All I can say about the PermaTill is that it comes in various sizes, and the size that would be best for making a mix similar to the gritty mix would be between 1/2 BB-size to BB-size. "Now, if I don't sift the pine bark fines out, does that just shorten the life of the pot?" If you're making the gritty mix and you don't sift the bark, or you use a product with a lot of fines, you sort of negate the whole purpose of making it. It's structural longevity and high degree of aeration are its hallmarks. If you start adding fine particulates to it, you might as well opt for the 5:1:1 mix or similar, because there would be little advantage in a gritty mix with lots of fines in it over any other soil heavy on fines. "Another question I have is whether this mix of pine bark, granite and turface is - is it suitable to growing all plants?" I have yet to try a plant in it that hasn't done extremely well. I don't use it for short term plantings like veggies and flowery display containers, but I use it for everything that might be in the same soil for more than a single growth cycle - all my woody plants and houseplants, including cacti and succulents are in it. Filler Use whatever you want as a filler. Empty or water-filled soda bottles work well. A properly made gritty mix holds no (or VERY little) perched water, so there is no worry about water perching above material used as a filler. Squirrels The gritty mix won't deter them. I probably found 30 black walnuts buried in the pots of material I'm growing on for bonsai that I've repotted so far this spring. You'll need to find an alternate method of dissuading them. Gran-I-Grit is actually mined by the NC Granite Corp in Mount Airy, so it shouldn't be too hard to find there. If Manna Pro is all granite and the right size, there's no reason it can't be substituted for Gran-I-Grit. The mix is 1:1:1 by volume, then a tbsp of gypsum/gallon of mix. The bark I use is pre-screened, but if I had fines, I would use them in the 5:1:1 mix, spread them on the garden or beds, add them to the compost pile, or use them in hypertufa projects. I always use either insect screen over the drain holes or plastic canvas, which is an inexpensive plastic mesh that comes in 9x12 sheets, available at most hobby stores in the needlepoint section. Paste this to your browser to see what I'm talking about: http://bagntell.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/pcanvas2.jpg Al

Last week I bought a 'Firefighter' from a nursery in Redding. I am not a bit concerned about the rose suckering even though it is grafted to Dr. H. The rose had been properly de-eyed, the grafts were/are perfect and there are no injuries to the bud union. I have not seen grafted roses so well prepared for a couple of decades. If I had the funds and the room, I would have come home with a lot more roses. You say you are growing 40 roses and only mention DD as a rose that appears to be declining. The fact that the bud union is buried may have nothing to do with DD's poor performance. If all of the canes coming up from the bud union are old, they will not function as efficiently as newer canes. They cannot move nutrients and moisture up to the top of the rose as well as younger canes. That's where the rejuvenation pruning comes in. By removing the less efficient canes, energy goes into growing new canes that can function better. Or it's possible that you may have a tree nearby that has matured that is robbing the rose of nutrients, moisture and light. Or the rose may have crown gall. In other words, there are more variables to consider than just the depth of the bud union. If all of your other roses are healthy and thriving plants, they have adapted and both you and the rose didn't know that they were not supposed to be successful roses because the bud unions were buried. There are a lot of right ways to grow roses. If you are satisfied with your roses, then there is really no need to change your cultural practices. If a rose is declining, then you take a look to see if something has changed that is impacting the performance of the plant. Smiles, Lyn

Definitely an elm, probably a large-growing one (most are). Fruits are generally needed to positively identify wild species, in addition to those are many intentional hybrids, both old and new - and not fully represented in keys and descriptions. You can't count on someone coming up with a 100% reliable species identification based on seeing this picture on the internet. If it happens to be a comparatively distinctive kind that somebody suggests as a possibility then there you are, otherwise even unusually thorough and dedicated tree expert Arthur Lee Jacobson of Seattle, WA (author of NORTH AMERICAN LANDSCAPE TREES, TREES OF SEATTLE, PURPLELEAF PLUMS) cannot give airtight names to every elm tree he has encountered. And this is includes his home territory, probably the last stronghold (alas, no longer) of elms susceptible to Dutch Elm Disease and pretty much no longer represented by full-sized specimens elsewhere.

I would fit a tank connector to the dwc bucket and a second bucket the same size. When it comes to adjustments or nutrient changes, link the buckets with hose and raise the dwc so the water drains into the empty bucket. Make the adjustment or nute change and raise the bucket to refill the dwc. Using john guest pushfit tank connectors will allow you to unplug the 2nd bucket with a minimum amount of fuss if required. If the connecting hose is clear it can double as a water level indicator / water topup port. Fit a pipe clip to the top of the dwc bucket to keep the hose upright.