I live in Orlando and got hit with a fungus problem last year in one 20 x 20 area. I attacked it with Corn Meal I bought from Walmart. The grass that was affected slowly recovered and is very healthy this year. I don't think soybean meal will help much with a fungus problem from what I have read on this and other boards. They either recommend corn meal or milk/water, or commercial product sold from Home Depot. From what I read, don't put fert. down if you have a fungus problem. This might make it much worse. Cure the fungus before applying fert. Some people recommend milk/water combination if you can't use corn meal. I used the CGM in March for prevent of crab grass/weeds and it worked 100 percent. I had zero problems crabgrass this year but the downsize is the cost for CGM, 50.00 for 50lbs. I used Bradfield Organics brand CGM. Corn Meal - I could not find a large amount of Corn Meal until 15 minutes ago when I found a local ethnic store that sells 50 lbs for 18 dollars, which for me, is a decent price. From reading the last few days about Corn Meal as a prevent/cure for fungus it seems to have a pretty good following with the organic lawn people. So I will buy some tomorrow and put it down Friday and once a month until the rains go away in Oct. The cracked corn is different from the CGM. The CGM is really good fertilizer but expensive. It really prevented my weed problem and "greened up" my lawn. I've "gone organic" on my lawn for about 1.5 years and for the most part and happy with the results. It is a "learning curve" for the fungus problem and obtaining CGM. I liked the green results from soybean meal too. It is 18 dollars for 50 lbs down here. There advice I got from this and other boards has been very helpful. Mowing high, water deep/infrequent, CGM worked well. I had a terrible lawn when I started and it has greatly improved. A few tips - - I ripped out the worse parts and put down alfalfa and black cow mixed together. Then I put down the sod, with more alfalfa on top. That section is deep dark green after one year and weed free. It borders my neighbor who has nothing but weeds but those weeds never grow on that section of my lawn. Amazing.... So using Black Cow/Alfalfa if you have to redo sections of your lawn is something to consider. - The alfalfa down here is sold for horse feed...same with the soybean meal, dried molasses. CGM is different from the corn meal and cracked corn. If you rip out your lawn make sure you prep your yard before dropping new sod. There is another site (best lawn info) dedicated to organic lawn info. They have some great info too and some amazing results. Good luck!!!

I'm not sure how people feel about linking other forums... But I have found an awesome thread RE making your own, or even improving your own soil... I do 2 parts peat (10$/3cu f), 2 parts composted black cow (~1$/40lbs), 1 part coarse vermiculite (10$/3cu), and 1 part of dirt from my yard. 2) if you are looking for seedlings, Cross Country Nursery has about 400 varieties and a fantastic reputation. When being shipped a plant, expect it to arrive in less than optimal condition, and plan to get it planted the day they arrive as well... Never the less, it will expand the possibilities over your local big box. I am not a fan of Monsanto (and GMO for that matter), and so many of the brands at your local Home Depot, or whatever are subsidiaries or clients of Monsanto subsidiaries. Which means if they ever found out you saved seed from one of their plants you'll likely be sued (if you can even get them to grow). If you are looking to grow from seed, Pepper Joe's, the hippy seed co (in australia), midwestchiliheads, and pepperlover are all good sources. Pepper Joe has a fantastic return policy... If you buy seeds, and you are not happy with germ rates, or whatever, you send him an email, and he sends you a new package of seed, and usually with a few bonus varieties thrown in. 3) all depends on your threshold for pain... If you like habaneros, Might I suggest Scotch Bonnets? They have a nice smokey flavor. A bit milder would be Aji's, I've had some yellow Aji in Peru, and it was fantastic. Cumari Pollux is reputed to taste like fruit loops with a bang. If you like stuffing peppers, Pablano's are hard to beat. If you are into the varieties that will cause your face to melt off, check out 7pot Douglah (indian for cross, and is kind of a crass impolite term from what I gather),Moruga Scorpion (but don't buy from Jim Duffy of Refining Fire Chilies... He's asking ~3$ per seed...), Trinidad Scorpion Butch T strain is the current Guinesss world record holder (though it is surpassed by both Douglah, and possibly by Moruga). There are scores of amish varieties, new mexican varieties, sweets, hots, and superhots. It all depends on what you like. 4) no idea... Not familiar with your climate or zone :). Here in Fl, I have about 200 plants in the ground, with the goal of having 400 plants of over 100 varieties. 5) I have heard that composted alfalfa is fantastic for your pepper plants, some even co-grow it beneath the peppers. I have no personal experience with it though. I guess it would depend on whether you are buying a bale of alfalfa hay, and spreading it (less good, the process of breaking it down could deplete your garden of Nitrogen, plus the extra weeding that would come with this), or if its something else. For my garden, I use bone meal, blood meal, and fish emulsions. The fish smells terrible. But its weak, and if you are applying it to seedlings that is important. I'm not familiar with round up - other than its reputation for killing mostly everything its sprayed on. Here is a link that might be useful: best soil thread ever.

