@Larry WOW I saw those other pictures and the difference is just amazing!! Wasn't the last picture only a week ago? They're definitely outpacing mine. Very fortunately, I haven't had any problems "potting up". Boy, I'm grateful for that since my timing is off and slow to get the ground decent, start the silly things in pots that are too small OR the soil mix I made wasn't proper. I think some of my tomato plants have been potted up three times since seeding. I didn't kill any but I bet it stunted them. All the tomato plants that got damaged are doing OK. Dawn and Jay were right. New growth came in and only those older leaves have the damage. I cannot believe every one of them are still alive! Thirty tomato plants! (that must still survive the onslaught of bugs) A few days ago I had to sit -right in the garden while working the soil. I just couldn't move well any other way. I commit to bathing as soon as I got indoors. I was trying to hoe. Apparently, Bill was watching. He walked over to the shed, grabbed this old concrete tool, lopped off part of the handle and threw it down by me. The length was accurate and the leverage I gained was perfect. It's amazing how a little change can make a huge difference. Today I couldn't sit at all so I worked on compost piles standing up. I'll let Bill see this picture. I know he can make me one of those. He brought me over a step stool just like the one you're using and my seven year old is always carrying it around the garden for me to sit on. He's the water boy and an OK weeder, too. So far I've had three different sources suggest cereal rye for ground cover so it must be really good! Today Bill installed the compost bins for a new plan we came up with. I dug up the dirt from beneath the old compost pile and planted a tomato in it a week ago. By far it is my most prosperous plant! I decided to put the compost bins right on top of the garden bed to let it work itself over time just like that one did. I made them small - no bigger than 1 yard sq so I don't have too much trouble turning the entire thing. When I turn the pile from the first bin to the next I'll leave about 4-6" of the compost where it lie. I found out exactly the ratios I need for effective composting and over time, the entire area will have a compost pile atop it. This will limit my garden space for veggies this year but the sacrifice will mean less work getting that soil ready next year and the cover crop, too. If I have enough browns I think I can create about 1sq yard of compost every two weeks or less. @Dawn "sow them very thickly in the cells in flat inserts, water lightly, keep the fan blowing on them and otherwise ignore them" I hadn't thought of using a fan since my tomato seedlings were small. That might help a lot. I must reuse a lot of my soil so I'm sure to cook it in the oven before I reuse it on seedlings (boy, does it stink). I must be watering too much and it very well could be the environment. Come to think of it, I have more trouble with dampening off when they're in the kitchen window versus the dry idle store room in a south window. Maybe I'll "sow them very thickly in the cells in flat inserts, water lightly, keep the fan blowing on them and otherwise ignore them". I've "ignored" other seedlings in that back room because it's easy to forget about them and .. guess what? I went and found them thriving. Sounds like a plan to me! I'm going to try sage and oregano again with some used miracle grow potting soil and sterilize it first. I LOVE to cook and want herbs SO badly. No. I NEED an herb garden. I imagine how many wonderful trace minerals and vitamins are contained in freshly picked herbs. I'm not real certain what it was about the compost dirt. The compost is very old and well aged and no chemicals at all. The tomato plants recovered but they took longer than the others after transplant shock. It very well could be I damaged those and it's not the compost soil at all. I have since marked them to watch the differences in their growth. I bet they do better, but their transplant shock was far greater. Plants.. weird. Since they eventually recovered I went ahead and amended the soil with compost on the ones I planted today to help avoid compaction. Today I transplanted a few of the tomato plants from old coffee cans containing makeshift soil. They are only about six inches tall. I noticed the roots went all the way down to the bottom of the can. That little bit lifted my spirits a lot for I know it means they were very healthy and strong. I managed to fertilize these old Irises in our yard earlier this spring hoping they'll bloom - even a few - until I can get them divided this fall. These were present from long before we arrived to this house and there are so many from looking at the foliage ... at least a hundred that I can count? I've never seen any bloom. Little miss and I walked over to the Irises along side the fence where, surprisingly, three beautiful white blossoms were showing their glory. She joyfully screeched to high heavens as she ran and bounced over to greet them. Something happened to my heart right then. ♥ Yeah. I gotta get those bulbs divided and cleaned up this fall. bon

Thanks Karen, I believe all is well here so far. But yeah... they'll make us worry some no doubt. Be of good courage. ;) We checked Missy's first 2 eggs the evening after she laid each. It was dark and we did not disturb then. But she's been in the box more than out of it since and we did just confirm yesterday that she's incubating 5 blue eggs now. I like to keep the nesting as stress-free as possible for them, but it's ok to check once laying begins. They get over it quickly and will not abandon the nest for your minor intrusions. Not sure what to advise about the temps... we still face the same delimna here on that score. I'm hoping we don't get another hard freeze and that Missy manages to keep the whole clutch warm and viable. best luck to you and yours, Kenn

Karen - Seems your female is a bit ahead of schedule... But I would hope you still have a good chance for hatchlings if she's incubating and staying in the box a lot. I suspect she knows she has to keep those eggs warm, and will try to. Connie - Sorry I know next to nothing about ducks. I would worry too if they're not incubating yet. Our Missy Blue has been incubating 5 blue eggs day and night for the past 10days. She spends most of her time on the nest, with just short breaks during the day. Her Mr.B is feeding her thru the hole like a champ. It's also a good bit warmer here I'm sure, altho we've approached freezing two nights since the last egg was laid. I wish best luck to all of us, Kenn

Hi all, I am in Australia and raising mealworms for the local Noisy Miners. I have tried this mealworm thing before to no avail. I have three full tubs of mealworms (from tiny to fully grown) under the house that are brimming with grain mites. I'm still going to strain these and feed them to the 'locals' but I need to buy more worms to begin a new farm. I've had to consider heating as the new colony will live under the house. The old one was inside the house and when the mites broke out, I had a LOT of cleaning to do! After looking into all heating options (and reading all of your advice), I am thinking of buying a ceramic heating lamp with a thermostat. The basic idea is to put the beetles/babies container directly under the lamp with empty containers either side (for the egg-filled strained beetle subtrate). These 'sister containers' will benefit from the lamp, but to avoid overheating of the beetles, I will put the thermostat sensor in that box. Hopefully, by keeping an eye on the temperature and humidity (with a cheap Thermometer & Humidity Gauge) I will avoid those horrible mites. Oh, and for anybody that is interested, I've been playing around with a beetle container that I saw on youtube with the mite infested beetles to find what works best before I begin the new colony. So far, the best that I have found was http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKJ52gW8i9M He does call it a 'Superworm box' but I've found that it works really well for the mealies (in a smaller box). I used a different substrate though, a roughly blended mix of corn flakes, wheat bix and oats. Instead of filling the bottom box, I gave it a little shake and let the loose stuff fall. When the beetles began to lay, the eggs/babies fell through and thrived in the lower box. Oh, I also used two of the same containers (he used a plastic container and a kitty litter container) and drilled air holes (with mesh) in the sides so the babies can breathe. I'll let you all know how it goes :)