If I had to do it all over again, and know what I do now, I would recoomend the Black & Decker BV9000 Leaf Eater (at Costco for $79.00) verses buying the $300.00 Yarkworks 'chipper' for $199.00 at Cdn Tire. You can make alot more 'mulch' with leaves than you can with sticks & cones......in way less time. (and keep that little extra money to put towards that self propelled lawn monster that's on sale now at Home Depot or towards a new snow blowing machine you know you really really want and just haven't decided on which monster model you simply must have.) Costco's Black & Decker Leaf Eater comes with the attachments for blowing, vaccuming, shredding, over the shoulder bagging and added value at Costco is that it also includes the $30.00 garbage bin collection system, and an extention cord all for $79.00 - BV9000 is the model # - nice and light weight. Cdn tire sell the same machine but it is $10 more expensive and doesn't come with the extension cord and doen't include the garbage bin collection system (valued at $30.00) - (must be a promo deal with those two extras added in that is only offered at Costco) Here are the spec's: Push button release easily converts from blower to vacuum 3 Tools in 1 - Blower, Vacuum, and Mulcher Anti-clog Vortex® Vacuum System resists clogging Variable blow speed controls airflow from maximum 200MPH to 150 MPH Low Noise Design 10 to 1 mulch ratio mulches 10 bags of raked leaves into one bag of mulched leaves Reduces lawn clean-up to one simple step Deposits leaves directly into trash can No tools required I'm in love and have put my chipper in retirement as this little Black & Decker monster has shredded over 20 bags of maple leaves this afternoon - the front garden looks amazing with at least 6 inches of fine leaf mulch - haven't used the shoulder strap bagger yet because I've been having way too much fun using the 'leaf collection system' to put the pulverized leaves into - then running out to dump the garbage bins into the front gardens - more fun than I should be allowed! I'm going on a 'leaf hunt' tomorrow at the neighbours because I've vaccumed up and mulched every twig & leaf in my yard.......

Thanks Ken. You may not be an expert (just kidding), but you have had a lot of good information. In this post along with many others I have read through. Thanks Linda Lou. I don't think these pickles will last that long around here anyway. Just wanted to check in case I make more. I may have to sooner than I think. I was going to pick another load of cukes today. I may have enough for 2 batches now. We got some heavy rain last night. So many of my cukes have swelled up so fast my trellis is about to fall over from the weight. It's not staked very good, and until now, had not been a problem. I may make some relish too. I'll just have to cut out some seeds because I think some of the cukes are a little bigger than I wanted. I think I need to get some more jars. This is kind of late to ask this question, but I didn't think of it until last night while reboiling the syrup. My question is...When draining the syrup to reboil and pour over the pickles, do you leave the spice bag with the pickles or do you keep it in the syrup and boil with it? I didn't think it would make much of a difference, but I have been leaving it in the syrup when I bring it back to a boil. Could this make the spices even stronger only because they are getting heated to a higher temp for a longer period of time. Paul

Polygonum, I did get a start of the Zauschneria for you, but it's very small. Keep it in the pot till the end of October, stick it in the ground, and by the end of next summer I think you'll be shocked! I'm also gonna dig up and pot some before I do it in, so if they make it over winter, you can get another, bigger one then! Also have the mint cuttings for you. With the aloe and other succulents, just bring a start for whatever you can easily get a couple pieces or leaves off of. They all sound like fun! The black aloe sounds especially cool! I'd especially be interested in a couple little stem pieces or leaves from the tri-color jade. I tried that one one time before and couldn't get it to go! Would love to try it again--I think they're so pretty! (I'll pass on the Kalanchoes you have for now. Need some practice on the "regular" kind first!) GardenFiend, the only thing I'm taking dibs on this time is the chocolate mint cuttings--and I have some marked for you. Having just gotten back from vacation, and with all the computer problems I've had since I got home, I just don't have time to keep track of all the other stuff. Since there aren't gonna be many people at this one, chances are you'll be able to get the things you want the most in the first two rounds of picking. I'll have a few packs each of four of my different sedums this time--unrooted cuttings, with instructions if you need them. Also will have one of my Semps in pots, 4 of them I think it turned out to be, and one of them in bags, unrooted--so 2 different kinds. Most of my semps got really bashed in from the hail this spring, and had to pull a bunch out. Then I pulled out all the ones that bloomed--more than normal, and then I was pulling out chicks for a few people over the summer, and now there aren't enough left to give away for the time being. Depending on how well they recover over winter and early next spring, I MAY have more at the Spring Swap, or probably the Fall Swap if not then. I was thinking earlier today that if the people on RMG that are into them would each buy one or two new varieties, when we started swapping them, we could ALL wind up with a bunch of new varieties. Kind of like a chain letter, plant style! I'm also bringing some extra packs of the chocolate mint cuttings. Sorry you can't make it this time, Misty. But--I wouldn't pass up a chance to go boating on Granby and to see the Colorado Gold either! Happy anniversary! Have fun! Gotta go! I finally got my pot luck dish done, but still have a LOT to do! See you all tomorrow, Skybird

Thanks Kelley! I'm still on the fence about how well my tree is doing but so far it doesn't look like there's any large infestations or obvious diseases. The only explanations would have to be root rot, lots of fungus gnat larvae, or not enough food for the tree. And I'm hoping it's not the root rot! With your mix, it might be due to the fact that each of those materials hold water very well. From all the research I've looked at online, vermiculite and perlite are usually recommended to be chosen for just one or the other in most soil mixes. Or a mix of both to equal 1 part. The only time I've seen a mix include both as separate parts was IVOrganics on YouTube but I didn't stay updated on how the tree fared. If your vermiculite was a larger, coarser type then it might be ok? I've read vermiculite tends to hold water very well due to absorption while perlite just gets wet on its surface. Is your lime also on that same mix? It probably is just the mix's drainage...I think an expert should give you a more informed opinion on your eureka. I've had my first lemon for only a month now. My advice would probably be to not listen to my advice lol