Hi. Actually, there are two things to look for in a good power strip. One is a mark (usually on the box) that the strip meets the specifications of UL 1449 (you'll see the Underwriter's Laboratory circle). UL 1449 is a standard for power strip construction which increases their safety. The other is a comparative figure -- clamping voltage. The lower, the better. The clamping voltage level is the maximum voltage the strip will let through before it sacrifices itself and removes power from whatever is connected to it. You probably already know to look for an appropriate total watt rating. Good strips are not usually found at the 99-cent store, but they really don't cost much more and they provide a good margin of safety over two runs of copper in a plastic case.

You guys are AMAZING- thank you so much for the suggestions. To answer a few questions... Our local HD is terrible - has a really small paint department and not a lot of choices displayed, plus the chips are always disorganised and frequently missing. Also, last time I asked, they said they don't do samples. So... especially since my builder likes Valspar or SW, I've stuck with those Lowes and the SW stores. Not that I can't look at colours elsewhere, of course - ah, technology! - but it's just been where I started and thus... Well, you get the idea :) I did go to a BM store and they were, as everybody suggested, WAY more knowledgeable and helpful, but we still didn't come up with anything - the taste of the "paint guru" was a little too trendy for me, so her suggestions, while valid colourwise, weren't anything I would like. Also, once again the extreme affect of light on my space (and the AWFUL light at the BM store - how can a paint store live with standard fluorescents?!) meant that what worked in the store wasn't as good at home. I'm pretty much giving up on green, particularly the sages - I love it, but there doesn't seem to be any shade of green which even comes close to working and anything sage turns a very depressing mud-gray on the walls, so I'm just going to abandon that altogether. Martha Stewart Wooden Spoon is the only exception and it's not "green" per se, although it does have a green undertone to it. In any case, yesterday I started working my way through the terracottas and bricks - to hell with it! I was gone most of the day yesterday, but that didn't stop me spending the hour between when I dropped the kid at school and when I had to hit the road myself looking at paint chips... The new contenders include Gingerbread Man and Tropical Nut (who NAMES these things?! It's worse than nail polish colours!), the former a deep burnt orange and the latter a dark brick red. I love them both. Ideally I probably need one right BETWEEN them and a shade or two lighter, but I think I may finally be getting somewhere; SW's Oak Creek may be a possibility - it's a medium depth colour with an orange undertone, but there's also a greenish something lurking in there somewhere too. It picks up the darker streaks in the wood, which might be just the ticket. I really DO prefer the deeper colours, no doubt about it. Stuff the beam line and the room divisions - if necessary, I'll just paint the kitchen a different colour than the DR and have done with it! I'm now thinking of maybe making the trim in the kitchen a creamy something to set off a deeper colour, and then use a satin version of that in the dining area (with dark trim?). Too many choices! However, I seem to be working my way - however slowly - towards something. And, as people keep telling me, if I don't like it... I can just change it!