Wait, 247 banana hits? That's wild.

Bottle caps under the front edge worked for my peppers last summer, just raise the pot like a quarter inch so water runs out the bottom hole instead of sitting there. Cheap trick but it saved me from root rot after I drowned two rounds of seedlings. The dish rack setup is honestly genius though, that basil is never going back to floor life.

Wait you killed the dog?? That's a whole different level of dark for a picnic scene. People will forgive an aunt getting hit by a car or the boat guy drowning, but the dog? Readers will riot and leave one star reviews without even reading the book. I'd go with the aunt personally, the boat guy feels too much like a plot device and you can only pull the dog card if you want everyone to hate you forever.