I believe there is some misunderstanding on how the self watering pots work - the water is absorbed into the soil and and has a wicking action (as long as all the soul is wet) - that means the soil stays at a constant moisture. The other benefit of the resevoir is that it can hold more water longer - great for water loving plants. What that means is the you need to have the right type of soil, a soil that is well aerated and drains well. I personally use a mix of compost, peat miss, perlite and added organic nutrients. These pots work great when properly used, you can water on the top or in the resevoir hole, i sometimes water in the top just to wet the top layer but it probably isn't necessary if the soil doesnt dry out. I have a drip system setup with a majority of self watering containers - since i dont have the earth to plant directly in i decided to take up half the sidewalk with a potted garden - one major drawback to pots is that they don't hold lots of water for very long - thats where self watering containers come in. I am growing tomatoes, peppers, bush beans, and some flowers all in self watering pots with great success. The tomatoes dont crack beacuse they never run out water. Don't plant herbs in self watering containers - most herbs will taste better if they are put under stressful conditions like the soil drying out. Basil is not one of those. But if you get a big enough pot you can plant your basil, parsley, cilantro, dill, etc right with your tomato plant. I also have lettuce and spinach in self watering containers and they do just fine.

We have been talking vent free heaters for years now. I was the one that started it 6 or 7 years ago. Just goto Lowes or Depot or your building supply store or some place that has a heater. Get one! Hook it up, check it and make sure you have the right connections, and your ready to go. You can get propane or natural gas and you can get many different sizes based on your size greenhouse and min low night temps. It todays world, gas is about the only way to heat a greenhouse and feel safe that your plants are ok. Trigger is telling you the truth.

If you are serious and you want to go "wholesale", try these companies for seed starting supplies. Some deal with smaller companies, some not: Fred C. Gloeckner Company, Inc. 600 Mamaroneck Avenue Harrison, NY 10528 G.S. Grimes Seeds P.O. Box 640 Concord, OH 44077 0640 Park Seed Wholesale Cokesbury Road Greenwood, SC 29647 VaughanÂs Seed Co. 5300 Katrine Avenue Downers Grove, IL 60515 A.H. Hummert Seed Co. 2746 Chouteau Ave. St. Louis, Missouri 63103 Griffin Greenhouse & Nursery Supplies, Inc. 1619 Main Street Tewksbury, MA 01876 Tel: (978) 851-4346 Fax: (978) 851-0012 NURSERY SUPPLIES, INC. E-mail: sales@nurserysupplies.com Phone 1: 1-800-523-8972 (Eastern Sales) Phone 2: 1-800-367-7687 (Western Sales) 1415 Orchard Drive, Chambersburg, PA 17201 534 W. Struck Avenue, Orange, CA 92867 2515 N.E. Orchard Avenue, McMinnville, OR 97128 2050 Avenue A, Kissimmee, FL 34758 HARRIS SEEDS/GARDEN TRENDS INC. P.o. Box 24966 Rochester, NY 14624-0966 Phone: 585/295-3600 Fax: 585/295-3609 GEOSEED 121 Gary Road Hodges, SC 29653 Phone: 864/227-5117 Fax: 864/227-5108 Henry F. Michell Company PO Box 60160 2225 W Church Road King of Prussia, PA 19406-0160 (800)-422-4678 Grimes Seeds 11335 Concord-Hambden Road Painesville, Ohio 44077 1-800-241-SEED (7333) 1-440-352-1800 (fax) Joe

We have a Prep Sink and use it all the time. In our old kitchen, it wasn't the 2-cook issue at the sink, it was the 1-cook + 1-cleanup person that caused the bottlenecks! That and it seemed the sink was full of dirty dishes every time I needed the sink! In my new/current kitchen, the prep sink is in the corner of the peninsula, is on the same counter run as the cooktop, and is next to the MW and refrigerator. This makes it ideal for prepping as well as accessing it from the DR. I use it for prep the majority of the time. No, there is no disposal on it and while I wish there were, it hasn't stopped me from using it! (The only time it's a pain is when I'm peeling a large # of potatoes...but then I just use the main sink for that task.) Our main/cleanup sink is across a 6.5' aisle opposite the cooktop. It's primary use is to collect dirty dishes & be used for cleanup in general. It can also be used as an extra sink during prepping & cooking if needed...and when I had sixteen 13-yo Girl Scouts cooking in my kitchen one evening it sure came in handy! One of the best things our new layout gave us was separate zones for prepping, cooking, and cleaning up. Without a prep sink it would not have worked nearly as well.