Ok, I paid the extra postage ($2) and I waited for the mail man so did receive the box today- I was a little disappointed a lot of them were rotted... Frosted denim (rotted- I put it in, but put in several, 5 or more?) Christening gown (1 really tiny leaf rotted) Okie Grape festival (rotted- I put it in, again put in a few?) Splendiferous/rotted 2 leaves Confusia Mather rotted/2 tiny leaves Biscayne trail rotted leaf (I put in a few, plus a plantlet?) Midnight Radiation (rotted 1 leaf) Foxwood trail (rotted leaves I put in- I put in several leaves, plus a plantlet?) Island breezes (rotted leaf I put in-several leaves?) Ode to beauty (rotted leaf) Silverglade Streams (rotted leaf I put in a few?) Opt. Dali (rotted) Opt. Monique (rotted, one good) I'll try cinnamon for the half rotted leaf that survived! Rhap. Barbara, rotted 2 leaves Ness Crinkle blue- both leaves rotted! Okie Easter bunny-one leaf rotted Ness Fantasy Gold, clear, rotted Optimara Texas rotted 2 leaves Orchard's bumble magnet 2 leaves rotted ______________________ Ok leaf/1 of "Playful spectrum" yay! Optimara Hawaii 2 leaves, ok! again yay, LOL~ 2 leaves of Opt. Chico, yay! Look really healthy! I've had a chihuhua for 17 years, so will love this variety! Opt. Maine, one leaf survived.. and a plant of Ma's Party Music, so I really thank the person who put it in! So, if I counted right.. I ended up with one plant, and a couple of leaves. I really hope everyone's leaves do really well. I had so much fun putting in all the varieties- I would love to do it again right away- but I'm a little disappointed. Deb

The pH drops I use are from General Hydroponics. Just about any hydroponics shop carry's them, and usually run anywhere from $6 to $8. The directions say to fill the vial half way with the water, then add 3 to 5 drops. But I now only fill the vial about half a centimeter (or about 1/3 the recommended half way), then only use one drop. Depending on how often I need to check pH and how many systems I have going, one bottle of pH drops generally lasts me six months to a year. You just match the color the water turns, to the color on the graduated color chart on the back of the bottle. And again, unlike what some sales people may tell people, it's very easy to read the color. Generally you'll always want to see a bright yellow (6.0), which is right in the middle of the pH range for most plants. If you want the pH higher, you'll want to see a green tint to the yellow, the darker green the higher the pH. If you want it lower, you'll want to see a orange tint, the darker the lower the pH. General Hydroponics pH Test Kit As for roockwook I personally don't use much of it. Mostly for a few reasons. One, it's expensive in the amounts I would need. Two, it's not easily conformable to most of the containers I use (like 2 and 5 gallon buckets). Lastly, it gets waterlogged easily if you don't carefully control water flows. But if using large amounts of rockwool as a growing medium, it's probably best to fallow their directions and pH adjust it first (by soaking it in pH adjusted water). The only thing I use roockwool for is starting seedlings in the one inch cubes. Then I transfer the one inch cubes into the other growing medium (usually coco chips) in the hydroponic system. I have never pH adjusted the roockwool cubes before I use them myself, and with such small amounts being introduced into the systems, and I haven't seen any pH problems. Probably because I use such small amounts of roockwool growing medium. I have never herd of pH issues using pea gravel, but it's a common growing medium. I cant say I have exactly used it myself, but I do often use rock that I get from our back yard. Our ground is more rock than soil here in the desert, and I can take a rake and scoop up a 5 gallon bucket full of small rocks in about 5 min. I rinse it real well with the hose on the driveway, then soak it in bleach water to sanitize it (kill soil born pathogens, and fungi). Then wash off the bleach water before using it. I haven't had any pH problems myself. Though I don't doubt some type of rock may affect pH, especially limestone. But river rock, pea gravel, lava rock, fish tank gravel all have been used in hydroponics. I have even used silica sand, however I did have a pH issue with that. But I never determined if it was due to the type of sand I used or not. Sand is also a common hydroponic growing medium, in fact sand is a primary growing medium used at Epcot center in Florida. Well water can pose it's own problems also (unless it has a good filtration system, including UV light). Well water can have unwanted minerals in it, and it may contain soil born diseases and pathogens too.

Both covers were opaque, one blue and the other white, so I couldn't use them. They would have been snug enough and much easier. Actually I needed to open mine every few days (which is a pain with those bungee cords) to let some fresh air in. They don't have to be totally sealed, just have to keep the humidity as high as possible. I don't know if a translucent one would let enough light through or not. That one poster who put me on to the idea appeared to use the translucent cover that came with his box, and he might have had his lights a lot closer. He also misted his. I did mist a little in the beginning but figured it was just more likely to blow nasty spores around and might do more harm than good. George Mander uses clear plastic, said it should be heavy. I think mine was too heavy which made it a little harder to work with but otherwise ok. Talk about a dim bulb lol. One of my lights was very dim, and I thought maybe that's the way they were supposed to be with the warm and cool. Then I got the second set of tubes when I set up the other pair of shop lights, and they both lit up real bright, so I figured something was wrong with that other one. I fiddled with it, and didn't have it screwed in tightly enough. Then it brightened up like it should have been. That could account for some of my losses. Some of my cuttings I left too many leaves on. I forgot one of those did root but I did lose that one in transplanting, a very odd alba with the most unusual leaves I'd ever seen on a rose. I posted photos of it last year. No matter how well you have thought it out or how carefully you read what somebody else did, I find I always end up having to wing it a little. The ones I wanted the most were the ones I lost all of them. The lady let me have just 6 cuttings before she trimmed her bushes down. I could kick myself for not asking her to call me and let me come get all the trimmings. Now one has died over the winter, and she isn't going to want to let me have any more until her bushes spring back, if they do. I don't have room for all the roses I attempt anyway so it doesn't matter if I lose a lot. I don't have room for many more, plus I'm still buying some. I do feel good that I think I saved one old rose. Mine is growing happily in the back yard (I rooted that outside with bottles 2 seasons ago), and it is going to form a colony if it stays healthy. Just slight tip dieback. My Austins took a real beating this winter. I don't like to swipe stuff, but I did this one, and drove by the other day and the bush appears to be history.

aprile421, Yes, dump cake is made with cake mix, pie filling, canned crushed pineapple, and nuts like almonds or pecans, which are optional. sooz, I have a cobbler recipe that might be of some use to you. Express Fruit Cobbler 2 20 oz. cans fruit pie filling 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened 1 18 oz. box white cake mix (I have used the 16 oz. with no trouble) 1 egg Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pie filling in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, cream butter to smooth texture. Add dry cake mix and egg and blend well. (Mixture will be very stiff). Spoon mixture over pie filling. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into squares. Serves 16. It is very good with some Cool Whip or ice cream over top :-). Here is a link to a dump cake that sounds very interesting and easy. Brad AKA Moonwolf Here is a link that might be useful: 1-1-1 Dump Cake