u/ChunksOG

I'm using the lower and lean method for the first time this year and it started out great - I got lots and lots of tomatoes. Now we are in the height of the season and I went from having more than I can use to less than 5 tomatoes across all 4 plants. Nothing else has changed - I use drip irrigation on a timer and a fertigation system on a timer with master blend.

I have a lot of stem that have been trimmed (no leaves or flowers) sort of coiled up at the bottom and some new growth at the very top of the plant.

I have Amish Paste, Giant Garden paste, Thompsons terracotta, Cherokee carbon.

I also have a single Isis candy cherry that has produced almost nothing (I don't think cherry tomatoes and lower and lean are a good match).

My theories are:

1. It got too hot and I'm seeing a pause in production - the temps have been in the 90s the last few weeks - maybe its affecting flowering and fruiting.

2. The vine are now 15' - 20' long. Is it a matter of they only product for the first bit and when the vines get over a certain length, its just too long for nutrients and water to travel for flowering and fruit set?

Anyone else using lower and lean? Is this similar to your experience?

I'm traveling with my daughter to Taiwan (and Asia) for the first time from the US. We book the flight and hotels and used Google maps to identify some local places and I used claude to put it all together in the itinerary below.

Neither of us speak or read Chinese - any suggestions for translation apps?

She is vegetarian and I'm mostly vegetarian - we both eat dairy but no meat/pork/fish. I eat chicken occasionally. We are both fine eating vegan if it makes it easier. Any suggestions for avoiding unwanted surprises?

Is there anything we are missing below?

Any other suggestions for good Vegan/Vegetarian food.

TAIWAN ITINERARY — July 12–23, 2026 Taipei: Palais de Chine Hotel | Kaohsiung: Chateau de Chine Hotel

DAY 1 — Saturday July 12 | Arrival Land at Taoyuan Airport ~5pm. Airport MRT to Taipei Main Station (~35 min, NT$160). Check in to Palais de Chine. Dinner at Q Square Mall connected to hotel.

DAY 2 — Sunday July 13 | Central & East Taipei CKS Memorial Hall → Yongkang Street (lunch) → Da'an Forest Park → MRT east → Elephant Mountain hike (~4:30pm for sunset) → Taipei 101 (dinner) → taxi to Raohe Night Market. 🌙 Raohe Night Market — good vegan options (QQ balls, stinky tofu fries, fruit stalls)

DAY 3 — Monday July 14 | Wanhua & Ximending MRT to Longshan Temple → Bangka Old Street → walk to Ximending (Shi Men Ting) — same neighborhood, all walkable. Browse shops and street food from 3pm onward. 🌙 Ximending district stays lively until 10pm+ — shaved ice, mango ice, bubble tea

DAY 4 — Tuesday July 15 | North Taipei MRT to Shilin → bus to National Palace Museum (3–4 hrs, book tickets online) → walk to Zhishanyan Park & Temple → MRT to Xinbeitou → Beitou Thermal Valley (Geothermal Valley, boiling green lake) + Beitou Hot Spring Museum → MRT back to Shilin. 🌙 Shilin Night Market — best vegan options in Taipei (dedicated veg stalls, fried tofu, grilled corn, shaved ice)

DAY 5 — Wednesday July 16 | Northeast Day Trip TRA train from Taipei Main Station to Ruifang (~45 min) → Pingxi Line to Houtong Cat Village (~7 min, 45–60 min visit) → Pingxi Line to Shifen (~20 min) → sky lanterns on Old Street → Shifen Waterfall (25 min walk, allow 1.5–2 hrs total) → Uber to Fulong Beach (~30 min, NT$800–900, swim/relax 1.5 hrs) → Uber to Jiufen Old Street (~45 min, NT$700–900, arrive ~4:30–5pm for sunset and lantern-lit lanes). Return by bus to Ruifang → TRA to Taipei (~50 min). ⚠️ Confirm Pingxi Line is restored after late-2025 closure. No night market tonight.

DAY 6 — Thursday July 17 | Taoyuan Nature Charter or Uber from hotel (~50–60 min drive) to Fuxing District, Taoyuan. Xiaowulai Skywalk & Waterfall (glass platform 70m above waterfall, NT$50, book online in advance) → short 10–15 min drive to Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area (shaded cedar forest trails, 4.1 km loop, ~2 hrs, lunch at park restaurant) → Uber/charter back to Taipei. ⚠️ Public transit takes 3+ hrs each way — Uber or charter is essential. Book full-day charter (~NT$3,000–4,000) in advance. 🌙 Optional: Ningxia Night Market, 10 min taxi from hotel (good vegan desserts — taro balls, douhua, shaved ice)

DAY 7 — Friday July 18 | Transit: Taipei → Taichung → Kaohsiung Morning HSR Taipei → Taichung (~1 hr) → Uber to Rainbow Village (15 min, free entry, 45 min) → Miyahara ice cream & lunch in Taichung → Uber back to HSR → HSR Taichung → Kaohsiung Zuoying (~45 min) → MRT or taxi to Chateau de Chine hotel. Check in, freshen up. 🌙 Liouhe Night Market — 15 min walk from hotel, no need to return first. Good vegan options (dedicated veg stall, tanghulu, aiyu jelly, douhua)

DAY 8 — Saturday July 19 | Kaohsiung City MRT to Formosa Boulevard Station → Dome of Light (world's largest glass art installation, free, 15 min) → MRT north to Lotus Pond → Dragon & Tiger Pagodas (enter dragon's mouth, exit tiger's — good luck ritual, free, fully restored April 2025, 1–1.5 hrs) → bus/taxi south to Neiweipei Cultural Park (outdoor sculptures, Museum of Fine Arts) → MRT south to Shinkuchan Shopping District (opens 1pm, browse until evening). 🌙 Ruifeng Night Market — stay north, MRT to Kaohsiung Arena station. Opens 5pm. Limited vegan options — fruit, mochi, one dedicated veg stall. Consider vegetarian dinner nearby first then Ruifeng for atmosphere/desserts.

