I too have been enjoying this discussion. I started with clay pots years ago, and moved to plastic because in my low-humidity climate it reduced the frequency of watering (it was too easy to have a clay pot dry out in sunny weather, no matter how attentive I was). But that's my climate and my gardening practices. Years ago, someone wrote that the only thing you can truly say about any gardening issue is, "this is what works for me." It's a little tiring to add "WWFM" to every post, but I mentally append it to everything. In that spirit, it's great to hear what works for all of you because it gives me ideas. For example, the idea of using aluminum foil on the exposed sides of pots is fantastic -- inexpensive, and I bet it'll work. And Nikko, thank you for finally giving me the right phrase to describe my gardening activity. "Happy-go-lucky loony" it is. Mike San Jose, CA (where, dang it, the winter rains started last night, about one week before I was ready for them)