artisticcheese, When to cut down roses depends upon your zone. I am in zone 9b, we strip our roses of their leaves and cut them down to force dormancy in late December or prior to about January 15th. During February, the temperature lows average in the 40's, and highs near 60, so our roses would not get a break. I own knock out roses and have used a similar, but more relaxed protocol ( no drastic pruning) with them. We also cut the top growth down by 1/3 on all Moderns like hybrid teas, floribundas etc. around August 15th, and give the soil a good dose of organics to prepare for our Fall blooms that easily last through November. We stop fertilization in early October; by the 15th or so depending upon what is being used. What you do can also vary according to the type of rose. There are old garden roses OGR's) that receive a different protocol. Someone provided a link for knockouts. It would be a good place to start, as well as getting information specific to your zone, so I would really key in to the advice from the folks on this forum in "your" zone. You may have noticed, protocols vary according to the zone. You wrote that you reside in Dallas, TX which I believe is USDA zone 8A Lynn This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Wed, Aug 7, 13 at 11:50

but my question is, basically, will the hot weather tomatoes be able to cope with the below 55 degree nights? the warmest night we have had this year has been 54. thats why i am confused on what to plant. The night temps will pose no problems for the plants although the few blooms open then may or may not set, but the majority of blooms open in the day and the heat-tolerant varieties will tolerate that better and will set fruit. The only other option is to go strictly with the so-called early varieties that will do well with the cooler nights. But the day temps would do them in. If this is your normal weather every year (weather this year is a problem for many) and it lasts ALL summer then you may have to consider one of the other approaches to growing them such as row houses, tunnels, etc. And in the link above, did you also read the part about cutting back on nitrogen fertilizers? And about how some varieties (mid-season, late-season) will only set fruit later in the season no matter what you do? You might also get some good info on which varieties work well in your area from other local tomato growers and from your local county AG extension office. Dave

Mostly for entertainment, look at the Design an Outdoor Bin thread. This is a homemade experiment based on the Worm Factory design. Wormers with Worm Factories can add to our understanding of red wigglers by observing what the worms actually do. I've seen one ( Worm Factory) that was not watched closely. Nor had the caretaker taken much care. There were sluggish worms in the bottom tray and unappealing scraps in the food tray. There were good size pieces of egg shell too big for any critter to mouth. There was minimal bedding. For example, do the worms use the "worm ladder" ? We have a thread about worms climbing a wall . This is the manufacturer's instruction: http://www.naturesfootprint.com/community/articles/worm-factory-standard-setup I'm going to write some semi informed opinions so that we can argue about how to use the WF & I can learn how to use my outdoor bin: 1. I wouldn't use tap water to dampen paper. I'd use rainwater or aerated horse manure tea. This highlights the gap between a worm whacko and someone in an apartment with no access to some of the refinements that worms seem to like. 2. I wouldn't use unshredded newspaper as a lid. It doesn't breathe. Burlap can be bought by the yard at a fabric store if you can't get it free from a coffee roaster. Any fabric that will drain water and exchange air would be better than that newpaper lid. See the burlap effect thread. 3. I think "a handful" of food in that small tray is quite a lot, could be too much depending on what the food was. In My Experience, red wigglers like melon best of all. When I was harvesting the bin that was crowded, I put the worms that I had to pick out one by one ( they didn't go through the burlap) into a melon shell bowl. When I upturned it to dump them in the bed, they didn't drop out. They were embedded in the melon. Putting new worms on a melon shell bed might be a sweet way to go. Optimally, egg shells should be cooked (microwave a moment or two ) and powdered. Optimally, food should be pureed. 4. Density matters. Check the Please Help with Math thread to decide what the WF tray capacity for worms is. Pete read half a pound of worms per square foot. If the worms double, split the bin. I think "we/they" say the worms will eat half their weight each day. Mine have horse manure bedding and food, so I don't feed that much. I put in maybe half a cup of pureed food and don't add more until it is gone. In a WF tray, 1/4 cup might be enough. 5. Bedding. For worm health, you can't overdo good bedding. If the bin isn't very crowded, there might not be enough worm orgies to make more worms. They do crowd into a melon bowl. If you can't get horse manure, work hard on developing other optimal bedding. 6. Burlap. I wonder if the worms would like those trays better if there were a burlap lining ? Footnote: Too bad the subject isn't "Worm Factory", because the subject as phrased won't lead new readers to helpful opinions. Please phrase your subjects with newcomers in mind.

Nalcar, you're so kind to do all this. And wow, that's really dramatic! The moldings are not so much to my taste, but the split up cabs with the top across is an interesting thought. On the right, though, the wall begins to curve just after the A/C and so I think it would take a lot of work to put a flat cabinet there. I can already hear what my contractor is going to say about that one. I have a really strange apartment with very odd lines so I've been hearing a lot of that! Also, that puts the Shaker door cab very close to the built-ins which have a door in a different style. You can see them in my pic in the post on 10/31 at 8:12. What do you think? I'd also have to consider the cost of the extra granite at this point. Oh, and the usual distraction from the wall A/C is a chair in front of it and a framed picture on top. Well, no chair during the summer. :D