Gosh, Thanks Dibbit for the warning. It's about a 20 lb boulder, not very porous, and it didn't explode in the wood stove (yikes) so maybe we got lucky. Of concern to me also was placement inside the coop. Did'nt want any body accidentally stepping on it, so we had to put some thought toward that too. The worst may be over - we should be back to the good ole gloom and rain soon. It would have to be a loooong extension cord by the way - thru the snow/wet. No, that rock was cold by morning, but maybe it raised the temp a degree or two for a while. I know in regions where cold weather lasts many months, a larger flock in a nice tight coop will keep each other warm, but we only have two. Maybe I'm worrying too much. My co-workers made fun of me...they don't understand why we would go to such trouble today for a couple of birds we would consider butchering one day in the future.(They really have trouble with that!) I simply told them I preferred my chicken frozen WITHout feathers). Whatever! Thanks all, for the wise words and suggestions. LF(RJ)

Keep in mind that when vinegar is used as a herbicide, the contentration is fairly high, and you're supposed to use it when the sun is out. Many things that are fine or even good for plants are toxic at high conentrations. I've given a fair amount of vinegar to shaded weeds, and they were fine (they didn't even flinch). I imagine a little calcium acetate on the plant isn't going to hurt it. Fertilizer foliar sprays generally aren't done when the sun is out, and the concentration is very low. So, you're unlikely to kill the plant, unless you use the wrong ratio of fertilizer to water and/or apply it in the sun.

I don't use a rain barrel. I just set out large buckets under my breezeway gutter that overflows whenever it rains. Over the years my son (a.k.a., Mr. Fix-it) has engineered a number of "solutions" for the gutter so the water doesn't overflow and crack the breezeway concrete below it. Since his solutions have simply diverted the water so it overflows a different part of the breezeway, my solution is to set buckets under the overflow and use it to water my plants. I did buy a couple of new buckets this year... Like others, I use the rainwater to keep my containers and newly-planted perennials hydrated. I use terra cotta Plant Nannies in containers as well as at the base of recently planted perennials. So far all my plants are happy. "...we've learned that most established plants can survive much tougher conditions than one might expect!" That's what I've observed this growing season. My established perennials have shown few signs of stress as a result of the drought which makes me think they're really healthy and happy where they're growing. Guess that's verification I followed the rules and planted them right to begin with. My near neighbors who garden have a rain barrel for water. Whenever they go away I water her containers and newly planted things with the rainwater. Where I live, neighbors help neighbors. I don't think twice about it. Rouge21 - I didn't water at all over the course of the summer despite the drought. Even my hostas and Lenten roses show very few signs of stress.

I wouldn't worry about putting insulated pots over in-ground bushes for the cold. Blueray is hardy to zone 4b and Legacy is zone 5. I rarely have much winter dieback from my blueberry bushes, maybe a small tip here or there amongst all of them, but not enough to harm them. For the rabbits and deer, though, yes, a pot can be helpful in the winter to protect the tender tidbits, but I prefer a bunny wire cage year round for tiny, tender plants when critters are in play. (My poor Bluegold gotten munched almost to the ground the fall after it was planted. It was a set back, but it's recovered and is almost big enough to fruit now.) The pictures in the original post look normal for new plants adjusting to their environment, particularly if they were mail order, as they had to endure shipping as well as climate and soil changes. Not getting bigger in the first few months is also normal. (I prefer to pick up my plants at local nurseries; you can get a bigger plant that's used to your climate for the same price as the mail order plants.) It sounds like you've moved them to a container now, since you mention bringing them in? I find containers more difficult for blueberries, particularly overwintering. I had a TopHat die wintering in our screened-in porch; we're not sure if the pot was too wet over winter, got too cold, or something else - it wasn't worth figuring it out, we just pulled it and put something else in the pot (probably a tomato). I now have two Sunshine Blues in pots that I picked up on clearance last year. They overwintered in the basement (around 50°F). (Hardy to zone 5 but that's risky for a container in zone 6, and they have shorter chill requirements than northern highbush, so wonky weather can bring them out of dormancy early.) They need very little water during their dormant months. I think they only got a tiny bit of water a couple times all winter in teeny tiny pots (I don't recommend that part.) They looked terrible when they went into the basement; they looked okay when they came out of dormancy, and they are lovely small plants now ... not big, but healthy. They are in potting soil since they are in containers. If you've transplanted yours into containers, they should be in potting soil, not top soil. Potting soil is usually around a 6-6.5 in pH (most will say). Mine claimed a target pH of 6.2 and I made no amendments for the Sunshine Blues. (My other bushes are all in-ground northern highbush.) When you transplanted it into the pot, that is a setback to the plant's growth. (You started over basically.) If you include new pictures we can give better advice based on the current state of the plants.