Hi tnkrer: --- NO SOLDER OR GLUE IS USED The cans have drainage hole punched in the bottom of the first can. both the second and third cans have the top and bottoms removed. I use a furnace workers crimping tool to decrease the diameter of the lower rim so that it fits into the can under it. the cans have an edge seam on each end of the cans. when the cans are pressed together they snap into place and do not come apart. the 3 cans amount to about 2 and 2/3 gallons. This should suffice. As long as I keep the plant to a moderate size and keep it well watered it should do well. Watering in the morning allows the plants surface to dry out so mold doesn't set in. This is my first year of this and I am doing this with tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, squash, and watermelons. This will boost the plant's foliage above the soils splash distance and will control things like fusarium wilt from setting in. I will be able to garden with out sprays and poisons. Only the peppers and eggplants will have bottoms on there towers. The others will be bottomless so the roots can pass through into the main soil bed. The system will be improved and will be done to the specs called for from this experiment. Over view of the solderless assembly dimple caused by crimpers that allow the cans to snap together 4 of 5 figs visible on my hardy chicago fig tree Fig tree in 5 gallon bucket left to right nagami kumquat, meiwa kumquat tree grown from seed 300+ holes 1/10 inch to aerate the root base. Just run your hand lightly around the pot. This depresses the wall a small amount the replace stale air and hold down molds.

Dottie- you could always very carefully cut the pot away from the soil of the rooted thru plants. I've had that happen before, but it's never been where i wanted to leave something, so i end up yanking it up. One poor viburnum did it like 3x, til i got wise and put the pot on cement where it couldn't do that anymore until i could get it in the ground. Shame on me it took me that long. Ryan- you're getting a good start. I've not had issues with my oregano in red clay, but it's in a raised, well drained bed which has reverted to clay, so maybe that makes a difference. At one point it was amended but the clay long ago gobbled all the good stuff. Everyone knows sand gobbles compost, but clay does it almost as bad. I find that many things will grow in the clay as long as it's been amended once when you plant and then mulched each year after (which keep working down into the soil). So long as clay can stay moist, not soggy or dry, most plants do fine in it. It does hold nutrients and water better than potting soil mixes or sand either one. In droughty years that is a huge plus. Mulching seems to be key to keeping the clay evenly moist- and not too thickly, either, or it will repel too much water. I lay down a very thin layer of well composted horse manure or home compost and then mulch on top of that with about an inch or so of double shred or whatever i can get my hands on once or twice a year as i get to it. The compost seems to really help fertilize and make the clay more amenable to moisture- it's amazing what such a thin layer does- and the mulch keeps it in. As for seeds, i really like the winter sowing technique, and for other things like veggies, cell packs better than jiffy pots. I've always had trouble with the jiffys wicking or getting too dry and being hard to rewet and then being too restrictive in the soil. If you have to peel off the pot, the point of doing the jiffys is moot, so why not use cells or slightly larger plastic pots. Most things can handle being handled a little- for the things that can't you can try making newspaper pot or something similar. You absolutely have to feed seedlings with a weak solution of plant food or they just sit there. Easiest way i've found is to put a dilute solution of whichever brand you prefer in a spray bottle and spray them lightly once or twice a week- let the seedlings' stage and growth be your guide. That gives them a gentle foliar feed, which gets them going fast. You do need to wait til they have true leaves to do it, but that doesn't take long for most things. I don't fertilize my winter sown stuff unless i want to grow it big before i set it out- most things that do well with winter sowing can go in the garden at small sizes and fare well that way. You can use potting soil that has some food in it for those seeds too- i put it in the bottom of the containers so the roots reach for it, but it doesn't burn them when they first emerge. There's a whole forum for & about winter sowing, if you're interested. Highly recommend reading the FAQ's and going from there. It's much easier than any other way i've tried and there have been plenty!