DAY 9 — Sunday July 20 | Kaohsiung Coast Early start — Uber to Shoushan/Monkey Mountain by 7:30–8am (~NT$200, 2–3 hrs hiking, do NOT carry food visibly around macaques) → Uber to Gushan Ferry Terminal (~15 min) → ferry to Cijin Island (NT$40, every 10 min) → rent electric bike, visit beach, lighthouse, old street, seafood lunch (allow 2.5–3 hrs) → ferry back → return to hotel to freshen up ✅ (sweaty day, worth the stop). 🌙 Lingya/Ziqiang Night Market — 10 min MRT south from hotel. Limited vegan options — eat vegetarian dinner first, visit for atmosphere and fruit/desserts. Alternative: Kaisyuan Night Market (larger, better vegan variety, 15 min Uber)

DAY 10 — Monday July 21 | Kenting Depart hotel by 8am → Kenting Express Bus from Zuoying HSR (NT$350, ~2 hrs) or Uber (~NT$1,500–2,000) → full beach day at Kenting National Park (swim, snorkel, water sports, Kenting Street food) → depart Kenting by 4:30–5pm → back at hotel by 6:30–7pm. 🌙 Ruifeng closed Mondays. Liouhe Night Market is close and easy after a long beach day.

DAY 11 — Tuesday July 22 | Kaohsiung Arts & Shopping Walk to Pier-2 Art Center (10 min from hotel — converted waterfront warehouses, murals, indie shops, Hamasen Railway Museum, LRT through the district, allow 1.5–2 hrs) → LRT or Uber south to Weiwuying National Center for the Arts (world's largest performing arts center under one roof, spectacular architecture, free to walk through) → MRT or Uber to Dream Mall (rooftop ferris wheel, dinosaur park, food court, allow 2–3 hrs) → direct Uber to night market (~NT$300–400, skip hotel stopover). 🌙 Kaisyuan Night Market (replacing Guanghua) — 46,000 sqm, 1,000+ stalls, better vegan variety, pedestrian-friendly, open from 6pm

DAY 12 — Wednesday July 23 | Departure (midnight flight) Slow morning — wander Yancheng neighborhood (old temples, local breakfast shops, wet market) and/or Love River boardwalk walk → Pier-2 Art Center if not visited yesterday → 85 Sky Tower observation deck (optional, dramatic harbor views) → dinner at 6:30–7pm (La Rotisserie in hotel or Liouhe Night Market, 15 min walk) → return to hotel for bags → depart for Zuoying HSR by 9pm → HSR to Taoyuan (~75 min) → Airport MRT to terminal (~35 min) → arrive airport ~11pm for midnight flight. ✈️

I bought a Cannondale Quick in about 2017. Rode it about 5 times and then had an unrelated back problem that required surgery a few years later. It probably has about 100 miles on it. Since my surgery I'm just not able to sit on a bike for more than about 10 minutes. I hate seeing it gather dust and wanted to sell it to someone who will use it. It is XL size and been store inside a garage or shed its entire life.

I don't do facebook so that's out and its been a while since I've sold anything like this. What are the best online forums to sell used bikes locally?

I have a 2015 I've owned since new. It has 183k miles. I've done the ABS booster and recently the hybrid system P0A94 (under warranty). I'm planning some summer road trips to Arizona and the dessert so I'm concerned about overheating issues.

Last summer during hot afternoons, when going uphill on a freeway on that I travel most every day, the coolant temp light came on for about a minute or less a several times - it would go off before I could pull over. I checked the fluid levels and it looks ok. I've never had to add coolant - its always been done when I get an oil change.

I've been told by one mechanic that the water pump should be replaced on these cars every 100k miles as a sort of unwritten preventative measure. It seems like a good idea. I was also told that I would need to do a radiator flush and replace the coolant at the same time.

Should I also have the transmission fluid changed? I've never done that and the car is 11 years old with 183k miles. I've read that the fluid last the lifetime and I've also read that the life time is actually 60k miles which means I've gotten my money's worth out of it.

I'm not looking to burn money unnecessarily but I do want to avoid any roadside breakdowns - especially in the middle of the dessert in the summer. Is there a particular brand or model of water pump I should get?

I have a wonderful 70 lb husky - he isn't really a digger but.. this year, he really has it in for a single plant of mine. Its the only Amish paste I have going this year - its in a 10 gallon grow bag and is doing great about 60 days after planting. He has now dug up just one side of it 4 times now - he digs out about 8" down right next to the stem. I've refilled it adding worm castings and some 10-10-10 with fresh potting soil but a week or so later, he digs again.

Any idea why he does this and why its only this plant? I have 15 grow bags and this one is right in the middle. He doesn't bother anything else.

I recently upgraded from an older Sony receiver to the X2800. When I play records, the volume is much lower than other sources. I have to crank the volume to 70 or so to get the same sound level at 50 or so from other sources like CDs or streaming.

Will it improve sound quality?

Is an $80 Fosi X4 what I need?