None of the pictures seem to be showing up for me so I can't see anything that you are talking about. One thing you mentioned was blossom end rot. Just so you know, this isn't a disease. Blossom end rot happens when something keeps calcium from getting to the developing fruit fast enough. It is a calcium deficiency but don't let it trick you into thinking that your soil is deficient. It seems more common on earily fruit and plants often grow out of it. It is sometimes due to irratic moisture or letting the roots get dried out which impairs their ability to take up the calcium that is in the soil. There are some sprays out there that can help keep developing fruits from suffering the problem though once a fruit has the rotted blossom end, there is no cure for that particular fruit, you might as well pull it. You noted that this is your first year trying organic gardening. Hang in there, most people seem to think it takes 3 years to really get the soil improved. You also mentioned that you think it isn't just your yard. The weather will play a huge roll in certain maladies. In some areas this year it was powdery mildew (dry weather mold which I had back in the dry spring.) Wet humid weather will bring on a whole different set of problems, (as it starts pour down rain here as I type.) Don't be too quick to blame your troubles on organic gardening when the weather is at fault. Especially if this is your first season. It does take a while to transition from chemicals to organic methods. Some of our tomato plants look a bit strange. The ones we grew back in the spring did too. They still produced some good tomatoes but probably not as many as they could have. What the tomato looks like is not so important as long as they taste good, unless you are into competitions or selling them. Have you had soil tests done? Your local extension office should be able to tell you more about soil testing, it doesn't cost very much. It is possible that you could be adding something that is throwing things out of whack. You mentioned using vinegar, if your soil is already on the acidic side, the vinegar could be causing the pH to get out of the ideal range for many of your plants. On the other hand, many people add lime just because it seems to be the thing to do. Problem is, pH greatly affects what nutrients are available from the soil. Also, an over abundance of some nutrients may make other nutrients unavailable to the plants. Getting the right balance for your soil, climate, situation, and plants can take a while. Building up a micro-herd of soil microbes takes time. Composting takes time. Even adding tons of soil enhancements to your dirt will take time before they produce the desired results. I am new to organic gardening too. I used to use lots of Miracle Grow. This first season my soil is still basically sand. Most of my veggies are growing in "raised" beds (my few layers version of lasagna gardening.) My verson for most of them this season was a layer or two of cardboard with a mound of mushroom compost on top with a thick layer of wood chip mulch over it all. This is working well for squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and pumpkins so far. The tomatoes were planted into the ground where the sand had mushroom compost mixed into it. I've also planted into cardboard boxes filled with the free compost from our county. This makes a quick raised bed that will last a season, when it's done just pull the sides of the cardboard box away, spread the compost around and hoe out any weeds. I've had pretty good (not perfect) luck with these methods for my first couple seasons. It takes a very large amount of organic matter to properly amend sandy soil in hot humid climates since the microbes break the stuff down very quickly and much of the nutrients will leach away fast through the sand. Sorry I'm not of much help on your specific problems but I wish you luck and I hope you will hang with it for a couple more seasons before you say it doesn't work.

It is very common for bonsai practitioners to 'chop' a tree to create the rapid taper that helps give the tree the illusion of age, so there is almost a 100% chance your tree is going to be fine. Here is what I would do: Make a cross-cut immediately below the damage with a sharp saw. Clean the edges of the cambium smooth with a utility knife, using a new blade, and seal that entire cut with Elmer's water-proof glue. Cover all the wood and go all the way to the edge of the cut, but don't slop glue on the bark. Before I get disagreed with, let me add that the tree will be shortened later and the 'dressed wound' will be coming off. It is only being dressed to help prevent the cambium from drying out additionally below the damage. We want a strong new shoot to emerge from the cambium at the circumference of the cut and the glue guarantees it. I've done it hundreds of times and it works. It's also helpful to wrap the bark immediately below the cut with grafting tape for an inch or so, with the grafting tape flush to the cut. This prevents an ugly bulge later. Give the tree some protection in an unheated garage or bury the container. If you intend to keep the plant in a container, unpot the tree before buds move in the spring, remove all the old soil, and prune the roots. Repot in a free-draining soil and the same pot (or smaller). The tree will back-bud and send out multiple shoots from the scion. Allow them all to grow wild, but immediately remove any shoots from below the graft, and train 1 robust shoot emerging from your cross-cut to the vertical, if necessary. After Father's Day, cut back by half all but the 1 vigorous shoot growing vertically. In spring before buds move (2011) taper the crosscut at a 45* angle with the high part of the cut terminating a tiny bit above where the new leader emerges. Use no sealant on the wound and it will close almost completely that year or the year after. Also remove all remaining branching from the trunk, leaving only the new leader. As I mentioned, this is no big deal, your tree is salvageable (or you can send it to me if you doubt) ;o) I've done it many, many times. Be careful not to over-water the stump in spring - easy to do. Sprouts from an A palmatum trunk: Al

I hope that's true, but a lot of documents like that in Indiana say something to the effect of, "additional tax may be due if an error has been made." But I guess at least the $49.52 would be a down payment on whatever they later decide you owe, if it's true that they can come back and ask for more. I think I'd just pay it unless you honestly believe you don't owe it.

You could just leave them in the clay pot and place those clay pots into decorative plastic containers with holes as I do. John's right, I found that many of my trees did not perform well when nights got too cold in clay. They never rotted because I use a porous mix but they most certainly had growth issues during all the months but summer unless they were kept in a very warm room which I do not when they came in. Root rot is not caused from too much moisture, but from a lack of oxygen to the root zone which most heavy compacted mixes will prevent. If you are growing that tree in a very good mix that allows oxygen exchange and helps keep the roots warmer on cold nights it should recover..If you want to see an even faster recovery during the shorter days, provide extra lights and warm conditions...) Root rot can not be caused by just cold, but poorly oxygenated roots combined with cold which is why many use use a porous mix or a small pot just big enough for the root ball when using a high quality bagged mix..