). LOL I started some Hyacinth Bean vine seeds and Scarlet Runner bean vine seeds last weekend. The HBs actually sprouted in 2 days!

So long story short: here I am, ready to get my trees next week and still no holes dug yet. Winter in Colorado was unusually awful and I was buried from December through 3rd week in March. Had a couple weeks to dig holes in nice weather -- didn't, wife said too early ... and it's been crap weather since (rain all day, or snow). So this weekend the weather MIGHT cooperate ... being 50's on Sat and 60's on Sun ... so I'm thinking about getting a ditch witch with a 36" hydraulic auger on it and doing the following for each hole I dig. I have a bad back -- yeah, it's been repaired -- but I'm using the machine mainly to make things easier on myself and yes, faster. The hole locations have been determined on my plans, which have changed a bit since I last posted the plans here ... and I still need to mark them in the yard and make sure they avoid the utilites [ which have been marked ]. THe buried utilities should be 19" down (or more). When I trench my entire back yard for sprinklers, I never had a thing and was working with a 10-14" deep trench. The utility company said a minimum of 17", but that was done before my builder back-filled and additional 6-18" on top of the original grade. So I'll rake back the mulch in a 4' (or 5') wide circle around each hole location, then auger out the 3' diameter hole, only down 12-15" max. This is for the dirt to have somewhere to go without ruining too much mulch in the process. [Q: should I even worry about my 4-5" of mulch?] The plan would be to rake the mulch back around the tree (not too close) after the trees are planted. Then I'll back fill the outer 10-12" of the 3' hole by hand (shovelling) the edges to create a bowl shape hole which is full depth in the center 12-15" and then tapered to the edges with the back fill. Do I need to rake the mulch back, or could I just auger into the mulch and all? Any ideas or comments appreciated. THe local "colorado experts" still say amending is normal around here, but I'm tempted to skip it and let the trees finds happiness in what I have. I could mix some mulch in if that would help. My mulch is about 2 years old and nice and black (soil-like) on the bottom. Planting about 15 bare root trees and 15 balled and bulapped. I'm having to kind of guess on the actual size of the trees since I really don't know till next week when I go to pick them up. They are advertised as 1.25" caliper. Thanks, Scott

Hi Pam, I bought Sunny Knock Out 2 years ago. It was a bit more sluggish to get with the program, but it did bloom. It didn't really start growing much until the end of last summer, but now it is blooming non-stop. In this heat, one shouldn't expect them to thrive. I have two miniature roses that dropped their foliage and a couple of my other shrub roses are nearly naked, as well. None of my roses (any of them) are blooming normally right now in this heat, except my dark Pink KO and Lady Elsie May by the patio. They have good afternoon shade and at the bottom of the hill, their soil holds moisture better. So...Water, Water, WATER!!! :) You shouldn't fertilize newly planted roses. I hope you didn't. Just mix in some good compost with the fill soil, mulch around it 4-6 inches deep and water it weekly (or more often if it is a dry summer) the first year through the warm weather growing season. I water my Sunny Knock Out and all other roses every other day in my dry sandy soil. In normal soil, a once a week good deep watering is enough. I even water mine in the winter if it is a dry, cold winter. Right now, I water from daylight till dark - every freaking day, and still the heat is effecting their blooming. This weather and those blasted Japanese Beetles have been making life unbearable for them and me. And now aphids - bad! Even on the leaves of trees - very bad this summer. I am squishing bugs and blasting them off plants with the garden hose right and left in every area of my yard. I pull ten gazillion weeds here, and squish 50 bugs there, and water, water, water! I mow the grass every other day and use the trimmer on my paths twice a week, and I can't seem to keep up with it or even make a dent Good grief! What a summer this has turned out to be. The only good thing so far (knock on wood) is that I have tomatoes and the Ground Cherries are making fruit. Everything else the heat and bugs are getting. I could just cry. It's probably just this weather. Water them, honey, and pray for a break in this heat wave. ~Annie

We have three feeders that we have kept filled this summer...we have a couple dozen hummingbird around and that is probably a low estimate. It sometimes seems a herculean job to keep the feeders full given the hot, dry, no rain, most everything that blooms has died or gone dormant kind of weather we have had up till this weekend when we actually had some substantial rain and cooler temperatures. We have a lot of mud dobbers that frequent out feeders...it is really pretty amazing that the hummingbirds sometimes wait them out to feed...it is almost like they understand that it is tough times and everybody will get to eat if they just stand in line. Now when it comes to the birds themselves...they are quite amazing...some are quite docile and sit and feed quietly...some sample from each spout and move on, some are ADD and act kind of paranoid, some have actually knocked others out of the way, some spread their tails out and act like they are in charge whatever that means to them...but the bottom line is that eventually we believe that they all are probably getting enough to eat and have figured out the pecking order for the bunch that lives around here...we have plenty of sugar to spare that we make their feed with since our peaches perished this summer with the drought. We will feed them till they take off for their winter vacation south. Anyway, we pretty much let nature take its course, just as if our feeders were flowers in nature, "he who gets there first...gets to eat". We hope our food pantry helps some if not all of them!