Cath, because this is such a pivotal (and frankly, quite terrifying time) I do feel I should keep some sort of journal at the very least - although I start one of those most years, usually around now......The entries get sparser and flimsier as summer progresses, usually coming to a standstill around late June.....then maybe a revisit about October, but very briefly. Looking back over them (sadly wilted and battered notebooks left in the shed or greenhouse), THEY ALL SAY THE SAME STUFF! A general whine about slacker neighbours and the tedium of tying tomatoes and the whole jam fiasco with a few puffs of thrillery and glee when a new plant flowers and the roses are in full flush. I can barely believe how humdrum it all is. This year though, I feel I will be looking back on humdrum with the fondest of memories since I have not taken such a leap into the unknown since a little fling in the mid 90s when I moved us all to Brighton to study for a history degree, persuading Mr.Campanula to do one too (we were the last intake to get a full grant and free tuition). Plus, I finally have a camera. Mariannese - 18 years! I think I was still using WordPerfect then. I remember getting a laptop for college - joy, I used to get it out proudly whenever possible after the trauma of Locoscript (shudder) on tatty Amstrad.

It's nice out today, the sun's shining brightly! If it only would melt the snow a little faster. Someone over on the hoya forum, down Carolyn's way, posted a picture of one of their tulips or snowdrops (I think they were snowdrops) peeking out of the ground (with pure white flowers, I may add!). That's why I was thinking snowdrops. Like any other gardener, I'm longing to be outside planting my heart out. No sprouts yet, but I'm sure once they start, it'll be a sea of green before long. Brad AKA Moonwolf

Fern.maas, I got the fertiliser from a feed mill on Hwy20 just west of Smithville, Ontario. There is another place about 2 miles further west in Fulton with the same price. TSC is the Tractor Supply Company but the long name never gets used. They are an American outfit across southern Ontario's farm communities selling almost everything a farmer needs. Both purchases were regular priced, not a sale price.

Hi Jim: I forget to ask what brand of brewer's yeast you take, and how you make it yummy? I will have to try organic cow milk with my Brewer's yeast ... I gave soy milk & B.Y for my kid and it wrecked her sleep many times. It also wrecked my sleep if taken in the evening. When I googled for "soy" within gardenweb, many women reported it screwed up their hormones: make them depressed, moody, and weepy. Plus it messes up one's thyroid (hypothyroid). Some info. on soy from below link: " (Thanks to theWeston Price Foundation): http://www.greenhealthspot.com/2010/05/is-soy-making-you-fat.html High levels of phytic acid in soy reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Phytic acid in soy is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking. High phytate diets have caused growth problems in children. Trypsin inhibitors in soy interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders. In test animals soy containing trypsin inhibitors caused stunted growth. Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women. Soy phytoestrogens are potent antithyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease. Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase the body's requirement for B12. Soy foods increase the body's requirement for vitamin D. Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein. Processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines. Free glutamic acid or MSG, a potent neurotoxin, is formed during soy food processing and additional amounts are added to many soy foods. Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum which is toxic to the nervous system and the kidneys.