I received my order of UV-resistant green sandbags produced by DeWitt. I thought that it would be the same polypropylene fabric that they use as a weed barrier; but I now doubt it. In other words, I expected a small hole (for water drainage) at each cross weave (the "thread" is about 1/8 to 1/12 wide, flat, and thin). Water drains quite well through the stitching at the bottom of the bag. In contrast, drainage from the fabric wall is slow. Water leakage through the fabric is best observed if a jet of water from the hose is aimed at the wall; otherwise, leakage from the wall only by gravity is slow and rare. I can't tell if the fabric has a thin film laminated coating. The surface of the fabric is smoother than I expected if there was no lamination, but more water drains out than I expected if there was a laminated coating. In no way is any possible laminated coating present on the DeWitt bag similar to that pictured for the long lasting sandbags offered by Dayton Bag Company. Making pots out of these sandbags would involve folding the bottom, and securing such folds with a few dabs hot melted glue. These would be loose folds to form a more cylindrical bottom, just strong enough to make it easier to fill the bags with dirt. UV-resistant hot glue sticks are available (I don't know where), but since these will be in the bottom of the bag, shielded from UV by dirt, sticks from the Craft section of Wal-Mart should be fine. Since such pots would be too tall given their diameter, the tops could be rolled inside out, to reduce the height. I'll go ahead and make some pots out of a few of these, since I got them anyway. But I can't really recommend them at this point: First, I doubt that any pinholes in the fabric are large enough to cause roots to branch. Second, I don't think that the oxygen diffusion rate through the bag would be that much better than a solid plastic pot. I previously suspected the first, but I was really hoping for a much improved oxygen situation. If you are currently a user of pots made from black plastic film (these have holes in the bottom, otherwise they are similar to normal plastic bags, except that they are sold as nursery pots); these DeWitt sandbags may be competitive. It is possible that if I subjected these sandbags to a small amount of wear and tear (as a transport bag), the fabric will loosen up and become more porous for oxygen. In which case, I would post an update. Here is a link that might be useful: DeWitt Sandbags

Diane, It is a challenge to figure it out, isn't it! It is safe to say that I could grow zero brussels sprouts and my family would be delighted...so that one is easy to figure out. (I like 'em fresh but no one else cares for them. LOL) Today we were looking at fresh produce at Central Market in Fort Worth (yes, I was in hog heaven, thank you very much) and Tim sampled a tiny cup of black-eyed peas. Now, several thoughts ran through my mind. First of all, do they "have to" give away samples of black-eyed peas to get people to try them? Secondly, doesn't everyone know what blackeyed peas taste like? LOL Finally, when my dear husband looked at the bag of more-or-less freshly hulled black-eyed peas (maybe a pint of fresh peas in that bag) and saw they were $5.99, I practically purred like a kitten, thinking of all the pint bags of freshly-shelled (then frozen) black-eyed peas in our freezer.....all of which grew right here in our good old Oklahoma soil with no chemicals, etc. I felt smug and content (in a good way, NOT in a conceited 'holier-than-thou-because-we-grow-our-own" way) but more than that I felt grateful that we are able to grow our own and process/preserve them to be eaten later on. It is the most wonderful feeling in the world to be feeding your family from your own garden and to know where your food came from and how it was raised. I have a pressure canner but have only done BWB stuff this year along with tons of dehydrating and freezing. I go on canning binges....can a lot some years, less in others. With this year's recurring rains, I've put up more food for the 'off-season' than in many prior drought years, and I am really happy about that. So far, one thing I've learned is that no matter how many beans and peas I plant, we eat them all long before the next gardening season rolls around. So, I am planning on lots more next year. Yesterday I picked Roma beans from the garden...and I don't even remember which variety I have except that they are the bush form and that it was from Franchi Simenti seed, and they are so good that I know I must plant many more of them next year. I can only remember one year in recent memory....and it might have been 2004....where I put up enough beans to get us from one gardening year to the next without running out. Growing the soil is why new beds take me so long to build too. In the long run, it is worth it of course, but turning clay into great garden loam certainly involves a long commitment! And, yet, I don't know how we could have done it any differently. I have found very few (almost no) spots in Love County that have a nice, rich, humusy sandy loam that is naturally occurring. For most people here, there are three choices: very sandy soil that drains too quickly in dry years and is prone to nematodes, heavy, thick red (but highly fertile) clay like we have here, and caliche clay full of rocks. So, with those three to choose from, I'm glad we have the clay, but I also appreciate our one small band of sand that cuts across the yard. I greow pecan and fruit trees in that band of sandy soil and they love it. Got your eye on a specific brand of canner? As for jars, I collect them. hee hee I can't walk past jars or lids without wanting more......"just in case". Even if I have plenty of empty jars sitting in storage waiting to be used, I almost have a panic attack when the stores start putting the jars and lids on clearance in the fall. What if I need jars a month or two from now and can't find any? (This has never happened--I always have jars tucked away in the pantry or in a closet, but "what if?" LOL). I always thought I'd have a smaller garden as time went on and we got older, but now I'm growing enough for 2 families instead of 1, so I'm growing more. (Although, DS and his wife and their daughter don't eat as many veggies as we do, except for french fries and green beans...and salsa.) My all-time favorite dedicated kitchen garden spot was an 8' x 8' raised bed in which I planted a "Salsa Garden". It was just outside the back door and in it I had tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic and cilantro. If you had a sudden urge to make salsa, everything was right there. I later planted a few rose bushes in that raised bed and enjoyed that, but I liked it better as a salsa garden. Dawn

