seedsvr - the Pondmaster 190gph pump/filter/filters pads and sponges, and bell fountain kit cost about $50 to $60 (today). Don't remember what it cost in 2002/2003 when I bought that one. All plants are in small pots except the floaters. No soil, only aquarium gravel. I am in MD and I throw my WH on the compost pile at the end of the season where it continues to bloom and then dies either from drying out or if cold weather comes. I haven't had any WH for 3 or so years now. I'd actually like to get some more but I refuse to pay the high prices people ask for that weed. I have two other ponds now and the Pop-up sits in my garage as I don't feel like fooling with it (or my ponds for that matter:-) It was fun and I enjoyed it while I had it up and running for two seasons. I'd get a big tub if I had it to do over again (like suggested by another poster). I've never seen a clear pop-up before. When they first came out they were copper or dark like mine. Clear I would think would encourage algae with the light which means you probably won't see the plant roots or fish for long unfortunately.

Hi Toe, Someone else could do better on that one. All I know for sure is to keep the potassium level high in the nutrient, having a good bloom/fruit formula. I've been worried about it too since I'm trying heirlooms. You gotta be careful, because some tomatoes just crack because it's in their DNA like Cherokee Purple. But the cracking I'm worried about I think happens when there is a step, or quick change in nutrient, temperature or watering. When it gets ripe the skin gets taught and below soft, so rain or sprinkling water can trigger it (like sweet strawberries), changing nute strength can do it, and from what I can tell most worrying is that we can be in situations where the temperature fluctuates suddently since our babies aren't buried in the heat sinking ground. So if it spikes in temperature variation I think you can forget about heirlooms. Back to DWC, besides the problem of rapid temperture changes if you're outside, because the roots have no heat sink that are in the air, if you're thinking that all the watering will trigger it, I'm gonna guess it's the opposite as long as you run your system with a pretty constant level. But if there is a big change in the water level I'm sure that would split them if they had that tendency. Your probably need a way to automatically siphon or float valve in water to keep the level constant. Get some crack resistent heirlooms like Thessaloniki, Google "crack resistant heirloom tomato"

I'm so frustrated. I've used this exact paint before with no problems. I usually use spray paint for odd shaped pieces, wicker, picture frames, etc. I decided that I'd spray paint this dresser so that it would be fast and easy, rather than brushing on multiple coats of latex. Well. I sprayed the drawers and ran out of paint, so decided to get more paint and do the frame. 6-7 coats later, the top of the dresser still has an uneven sheen. I tried spraying it vertically, standing on a stool over it, wiping off overspray between coats, etc. The top still looks bad, the drawers are still unfinished, and I've spent $30 on paint. Had I just bought regular paint and brushed it on, I'd be done right now, and admiring my fabulous new furniture. I'm going to try buffing the top down and adding a coat of paste wax, but if it doesn't work, I'm going to scuff sand the whole mess, prime it (again) and repaint. I'm still going to use spray paint, and have a very cool vintage phone table that's waiting in the wings for it's red glossy spray, but a large piece with a flat surface? Never again.

pillog, I think you're right. If this location were spot-on for me, or the rest of the house were 100% perfect, I'd probably make it work. But I think to have an "urban" sized kitchen, you need to live in an urban--or at least "villlage"--area. In the burbs, people want to nest, and it's hard to nest when you can't roll out your pasta and hang it on broomsticks, or comfortably entertain the family at Christmas, or try your own hand at a "Julie & Julia Project." And I'm very aware that a problem when I buy will be a problem when I sell. As I said, that's why we sold our condo with the miniscule kitchen at the peak, because we saw the bust was coming and knew we'd never get a decent price in a soft market with that kitchen. What I'm going to do is try to stop out there and walk to the town center, and see how long it is. Of course, it's 76 and gorgeous today, so I have to picture July downpours and February ice storms. If it passes that test, I might try to ask a design-build firm to give me some ideas and very rough prices. I've done that before with architects and contractors, and it only cost a few hundred bucks if I'm clear that I'm only asking for minimal work on their part.