If MiraceGro and StaGreen contain any fertilizer then I don't want it. Why? Since all container plants have to be fed in some fashion much more often than in-ground plants what difference does it make if the mix comes with some already in it? If you want the mix to be strictly fertilizer free then you'll have to do as Joe suggested, make your own. Even the so-called "organic" mixes have fertilizers in them. They are just different types - dehydrated chicken manure, feather meal, cottonseed meal, etc. rather than slow release N-P-K and micro-minerals. And you pay a great deal more for them. When people say there's no point in going organic in containers, I shake my head, it almost gets me angry.. You can make a great environemnt for your containers just as you do in your soil.. No point in getting bent out of shape Joe because the argument is valid. Just don't take it out of context. Organic fertilizers will not work in a container unless you also add the beneficial bacteria required to convert them to a form usable by the plants. Sterile potting mixes do not have those bacteria. They must be added by the grower in some form. You do that by adding inoculated with mycorizziah fungi, and other beneficial bacteria. and/or compost. In other words, make your own. So if you are going to make your own mix, why pay for the expensive "organic" potting mixes? Miracle Grow, StaGreen, FoxFarm, ProMix BX, Metro Mix 360 and many other brands of potting mixes also have mycorrhizal fungi already added to them too. For 1/3 of the price of the fancy mixes. So if you don't want to buy all the ingredients to make your own mix, if you don't have or want to buy compost and/or mycor fungi to add to the mix, if you don't want ANY fertilizers in the mix, and if you don't trust any of the commonly used brands of potting mix available then you are up the creek without a paddle when it comes to container gardening. For the last time, this is a Container Gardening forum discussion and is discussed there ALL the time and that forum contains tons of information on all aspects of this issue including recipes for make-your-own mixes, the reasons and need for inoculating mixes, the issues associated with the "organic" mixes, the problems with using them in containers, explanations for why containers must be fertilized so frequently, and why "houseplants" have nothing in common with growing vegetables, etc. For what it is worth I have been in the nursery/landscaping business for over 50 years. I container garden extensively as well as in ground and have for decades. I have used the 5-1-1 mix but prefer ProMix BX over any other mix but when I run out I have used both MG and StaGreen with no problems and prefer StaGreen because it has bark fines added. I routinely inoculate all containers regardless of the brand with my homemade and manured compost and feed all containers weekly with liquid organic supplements. How you choose to do it is up to you. Dave

Regarding D&D for mulch - or for any product they sell - buyer beware! We purchased loam and mulch from them, but what we soon found out was that the products contained construction demolition debris. Our yard has various fragments of glass, asphalt shingles, plastics, metals, wires, wire covering, nails, screws, mirrors, vinyl tile, grout, etc... etc... We have tried for 5 years to get D&D to do the right thing by completely removing the solid waste for which they are responsible, but they have yet to take adequate measures to do so. We just want our once beautiful yard back. The MassDEP issued a Notice of Non-Compliance to D&D on behalf of our yard, and we prevailed in civil court, yet our yard remains unsafe and unusable. More details, as well as photos and images of legal documents are depicted on a 'Buyer Beware - D&D Mulch and Landscape' page I created in an effort to prompt restorative action from D&D. On a related note, I found this website/thread when googling 'D&D termites', as a local exterminator told me this AM that he signed three customers this summer because they purchased mulch from D&D that contained termites. I am making every effort to verify this information, but have yet to do so. When verified, I will update. Here is a link that might be useful: Buyer Beware - D&D Mulch and Landscape

Not a bad idea for anyone to check their oil every week. If you're going through a quart plus per week, you're either driving a mosquito fogger or road oiler. Neither is good or a normal condition, not even for a full sized car with a v-8. As to your intermittent drive ability problem, that's probably not anything too expensive. The trick is to get it to malfunction when someone has test equipment hooked up to see what's going on with it. The "when ever i was at a stop sign or traffic light the car would start shaking and die so when ever stopped I had to keep the engine revved" part of the story sounds kind of like an idle air control or maybe mass air flow sensor problem to me. A stuck open EGR valve and who knows what else could also make it do that kind of thing. That's just a wild arse guess on my part. You can try rapping on the mass air flow sensor with it idling in your driveway and see if it acts up. That's a shade tree test that's worked for me in the past, but still not a substitute for a guy with test equipment who knows what he's doing. Good luck with it.

You're right, funnycide, in that we probably won't need more than a one ton unit. I believe the Acadia is making a two ton unit for radiant heat, but even that is too big for us and I've put the question to the firm as to whether or not a one ton unit is in the works. From what I've read, the Acadia is assembled from off-the-shelf, standard parts. How they are put together is new. A "local" dealer is located half-an-hour from us. From what I've read, installation is on the high-end of traditional systems -- nothing like geothermal. But we've a long way to go before settling on the Acadia, like I said, because we don't want an oversized system. I know it would kill the air conditioning, if nothing else. One of the reasons I really like the idea of the Acadia is that we will get gouged if we go with propane gas. Our local dealer charges an exorbitant amount if you use just a little gas. For example, our friends have a gas cookstove. Two years ago they were paying upwards of $7/unit because they used so little. We will not reap the economies of scale with gas. Also, with electric there is the possibility of photo volataic. We're being cautious with this. Watching the internet for reports on the company and it's product because we don't want to get burned with a flash-in-the-pan but don't want to pass up a really good, new technology either. I know that I'd buy a hypercar from the Rocky Mountain Institute in a heartbeat if I were loaded, new technology and start-up company and all.