I would have to say that it took time but well worth the effort. Chopping that up took a lot out of me but it was a work out. I am kind of in shape but have ankle, knee and hip problems from an old highschool injury many years ago so I have to sit down to do a lot of the work. I am approaching 40 now and trying to get back in shape and by doing that and how good my body felt after the sorness went away I would do it again next year. However there may not be a need to because I bought the Agway Pine Bark which is near perfect. The price is also excellent I think they have a deal where you can buy 3 to for 4 (3 cubic ft bags) for around $20. The price keeps lowering the more bags you buy. Also I love the cheap cost of Peatmoss. $10 for 3-4 Cubic ft. The perlite is the problem with expense though. Now I would use a commercial mix but the cost would be far too high. I had to fill 9 (20) gallon containers and 15 (5-7) Gallon containers. So as a safe estimate I filled about 250+ gallons which would work out to about 16 (2 Cubic ft ) bags of a commercial mix. If I did my math right I estimate that 15 gallons is about equal to 2 cubic Ft. I estimate that I have spent $20 for about 6-7 Cubic Ft of Peat moss, $50-$60 for Perlite, $10 for 40lbs of Garden Lime, and about $50 in Pine bark. So Let's say I spent around $140 for 16 bags (2 cubic Ft) of mix then the total price per 2 cubic Ft would be about $8-9. This is also not to mention that I have plenty of Peat moss (about 2 cu ft) and a bunch of lime along with more perlite left over. So technically I saved over $100 if I were to buy a commercial 2 CU Ft. Mix bag at about $15. Now if only had to make a small amount I would totally buy commercial and I almost did but the cost was way to high. I also forgot to mention that I did not use control release Ferts, instead I used MG liquid soluable tomato food. This was because it was cheap at the time and I was on a limited budget, but next year I will do it after this crazy weather. Here in Philly area we just got about 7+ inches of rain in one day a few days back and another inch yesterday. It has been very tricky to plan the fertilization days. Edit: I forgot that I had 4 (5) gallon Bell peppers in the front growing and my Yellow Kellogs in 2 (16 Gal) containers so that would make it 300 Gallons of Mix I made which would bring the price down to about $7 per (2 Cu Ft). Also the production is doing great. This post was edited by thebutcher on Fri, Aug 2, 13 at 14:19

I suspect a lot of returned seed is tested for germination rate and if acceptable repackaged and resold, possibly as some discount brand. You notice the seed packages say packed for such and such a year, not that the seeds were produced in that year. The poster that said the companies don't want their seed sold on clearance sale is also probably right, too many gardeners would catch on that most seed properly stored is good for at least a few years, with some exceptions. However some big box stores have their seed racks sitting in an area exposed to the elements and in direct sunlight, that seed might not be good even in the year the package says packed for. I always pick a packet from the back where the sun isn't shining on it directly.

I've always wondered what happens to the unsold seeds. Maybe sometimes they do end up in dollar stores with a new package date. That's so cheap though. Even if you get low germination, you'll still get your money's worth.

The 2008 Totally Tomatoes Catalog says that Big Zac is their exclusive. It kind of stretches the truth **** In one way yes, in another way no. The following companies were originally owned by Wayne Hiltom, which he started: TT Shumways ( bought the name rights to Shumway) Seymour's Seeds Vermont Bean Co ( a takeover; he didn't start this one) HPS The original agreement between Minnie Zaccariha ( sp?) was with Hilton and TT re Big Zac F1 seeds when she provided the parents. Jung Seeds bought the above companies from Hilton quite a few years ago now. When Hilton owned the companies Big Zac was only offered by TT, not Shumway and not Vt Bean, etc. That's my recollection. And in past ywars I don't remember Shumway offering BZ, even after the sale to Jung's. So the exclusive was initially just with TT but since the same Co, Jung's. owns all of the above companies and many varieties that are the same are offered in TT, Shumway and Vt Bean, it's still all the same Co with the same seeds. Did I dig myself out of that one? LOL Carolyn