Karen, I grew Yukon gold potatoes in tires last year with decent success. I'm still a newbie at vegetable gardening, so I don't have expert advice to give. I have a lot of slugs in the garden and didn't want them in my potatoes. I also have a lot of old tires on the property. I found this web site www.kiddiegardens.com/growing_potatoes_in_tires.html. I laid landscape fabric on the ground then set 2 tires side by side, filled them with a mix of garden soil and compost, then planted the potatoes 4 or 5 inches above ground level in the tires. Then I covered the tops with several more inches of soil. When the plants grow 8 - 10 inches above the tire, add a tire and fill it with soil, leaving the top few inches of plant uncovered. I do wonder if I should be adding some potting soil to lighten the mix. It's an experiment, maybe the potatoes would do just as well or better in the ground. But I like the idea of no slugs, going vertical and using up the old tires. I have a friend that plants her potatoes in big plastic boxes. I'm going to pot up tomato and pepper seedlings in the next few days, the roots are starting to come through the sides and bottom of the netting. The tomatoes are 5 - 6 inches tall now, the peppers much smaller at 3 inches. Yeah! Mark, I think you had mentioned in another thread that you have a new grandbaby coming, Congratulations! Let that thought keep you warm until spring comes to you. Skybird, Dan and Jnfr, thanks for the pics. I love to see what you are up to in the garden. Great ideas! Digit, thanks for the lettuce info. Enjoy this beautiful day! Barb

AHHHHHHHHHH....memories! And what a journey it has been! I remember all the things mentioned here. Each time I thought I had another one...someone came up with it. I'm more "hippy" than hippie...LOL! Scarlett, I know the feeling! Those hipster jeans just don't fit right anymore! One thing I did learn to do back in the 60's and didn't see mentioned here were "Christmas Spiders". From the small glass Christmas balls and pipe cleaners, with sequin eyes. They looked like this...of course you've got to remember this one has been around for a good number of years now! LOL..ugly thing, isn't it? With new products and vintage jewerly, they now look more like this example. I made dozens of these every year..and sell most of them these days. We still use the Christmas ornaments like this. I'll never forget the year we decided to make this the family Christmas project! Neither will our 2 daughters! We all had such sore fingers. But, they treasure these ornaments now, and like myself use them every year. Let's not forget Santa and Mrs. Claus made from dish detergent bottles. With the dime store (then Ben Franklin) faces and hands, etc. They are still part of my Santa collection but I don't seem to have a picture of them anywhere in my on line albums. I still make a few of the old things...most often with a bit of a modern twist...using some of the easier to use products. The pasta angel is a good example of evolving pasta art. I do have problems finding the metal thumb tacks used for the candle in these. Someone mentioned the crochet covered clothes hangers. I'm just old fashioned I guess...I still do them. Along with little sachet bags to go with them. I love collecting the old crochet patterns and making stuff from them. These are the vintage pattern projects that I have recently finished. The shaded pansy thread colors are almost impossible to find these days. You can see some of my spiders in this basket...they are not Christmas Spiders. I call them my illusive, almost extinct pansy spiders! I wanted some really pretty silk pansy to put in this basket and couldn't find any...so I used the next best thing. LOL I think I should stop now! I don't think the "old" crafts will be completely lost...they will just evolve. Be Safe, Rach Here is a link that might be useful: