kimmsr, you are right that fly larva of any sort are an indication of a bit too much moisture for perfect compost. Then again, some fly larva in the compost does not mean that the compost is broken and it isn't reason to worry. It is only perhaps reason to add more dry browns or pee in it a bit less. As to the difference between BSF larva and house fly larva, they look very different if you observe details carefully. Now BSF larva are quite happy in really wet nasty conditions but I have also seen them in much drier conditions that are just fine for worms and compost. BSF larva in compost or a worm bin do not automatically mean the conditions are wrong for worm composting or regular composting. kcchuck, Sounds like you are doing well with your compost in your situation. You may want to let the compost be a little bit drier though, especially if you ever notice unpleasant odor coming from it. Keep up the good work!!!! Here is a link that might be useful: TCLynx

Forget 'weather' and instead think 'climate'. All herbs originated from Somewhere, and once you know where Somewhere is, you can find out what the prevailing climate is Somewhere. Hence, you can find out just what conditions each herb prefers, and you can do your best to emulate those conditions. For example, from your list: Lemongrass is native mainly to South Asia. Climate in South Asia is tropical or nearly so. Tropical climate means hot and humid all year round, with frequent (often daily) heavy rain. Rain runs off quickly except in monsoonal seasons where flooding can occur. From that, you can deduce the following: lemongrass likes the heat - that means HEAT. It likes a lot of water, but prefers that water to drain away quickly. You can also deduce that: it doesn't take kindly to frost, and may not survive a severe winter. It may need to be brought indoors if you want to keep it alive, but it must have plenty of water. From the fact that it's called lemonGRASS, you can deduce that it likes plenty of sunlight, and that it can be cut down heavily and still grow. Cut, grow, cut, grow. You can research the rest of the herbs on your list in the same way to learn what is likely to do well where you live, and what won't without special care. Obviously, outside its preferred climate, a plant won't behave it quite the same way as 'at home'. It could grow more slowly; it might die extremes of weather (too hot or too cold); its growth might be stunted. Etc. Take a look, while you're researching, at the temperatures the plant prefers to germinate from seed. That will tell you a lot, too. If it lives at high altitudes, it's probably accustomed to cooler temps, and its seeds might like refrigerating or freezing (stratifying) before they'll germinate. So - botany and geography can't really be separated, when it comes to plants! I live in the subtropics, so most plant will grow here all year round, and do very well, But I can't grow things like French Tarragon or Meadowsweet, and coriander is a winter-only crop, because even in shade the temperatures here are just too hot for them. The link below is a good starting point for finding out the native habitat of a lot of herbs. The URL below is a good site for learning about the kinds of conditions herbs require (including in many cases, temperatures). http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/D_search.html Here is a link that might be useful: herbs and spices

Graywings--yes, the $45 one is exactly the one I have. it's not 'vintage'--I bought it new about 20 years ago--at an outlet center. For FIVE $$$$. No, not afraid of it leaking. It seals well. I did have the gasket replaced on it a few years ago, to be on the safe side, but as I said, I've been using it for decades with no problem. I usually use mine when I'm sitting doing something like reading, watching TV. Don't take it to bed with me. We've got apillow top mattress--those things are like furnaces, once I'm in bed, I'm generally too warm no matter what the temp.

I'm having a slow day, and Ken's response above has motivated me to talk about winter. So, what is winter? It depends entirely on the definition you use. The one we usually encounter in the mainstream press is the one I find the least useful: winter is the time between the winter solstice and the spring equinox (i.e. around December 21st to around March 21st in the Northern hemisphere). I think there are two far more logical definitions: meteorological winter is the coldest three months of the year (December, January, and February in the Northern Hemisphere); solar winter is the quarter of the year when the sun is lowest in the sky (between around November 6th and February 6th in the Northern hemisphere). Using the meteorological definition, the middle of winter is in the middle of January. Using the solar definition, the middle of winter is the winter solstice on December 21st. So, depending on your definition, December 21st either marks the beginning of winter, a random day in the first third of winter, or the middle of winter. If you are wondering when sunscreen might be necessary for an outdoor excursion, it would be wise to keep solar winter (and solar summer - between May 6th and August 6th) in mind. If you want to know when it's going to be coldest, use the meteorological definition. I can't think of a good reason to use the astronomical definition (solstice to equinox), yet it won't go away. Maybe somebody can convince me why it's useful.