Good drainage is the most important element. Make sure your container has at least one drainage hole and add a layer of small rocks to the bottom to prevent the hole from becoming blocked. Not many plants like to sit in soggy soil any more than you would! Other elements to ensure success include: Soil: A light mixture of good potting soil, peat moss, and compost or a pre-packaged potting…


By Doug Jimerson I received a phone call the other day from my youngest son, Graham, who currently lives in Los Angeles. He told me that he’d applied for a job near our home in Iowa. He said that if he was hired, he’d be moving back to the Midwest in the next month. I was totally shocked. After all, he’d wanted to live in California since he was very…

By Doug Jimerson I grew up with circus people. Or more precisely, circus person. As a young man, my grandfather worked as an acrobat in a traveling circus. He and his two partners would go from city to city, showing off their precise movements on the fulcrum, trampoline, and balance beam. By the time I knew him, however, my grandfather had long since retired from the circus and worked for…

A High Credit Score Can Help When Financing Outdoor Power Equipment By David Adams, Retail Finance Manager, The Toro Company You’ve heard those obnoxious jingles on television – ones that relate bad credit scores to working in seafood restaurants or driving beat-up cars. So how do you keep that credit score high in order to make use of financing on the mower of your dreams?! The first step may be…