Re houseplants: most spoiled foliage is caused by physiological issues, over/under-watering, oedema, nutritional toxicities/ deficiencies, light levels, ...... with subsequent populations of fungi acting as opportunists as opposed to acting as causal agents. In this thread, oedema, a physiological disorder, is the main actor. Dead animals don't cause vultures, but they do provide a reason for vultures to congregate. IOW, lesions caused by physiological disorder often provide the consistently moist conditions for a period lasting long enough to ensure incubation and germination of fungal spores. This isn't to say that fungal conditions do not commonly appear in plants as pioneer pathogens, only that evidence of physiological disorder is far more common than direct evidence of pioneer populations of fungi. Plant pathologists often describe the disease process using a 4-sided figure called the disease tetrahedron (think “pyramid – 3 sides + the bottom/ base”). Each side of the tetrahedron represents an essential part of the infection process. There must simultaneously be a virulent pathogen (capable of infecting the plant) that is genetically capable of recognizing its host. Either the environment must be conducive to the development of the pathogen, or the pathogen must be able to stress/weaken the plant. The 4th requirement is the time required for diseases to develop and spread. Whenever conditions are such that any one (or more) of the 4 requirements is missing from the equation, there is no immediate threat. Since the best medicines are prophylactic, the grower who makes sure plants are healthy and not stressed is ahead of the game. Biotic diseases are better able to overcome the natural defenses of plants weakened by stress that occurs when the plant is forced to deal with cultural conditions near, at, or beyond the limits the plant is genetically programmed to deal with. Al

soeur Will be interesting to see how these Persimmon tomatoes turn out, eh? Will keep an eye on Kimberly, Earl's Faux and Akers W. Virginia and let you know how they do for us. In the event that we do have the fusarium wilt in our soil, we started a new garden area some distance away from the possibly contaminated soil and have several dozen types of tomatoes there. Will still plant a few tomatoes in the same area as last year where we encountered so many problems, in the hopes that the problem is not fusarium or any other systemic soil diseases but merely the high heat and the fact that we may well have overwatered last year. johnski Would liked to have tried your methods but learned that the Green Guard is a genetically modified product. Thanks for the information. lumper20 Please feel free to share all you know about tomato growing. We have very good luck with heirloom green beans here and are planting in a different location this year after having success for the past 6 years in the same spot, which I think is pushing our luck. Ha...I still don't know how to successfully grow green peppers, but will try again with more pourous material in the soil. I started the seed too late, heck, some of the hot peppers required constant germination temperatures steady in the 80's. We can't keep our little hoop house that warm at night. Think I'll just buy some from the nursery, perhaps have a bit better luck. Perhaps you could start a new thread here on growing green peppers. Good growing to all, Pat

