Al, I have a many questions being a first year "gardener", well attempting to be at least, but I'll try to narrow them down to the most important. First, here is my situation: I am growing a couple tomatoes, tomatillos, and several pepper varieties in containers. I am using GreenAll soil booster (50-60%) and perlite as a growing medium. I put Osmocote 4 mo. release in the soil as well. I have some New Mexico "Big Jim" varieties I am growing from seeds which are developing their 3rd set of true leaves yet are behind the other plants which I bought from a nursery. Anyway the peppers and tomatillos all look great, except for one serrano, which I found aphids on. However the tomatoes look stressed. I am struggling to figure out a watering schedule. However after reading your post on soils and water movement, I think I have a better understanding of how to proceed from this point on as far as watering. The tomato plants are a little over 12" tall, and have a few flowers blooming on them. I have a small portable greenhouse which I keep the plants in at night, and sometimes during the day. Usually I move them out of the greenhouse during they day so they can get a few more hours of sunlight. When I do, the tomatoes tend to wilt, or droop during the day. However the next morning they seem to have perked back up. I think a big part of my problem is simply not understanding how to water, (I am working on it). When I was getting started the guy at the Green Thumb nursery asked how I wanted to feed them. I told him organically. I didn't know any better. So, here's what I have been doing, I have been using E.B. Stone organic fertilzer spread on the top of the soil, then kind of mix it in a little, and on tomato and tomatillo plants I then cover with a thin layer of earthworm castings. I have had the plants since April. 9th, and have now fertilized twice this way. Also, on Monday, 5-9, I sprayed the foliage with Neptunes fish and seaweed concentrate according to manufacturers recommendation. The peppers and tomatoes look good generally, the leaves on some are not as dark green as others but the leaves look flat, and I think they are all healthy. The tomatoes concerned me, so I bought a cheap pH tester and it reads between 7.5-8. Well, I wasn't sure about the meter, so I bought a chemical testing kit, and tested one of the tomato plant soils. Oh yeah, the soil in all the containers was pretty much the same. according the chemical testing kit. the pH is right around 7, however the Nitrogen, and Phosphorus are all very low. It also tested for pot ash which was very low as well, but I don't know that that is and haven't heard it mentioned in any of the threads. So, having said all that, and sorry for so much information. What are your thoughts on moving forward? I feel like I am kind of committed to the E.B Stone organic Tomato & Vegetable food, and Neptunes. Is it too late to switch to the Foliage Pro 9-3-6? Will I be ok, with what I am doing? should I be worried about the Nitrogen, and Phosphorus, and Pot Ash levels which were quite low? Is all this related to the fact that I don't know how the hell to water my plants? I read about wicking the pot. What do you recommend for using as a wick to lower the perched water table? I know one of the tomato plant pots doesn't drain as well I I would like. I drilled some additional holes, but I think using a wick would help. I addressed my question to Al, but I welcome anyones input as well, Thanks, Jon

I have a Cuisinart custom 11 that i have to hold to work, the lid is cracked alittle so I bought a new Cusinart 14 cup but didnt open it. Does anyone think the newer one is superior to older one....thinking I should have just gotten replacement part.

"I do worry about the high calorie count of smoothies, though, which is part of why we only buy them infrequently." The major advantage to making your own is you control the ingredients. Start with a non fat greek yogurt, add half a frozen banana and frozen strawberries for a great, low fat, healthy smoothie. I regret I didn't have my blentec when my girls were eating purees, but now that they are older (school age), I find the smoothies even more important because it ensures they eat wholesome, healthy foods. If you look at the Sneaky Chef or Seinfeld cookbooks, you can get alot of ideas for adding purees to food. Your Au Gratin sounds divine. If it will peel the spuds, I will go buy the cuisinart food processor today. LOL!

Me too. For reference, I'm the one who very quickly received a replacement a couple of weeks after registering in December. They just sent the wrong blade. There was a flurry of correspondence in the first week of January with a written promise to send the correct blade when it became available. Today, (six months later) I was e-mailed the following update: "Valued Customer, "Thank you for your inquiry. According to our records, your blade won'"t [SIC] ship out until after June sometime. Now this is just an estimate and you could be receiving it a lot sooner than that. If you have any further questions please reply, with all previous correspondences attached, to this email. We invite you to call our Customer Service Department at 1-800-726-0190. Please keep in mind the Customer Service Agent will not have access to your e-mail information. The hours of operation are 7 AM -11 PM EST Monday through Friday and 9 AM - 5:30 PM on Saturdays and Sundays, excluding major holidays." FWIW, my original blade is still fine apart from seeming to be starting to dull a bit after 15 years use. Otherwise, I might be more annoyed about the length of time it is taking to get the replacement.