AH!!! Gosh I've missed you guys. :))) New and old! Dawn, I THINK I've decided on a different approach to the pecan tree leaves that will fall this year, tell me what you think? I'm raking them all in to the garden spots and covering thm with the black rubber matting I have. Watering them here and there to encourage decomposition. THEN, when spring rolls around, I'll lay down newspaper and cover with grass clippings. Bryan says he'll order a grass catcher for the riding lawnmower, that'll help out tons. And on the things breaking down??? How the heck did you know my kitchen a/c unit broke down yesterday??? LOL! OH MAN, right after a huge baking session! I used to feel like I was brushing back the tide with a broom on things breaking down around here... now it's a little better and I'm so grateful! :) I loved that tomato today, that'll be another one to try in the future. :) Susan, Don't take this wrong, but I'm glad I'm not the only one that had that problem... LOL! Not that I'd wish problems on anyone else, you know what I mean. Another thought. My fil grew a yellow tomato this year (not sure what type, very mild flavor). I got the wild idea to grill it with some olive oil and s&p and it was really good! Maybe the yellows just need a bit of help for some people (like ME). :) KelleyP, HIYA! Nice to meet you! I'm only in my third year of gardening, and finding these people to talk with has helped me LOADS... I'm glad you joined! Do your tomato happy dance, I did! LOL! Diane, OMG!!! If you move close to me I'm gonna be over to your house a.s.a.p.!!! LOL! Crap, I'll even help you unpack if you want! I'll email you as soon as I'm done here... you better believe it! Jay, Love the info you give out! I copy it all and put it in a file with Dawn's info too. Keep it up, I sure do appreciate it! In conclusion... (lol), I just want to say that I've still got the gardening bug. EVEN tho this year has been turbulent, I'm still obssessed with that mythical "too much of something" harvest. (Mythical to me, LOL!) Every year gets... I almost said better, but now I'm gonna say DIFFERENT, LOL! Adding, I'm getting a HUGE deep freeze at the end of this month! And I'm going to Hot Springs again and me and my smil will be stocking up at the local farmer's market (as much as we can with those prices). Plus, I do have a working sewing machine here! Got a basic Brother model for my birthday (with cool zebra stripes on it, LOL!). So I'll be doing some projects as soon as I can. Love you guys! Stay cool and safe, okay? :) Beth

I'm on the other coast (well, not the coast - in the hills of NW CT). Hoping to get some ripe peppers by beginning of Oct - first frost is usually 1st week of Oct, though could be earlier. I posted some pix of my garden, was trying to figure out what some of the peppers I got from my cousin were. Check it out - some of the plants are 3 ft tall, I've got a Hinkelhatz that's 2ft tall and 2 ft wide but no peppers yet :-( but I've got 3 plants with huge peppers that look like anchos, I think they're Numex Sunrise but I'm waiting for them to turn yellow. Too bad about those Glaciers - I've gotten more than 20, though lots have split with the rain, and they are on the small side but 1 is just enough for a small (1-person) salad or a sandwich. Usually run about 2-3oz each. Couldn't sell any (didn't bring the split ones) at farmer's market last week, will try again this week. Might have to make a batch of Annie's salsa. I'd like the mango-hab sauce recipe, see how it is with a different type of pepper. I guess I gotta grow some habs next year. Most of my indeterminates aren't doing too well but that's my poor soil in new field. I do have 2 that got mixed in with the Glaciers but I can't tell yet (if ever) whether they're Pink Brandywine or German Johnson. Getting huge tomatoes but not ripe yet. Brandywine isn't supposed to be a heavy producer, though it has huge fruit. I like GJ - my cousin gave me some to taste last year so I decided to grow them this year. I've got 4 Cherokee Purple that are small plants (2ft) but have fruit, might take a month or more to ripen since I planted so late. Lots of people like them, I think they're supposed to be better producers than BW, you might want to try them. Last year I grew Mr. Stripey - didn't care for it (not acid enough for me) - and 6 good ole Celebrity from Home Dep*t, made tons of sauce and salsa from those. No problems with blight - I think the hybrids do much better though they don't have the taste the heirlooms do. I'll probably throw some of those in next year for market, just to have something bigger than Glacier and more reliable than heirlooms. Might grow Glacier again since I have seed, but I also picked up some Bloody Butcher (yech, what a name!) to try as an "early" tomato. Gee, sorry for turning this into a tomato thread!