Soyousee Please don't misunderstand. We were all new to hydroponics at one point, and I'm glad that your trying your hand at it. Neither me or grizz meant any disrespect. Just offed some constructive criticism. I have no doubt that you will see/understand what we meant in the future. And there's no reason to change anything now. People who grow hydroponically do it for many reasons, but the the biggest one is to make as much use of the space they have to work with. They also (like me) want to do it as inexpensively as they can. That was the reason for my constructive criticism. I do agree the system you built looks great. Also, even though I cant really see details, I really like the greenhouse construction. With hydro you are not limited to just growing at one level. You can also grow and make use of vertical space. 12 inches away does not refer to just left and right, it's also referring to up and down. You cant do that with growing in soil. With soil you are limited to the square footage of the ground. Not so with hydro, that is the beauty of it. If you are referring to planting the runners from the mother plant, I don't see anywhere for them to root? They will just suck energy from the mother plant, that's why they are typically just cut off. The runners are new plants, not berry's. Runners do grow (and root) as close as 3 inches form the mother plant. They can become a mother plant themselves once rooted, however that's not the best spacing. The with of a full grown strawberry plant can reach as much as a 12 inch (one foot) span. They also need airflow to the base of the plant (crown). If there is not enough air flow at the base of the plant, well they can get all kinds of problems. I grew some at a 6 inch spacing, and they needed regular timing. Next time I would probably go with a 10 inch spacing. With the 6 inch spacing, I had 32 strawberry plants within a 8 foot long, and 3 foot wide space. All of witch were growing at one level (a flat space). But if I could halved raised alternate rows, I could have increased the space between the plants to 10 or 12 inches. But at the same time not increasing the overall square footage at all. With rows set at multiple levels, I could have even dubbed the 32 plants to 64 in the same square footage. And no disrespect intended but all for about the same price ($300), including the reservoir, tubing, rows for the plants, supports to hold the rows, baskets for the plants, growing medium, etc. and even the pump.

so excited! i have been digging and potting and labeling since i got home from work. then when it got dark i came inside and have been reading and reviewing on here! columbiastock- could i have some orange mint cuttings? i "borrowed" some orange mint and chocolate mint cuttings from the missouri botanical gardens last june but the orange didn't make the drive back to nashville. by the way, everyone needs to go to the botanical gardens in st louis. it is beyond amazing. mtps field trip! steve- i have some ivy for you and mint and oregano. i have a bunch of chocolate mint. i consider it to be awesome since i stole it from the missouri botanical gardens. you are welcome to one if you'd like. i think i am going to have some key lime basil which is about my favorite thing ever, but not big enough to bring yet. if they make it i'll hopefully have some in the fall or can meet you with some before then. it smells so good. i was told when i bought it (in st louis at the soulard farmers market) that it is fantastic in key lime ice cream and on fish. i mostly just smelled it just about every time i stepped foot outside last summer. heather- i have a solomon's seal for you. the mexican bamboo interests me... and the scented geraniums as well. everything you have interests me! i'll probably just wander by your tent a lot tomorrow toward the wrapping up phase and see what kind of stragglers you want to donate. i saw those purple flash peppers at cheeckwood last fall. maybe i can get there some and find them and borrow some seeds. columbiajen- i have some red cannas i am bringing. at least i think they are red. let me know if you want some. mspam- i have a lot of things not yet claimed. i am still fairly new to gardening myself and love to take the leftovers people don't want to take back home at the end of the swap. i second tiffany- what is on heather's list that i don't want! i was the same way at the fall swap. i kept finding myself back at heather's tent even when i tried to stay away. it was like a magnetic field! i was drawn to her lovely plants and lovely conversation and gardening tips! and her hat was awesome, too. i actually got way more into herbs after talking with you last fall, heather. can i join the crazy plant lady in training club?!?! connie, heather, and steve always have so much i feel greedy when reading their lists! my goal is to be like you guys someday! i work for the school system and have one week until a 2 month break from work, so this summer i am going to spend a lot of time organizing and taking pictures of my yard stuff so i can show off better next year, and hopefully remember what i have better as well. see you all tomorrow morning!!! can't wait!!! rebecca i second tiffany- what is on heather's list that i don't want! i was the same at the fall. i kept finding myself back at heather's tent even when i tried to stay away. i was drawn to her lovely plants and lovely conversation and gardening tips! i actually got way more into herbs after talking with you last fall, heather. mspam- i have a lot of things not yet claimed. i am still fairly new to gardening myself and love to take the leftovers people don't want to take back home at the end of the swap.

Gillian, I think that the big blocks were cut 9", and the four patch blocks 5.5". I used 3/4" seams, so the blocks finished to 7.5". It's early, so I'm not 100% my math brain is working, but if you wanted to do 1/2" seams, I think that would be 8.5" for the big block, and 5" for four patch. Just try sewing one four patch together to be sure. --Amy

This is a very old thread, but it's one that I bookmarked for my own kitchen renovation nearly two years ago. This thread is mixed with positive and negative reviews of butcher blocks for countertops in kitchens, and as a result of the negative reviews in this thread, I passed on the idea of a butcher block countertop at the time. However, after more reading since my countertop decision was made, I have learned that an end-grain butcher block countertop is more durable than an edge-grain one and could make the difference in how a butcher block countertop is experienced. The posters above who had negative experiences didn't specify which type theirs were. Also, maple is more reactive with moisture than other species like cherry which is more stable against moisture, so you would see more cracking from the expansion, contraction, and warping due to moisture exposure with maple than with other woods commonly used for butcher blocks, and at least one of the posters above with a negative butcher block experience had maple. There is also a concept of open-grain and closed-grain woods. Oak and walnut are considered to be open-grained woods, so not as suitable for butcher block even though butcher block is still made in these species, particularly walnut. Maple, cherry, and hickory are closed-grain woods and more suitable for a working countertop. Of these three woods in order of hardness, cherry is softest, "hard maple" is harder ("soft maple" is also available and is closer to cherry in hardness), and hickory is hardest. The harder woods like hickory are more dense and could possibly crack more easily with moisture exposure, but they also bear up against knife marks better. Since sanding a butcher block top is something owners often choose to do about once per year, it shouldn't make a difference really if choosing among cherry, maple, or hickory for the hardness alone. Caution should be exercised in terms of spot-sanding, as doing so over a long period could cause the top to become uneven. It is better to sand the entire top at once. Mineral oil is the standard for countertops frequently used as work surfaces including chopping, and the oil really should be applied regularly, like once per week, throughout the life of the butcher block to provide the best protection. A wax plus oil conditioner is also a possibility. If I had the option, I would definitely re-consider putting at minimum an end-grain cherry butcher block inset into my kitchen after the information I've found since first bookmarking this thread. John Boos is one of the biggest suppliers of end-grain maple and cherry butcher blocks in all different sizes and thicknesses, and the best prices on these can be found by shopping around online at kitchen and restaurant supply websites. A thickness of three inches is usually recommended as the minimum to make a butcher block inset look its very best, but that thickness could decrease for logistical needs if the entire countertop were being done in butcher block. If an inset is chosen, one of the better ideas I have seen is to let the inset sit higher than the surrounding countertop and do only a minimal silicone seal or nothing at all so the inset could be removed for cleaning and re-surfacing if needed. One last item I'll mention is that the separation and cracking sometimes seen with end-grain butcher blocks could be almost completely avoided by using a dovetailed configuration, but this is so rare among manufacturers today that it's essentially impossible to find without a custom build by a manufacturer who specializes in this. Below are two photos of dovetailed butcher block.