Enterotoxigenic00~~What, pray tell, are you going to do with all the babies? Not sure what I would do with that many. Go out of my mind for one! lol. btw, congrats on getting so many babies, my Mamma Spider isn't producing any, not even new shoots/stems. But she is healthy and for now I am not going to worry about it much. She's been thru a lot these past few months. She needs time. :) Ren_Flowers-- all my plants are outside in the shade, it is getting up to 100F here (in the shade) and so far they don't seem to mind, the only one I bring in is my baby Thanksgiving cactus,(over 90F) they dont like the heat much. But I was like you, indoors all the time, but once I put them outside? I could not believe how they all loved it and started showing it! Maybe just a few hours a day would do your plants some good... but it is up to you, of course. I am just wondering where I am going to put them all this winter! haha Sorry, we were talking soil.. my bad. As far as soil goes, I have a hard time with the 5-1-1 mix. I have tried it many times, but for some reason I can't work with that much bark. I do use it as a base, but it seems to come out more of a 2-2-1 mix, more or less. (bark,perlite,soil) and so far I haven't had any real issues with it. Some plants have more bark than others, but I don't think any have the 5-1-1 mix. They all drain well, seem to dry up fast enough, and it works for me. (by the way, I use fir bark from pet stores for reptiles) If nothing else, I have learned from this forum, is nothing is written in stone. Find what works for you and go from there. Yes, I am still learning. Trying different things and not being afraid to do so. This place has been great for me. And my plants thank you. ;) Marjie

@pirate girl, if you didn't want to answer her, you could of opted out, and just explained how things worked! or left it alone PERIOD! i've been on here long enough to know how things work and that NOT EVERYONE is as RUDE and INCONSIDERATE as you Were! you definitely need to learn some manners! for reasons of this is why some members are leaving! and seeking out other places..Maybe she didn't know that if she clicks on the little box at the end, then she would get messages to her email...Hmmm how simple to just say that?!! Geeze!! However, on the "sweedish ivy" i have heard of a "creeping charlie" house plant that is like our sweedish ivy, but not like it, it is much more hardy, and much thicker. more like between the jade and sweedish ivy. its really weird... LOL But Very Beautiful! i seen it when we were in Germany..

I too am EXTREMELY SENSITIVE to poison ivy and recently broke out in a similar rash after being careless while propagating my all time favorite plant, the philodendron micans. I also suspected that had to be it so I took a fresh cutting and dabbed the sap several times in my arm and didn't wash off for a few hours. Somewhere between 12 & 24 hours later, I started feeling that familiar itch and watched as my test patch gradually spread out the size of a dime and rose up with the little tiny bubble pattern I'm used to seeing with poison ivy rash. THIS SUCKS! I'm in the middle of battling it right now and in my research found this helpful article. I also read another helpful tip that said the sap from these plants can somehow penetrate through standard medical gloves so thicker gardening type gloves should be used when propagating and caution should also be taken when refreshing propagation water. I plant to purchase some thick, SOLID rubber gloves that can easily be thoroughly washed. NOT those gardening gloves that have a breathable section at the back of the hand and wrists! You should also clean the tools you use and the work area. Rubbing alcohol AT LEAST 70% grade is known to be effective for cleaning tools that have come in contact with poison ivy so I plan on implementing that. As well as never shortcutting again by taking rushed cuttings and not doing the basics like laying out a protective mat and immediately washing my hands afterwards. I lazily let my NUMEROUS cuttings drop to the floor (CARPET!) and I know I didn't wash my hands right away like I normally do. A couple hours later I laid on this floor in a tank top and got a mild rash a day later across my upper back and shoulder area as well as my ear lobes which I believe is from handling my earbuds right after propagating my favorite plant. PLEASE MAKE MY PAIN WORTH IT AND LET THIS BE A LESSON TO YOU... PUH-LEAZE!

I think cardboard and or newspaper, then peastraw, then bark mulch like pine it naturally suppresses weeds, also this mainly suppresses the old weeds, some will naturally pop up in the mulch as it breaks down from any seeds or new running weeds from lawns or fence lines etc. I'm creating a brand new cutting flower bed in our orchard, trying to spray the woody weeds (different ones here in our country) and then a general spray possibly a few times a few weeks apart, then layering cardboard on the stubborn areas, thick newspaper on the others, then using some cut up branches from tree pruning, then peastraw, then compost, then rinsed off fresh kelp seaweed from our local beach, then bark mulch, leave it to break down over our mostly wet winter here. Then come spring after the last frost I'll begin planting out seedling started in trays. I'll have to maintain the weeding as we get a lot of wind, may try spot treatment dab on weed killers but see how we go. Because of our compacted clay soil the lasagne gardening style seems to work well. One think I found was running weeds tried to creep into the mulch so wil try to cut out large gutters and weed spray these. Then mostly I just dig blood and bone into the planting holes. Using leaf mulch around plant bases can work too. Lots of different methods I think it can depend on what you need. I found the weed suppressant mat wasn't permeable enough for water, in a heavy rain the mulch washed off areas since the water wasn't absorbed fast enough into the soil, and then weeds actually grew on top of it anyway from seed so a waste of money in my opinion. Try libraries for newspaper, and maybe a big white ware or electronics store for cardboard.