"...there are less salts in Ferti-lome.'' People have gotten the idea that salts are bad when it comes to plants. While it's true that some salts (like table salt) are bad because plants do not absorb them in any appreciable amount, other salts are necessary for plants. A salt is simply a combination of a cation and an anion. A salt like calcium nitrate provides plants with necessary calcium and nitrogen. Magnesium sulfate (or epsom salt) provides plants with magnesium and sulfur. Inorganic fertilizers are just combinations of useful salts. As for fertilizer brands, I use Dyna-Gro's Foliage Pro 9-3-6 on everything I grow because it is a very close match to proven plant uptake ratios. I would avoid any bloom booster formulas. They have no benefit over other formulas and can be harmful in some situations. Here are a couple links if anyone cares to read up on it. The uselessness of high P fertilizers Bloom Boosters - How Much P is Enough?

I have quickly found that, at least for me, nothing helps better than a shot of Ortho Weed-B-Gon and a thick, tall, healthy lawn. I have empty lots behind and to one side of me that are 50% crabgrass, 25% dandelions, and probably 24.5% random green weeds. This is only our second season since we finished and moved into our new home in December 2014 and we had a lot of dandelions creeping in from the empty lots. A couple of weeks ago, when the weather started looking up here in southern Indiana, I made up several 2 gallon sprayerfulls of WBG, 50% stronger than the label suggested, and went through spraying every weed I saw, paying special attention to the dandelions. The weeds started wilting fairly quickly. I took a small propane torch out every day and torched every dandelion seed head that I could find. Last weekend I put down my crabgrass pre-emergent with fertilizer and watered it in. We also had a couple of huge downpours last Thursday and Friday. Now, as of this morning, my lawn has really shot up quickly, thickened up visibly, darkened about two shades of green, and I can see hardly any dandelions in sight. So, I say all this just to get across that, with just a little work, you can see a quick difference in your lawn, especially where it comes to dandelions. I didn't use any WNF products this year, but probably will next year, about the first weekend in March just to get a jump on the the weeds and the lawn feeding. Using information I compiled from my sod supplier and various county extension agency web-sites for our area I put together this program that I plan to try next year. The only things I may tweak a little are the WNF after overseeding in the fall. • March 1: Apply a weed and feed fertilizer (2,4-D based) to deter or eliminate any broadleaf weed germination. • Mid-April: Apply crabgrass preventer (Dimension/Dithiopyr based) with a fertilizer containing high nitrogen. Use something similar to 25-10-10. • Late-May/Early-June: Apply grub control such as Merit (Imidacloprid) or GrubEx (Chlorantraniliprole) to the lawn (very important in our area). • Mid-June: Apply second crabgrass preventer (Dimension/Dithiopyr based) with a fertilizer containing high nitrogen. Use something similar to 25-10-10. • Early-September: Overseed Lawn • Mid-September: Apply fall fertilizer with broadleaf control (2,4-D based). We recommend one pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet, and one pound of P & K (phosphorus and potassium) mix. • Mid-October: Use a 12-12-12 at one pound per 1000 square feet of actual nitrogen-phosphorus and potassium to promote a hardy root system for the winter.

Now I only freeze tomato and cantaloupe seeds in the hope to kill them and will not become volunteer plants. Unlike pumpkin seeds, cantaloupe seeds break down easily. Most of my worm food is juice pulp from root to leave veggies, my own and from a friend, whose co-workers do a collective juicing at work. Based on my observation and reading posts and comments, I decided not to feed the worms fresh scraps/food. Besides, I collected more pulp than the worms could consume. Before storing/pre-rotting in 3 gal. buckets with lid, I mixed in crushed/powdered egg shells. I did notice that with time, there will be gas built up when the stuff start to age. My take, this is what will take place in the worms' intestine when they consume (too much) fresh stuff be it the juice or food particles, rather than the MO they were supposed to slurp: gas build up, which will cause them (the worms) to explode and look like SOP (string of pearls). Another thing with pre-rotting, I can discard (or not) the liquid pooling at the bottom of the bucket to reduce moisture in the bin. But this can be done when you thaw frozen scraps too. When feeding my larger bins, I lately put the food in egg cartons (doubled up) in the hope to protect the worms from generated heat and they come and feed when ever they feel like it. And the egg carton get shredded when next feeding comes. I feed the bigger bins quite heavy and so far no problems.

Hi Aurorawa: I spent most of the day working outside. Today was just a beautiful, and warm day. Wow, I was so happy to see a post from you on my Hoya questions. Thank you for all the information. I have a houseplant file, on my puter, and I just copied and pasted most every line, to my Hoya file. I simply have to give this semi hydro culture a go, with a couple orhchids. This sort of project is just too fun. Oh, my hoya soil is a sad story. I mixed the 5-1-1 soil after so much excitement over it here. I did not find pine bark fines, and substituted pro mix. I know it was mixed with meticulous measurements. What ever I did, turned the mix into a sponge, that never ever dried. It was so weird. After repotting again, My Hoya are in about 1/2 plain potting soil, with the other half being perlite and chicken grit, with a dash of bone meal. I am not complaining about the 5-1-1. My mix was just a fail somehow. As for trades, that of course would be so amazing. It is always fun to grow a plant from someone you sort of know. I am not sure I have anything you will want but we will work it out just fine. How about you message me your fav hoya for a novice like me with a Carnosa garden variety, and a Crimson Princess, and we will take it from there. I love love the tips on managing cuttings. All I can say is thank you thank you. Your Hoya growing set up is fascinating, and so nice to see. Thank you for the tour. I would love a small small green house, but strictly to entertain myself. I have always assumed you live up north, in Aurora, Wa., Aurora. Our climates are a really tight match. Small world. Thanks for the great info, so much to read up on. Laurie B