OK, I have an issue that does not allow me to purchase without over researching a product. So I did consider a few brands. I really like Miele, and they do have a larger unit. Nothing like the size of these, but I don't think you need something as big as these Samsung units to wash a comforter. Although I keep going back to Miele, the issue of their warranty and the lack of local people to sell and service the units takes them out of the running. I did look into Asko, but the small size and the bad reviews (over many years) makes them just an interesting read. I had a hard time deciding between LG and Samsung. I chose Samsung because of their Diamond drum technology. Although I was unable to find out much about it, it was similar to the honeycomb drum idea of Miele. That really closed the deal for me. I really felt that more manufacturers should have put more into their drum designs and make that information available. Sadly, only two lines have taken drum technology seriously and serious enough to flaunt it to the public. I ended up with the largest Samsung units because of the steam and the internet connectivity. (And frankly the deal I got.) I was hoping that if there was a problem, Samsung could just hook into the machine and tell me what is wrong. I'm not sure they can do that, but they can certainly update the units over the wireless. I would say that I was also impressed with the anti vibration technology. I wish they had explained the difference between the regular antivibration and the upgraded antivibration of these units. I imagine it is some computer sensing thing. I was also impressed with the warranty on the motors and the 2 year warranty. Oh, I just registered my units and got an additional 3 months warranty for registering. Thanks Samsung. I would add an extra year on my own by purchasing with Amex and eliminating the purchase of extended warranty. I looked into Speed Queen because they are American. Solid units but lack the modern technology and efficiency I was looking for. Rough sturdy brutes was all I could imagine from what I could find out about these products. I think the companies do themselves a disservice by not putting out all the information they can on their products. This is one case and point. I went as far as looking into purchasing commercial units, but when all is said and done, I felt that the Samsung units were a better deal. Service and warranty work is much different for commercial than on consumer models. Here is a really cool washing machine I found that I really wanted to get. I have a friend in CA who used to own Laundry Mats. He said, "That's a commercial unit. What do you need a commercial unit for?" Well, it looks so cool and is so well engineered etc. It was too much of a machine for my needs, but I really would have loved to have one. The Crossover Washer. (http://www.laundrylux.com/crossover.html) The world's first small chassis washer engineered to commercial laundry standards for your business needs. I think for the person who wants to have what no one else has, these units would be an interesting choice. Here is some more information on the Crossover: 3 Engineered to be superior to all competitors 3 15,000 cycle machine life design 3 3 OPL liquid chemical injection ports and signals 3 3 compartment soap drawer 3 4 professional wash programs + 2 cycle options 3 Field adjustable water levels 3 Top quality SKF bearings in heavy duty assembly 3 3 seals with 5 lips 3 Professional grade 8-point suspension 3 Pump-drain standard 3 Solid steel counter-weights�no concrete 3 Energy Star compliant The costs were about 2,000 a piece or less from what I remember. Stunningly beautiful beasts these are. They are made I believe by LaundryLux. I also looked at Miele Little Giants. Just amazing little laundry units, but way out of my price range for what I want to spend. I think these are made for people with yachts. These are also stunningly beautiful. The bottom line is I spent months looking at units. For me, with the space that I had and the money I wanted to spend, I settled on the Samsung. I had to use my Samsung units again tonight as the baby had an "out of diaper" experience. Not something for the faint of heart. Loved I could go and select sanitize on the computer screen and choose extra rinses and steams and prewashes and super hots etc. If they had nuclear radiation I would have chosen that too, but as of now, it is not an option on my units. I got a 3 hour cycle and trust me that is exactly what the job called for. I think I'm very happy right now with what I purchased. Look, as long as the darn units stay working without needing service etc, anything you buy will be fine. Again, I'm not happy about having to stand on a stool to see the dryer screens, but it really is not a big problem. The anti vibration on these really works great and the noise level is very good. The calming music the machines play to signal the end of the cycle is still OK with me and I'm not ready to beat the machine to death if it plays that tune one more time. Just if anyone wants to see how these machines do on a soiled white one piece baby garment, here is how it just came out of the washer. I don't think I can believe how clean and white this is. You cannot see where the mess was. I have had experience in the past with my other machine where the white clothing was stained yellow after such an incident. All I used was about 1/4 of the recommended amount of ECOS plus natural liquid from Sam's and a tiny amount of delft liquid softener. No bleach. I did hit it with some Oxy prewash spray before putting it in. Look, I have a laundry upstairs that I am doing. I decided to make it a "sound proof" room because of my experience with my old front loader. It was loud! Probably had gotten worse over the years because the bearings were going. So I double sheet rocked with green glue and put heavy clay on the backs of the electrical boxes. I put in a sound proof floor which I am waiting to tile right now. Well, I did all this because of my fear of the noise I would get from the front load machines. I think had I placed these Samsung units upstairs, the sound proofing would have been overkill. I'm hoping the GE unit I have for upstairs will be as quiet. I bet most of the better machines will be quiet. I think that the other companies caught up with Meile and have incorporated many of the concepts and bring these machines at a value price. Will they last the 20 years Miele says theirs will? I don't know, but these machines have a longer warranty then Miele and they can be found everywhere. This means that your chance of getting service should be good.

Hi, I've moved a number of times (I'm an AF brat and was an AF wife as well and have moved with my career). Sounds like you're pretty organized, so you're headed in the right direction. There is nothing worse than showing up to help someone to move and having to start from scratch, packing boxes etc. On moving day I like to have everything ready to go. So...here's what I do. I make a list of everything I'll need before I move and the first few nights in the new house and I ensure those things DON'T get packed up. I then start packing those things I don't anticipate using in the near future...at least from now until I move and a couple of weeks after I move. While I'm doing this, I go through the stuff I don't want to move...the stuff I haven't used in more than a year...stuff I haven't worn in that same period of time. (You can set up your own filters for this) I set up a corner and put everything there, in boxes. I might donate it (if I'm donating, I'll make a list as it goes in the box(es) so I can keep track of it for tax purposes)...or if there is a lot and I have the time, I may have a yard sale. Then, as moving day gets closer, I pack more and more, the goal being to only have those things I absolutely need as soon as I get to the new house....linens, coffee pot, a couple of pans, minimal dishes and silverware, my computer or tablet, phone chargers....you get the idea. I can't stand not having something I need and having to look through boxes to find it as soon as I get to the new house. I also label each box....probably more than most people. I don't just say WHERE it will be going in the new house, but I tend to make a list of what is in the box so if I DO have to look for something, I can find it more easily. My goal is always to use the box to its fullest. I pack carefully, but leave the tops of boxes open until they are full. There is always some tiny thing you come across that can fit in the top of a box :) Sounds like you're getting a good start. I hope this helps. On moving day you should just have the big stuff, a room full of boxes for the moving van and then you can pack up those last minute things and put them in your car or into the back of the moving truck where they will be handy. Yes, its stressful...but you can de-stress this time by being organized and having a plan. :)