"It works"? ONLY if you have a Mg deficiency. In any other application it has only the potential to limit. The only exception to that statement I can think of would occur in the potentiality of there being too much Ca available and an excess of Mg was required to keep a workable balance between Ca and Mg. Some people think greener automatically means healthier. It doesn't. You can make your plant greener by providing nutrients it doesn't need - nutrients that can only limit the plant's potential - just as Epsom salts does if there is already an adequate supply of Mg in the soil. If a grower is repotting as needed and using an appropriate fertilizer, there should be no reason to ever apply supplemental Mg to your potted plants. The practice is far more likely to end up being a negative than a positive, even if the grower does prefer being fooled by using an excess of one nutrient to mask a deficiency of another, or to hide a problem that might be cultural in nature (other than nutritional). There simply is no substitute for a well-reasoned nutritional supplementation program - all the nutrients used by plants, provided in as close to the ratio at which the plant actually uses the nutrients, and at a concentration high enough to ensure no deficiencies yet low enough that it doesn't impede the plant's ability to take up water (and the nutrients dissolved in that water). Adding a little of this and that in order to make a plant greener or ______ (pick an adjective) is what growers who lack a basic understanding of a plant's nutritional needs resort to. Al

princesspez - Whee - this is a really oldie but goodie post. In re-reading it, I have confirmed what the writers have offered. Perhaps at the time of reading them, I was too busy "doing my own thing" to really appreciate the great advice. However, your recent post mentions "adding more wine" throughout the year. Personally, I wouldn't disturb the wine/mother combination until it has reached it's final fermentation. It may take several months - and when it tastes as you like, remove the "mother" and start another batch if you like. Strain out the mother and save it - or start anew. Then I bring the completed vinegar to a boil to stop any tail ends of "mother" left that would continue fermentation, and store in a capped bottle for present use. You could measure the acidity with a meter if you like, and if you intend to use it for pickling - it should be OK as long as it is 5% - as mine turned out to be). I hope to do some string beans this next summer with white wine vinegar - and perhaps now that I'm thinking about it, should start the wine "cooking" now. The instructions on the commercial "mother" is as follows: Use a clean 1 gallon jar or bottle. Add to the culture: 16 oz. of wine. 8 oz. of water. Air is necessary for conversion of alcohol to vinegar so plug opening with cloth - I used cheesecloth and a rubber band. Keep in 80 to 90 degree temperatures. Complete conversion is possible in 3 months. Use the finished vinegar as a culture to make more vinegar using the same proportions. The instructions don't continue to include stopping the fermentation - but I remember inquiring at that time and so did the boil step as well. About sourdough bread - since my posting, bread making has improved somewhat. For what it's worth, I have added potato water (heating to 80 degrees and adding yeast and sugar for proofing), in the recipe I'm using in place of the water called for. It seems to give my bread a lighter consistency. One other "helpful hint - from ???) is to allow the bread to rise slowly, acquiring more air. I put the dough in my microwave - no heat) until it rises, rather than a warmer room temperature might be. Also brush the bread with water both before rising and before baking - nice crusty crusts. I add back water and flour to the culture and store in the fridge. Take it out the day before, and let it "do its thing" all day - smells great. My son (my critique person) really liked the last bakings. He puts grated roman cheese on it - and toasts. Anyway, this is my upate. Just my 2 c's. Bejay

I DO NOT recommend cleaning the stainless steel carafes with automatic dishwasher detergent of any kind as I tried this method with soaking it with boiling water and dish washing detergent overnight and my coffee carafe had a terrible taste and odor of the dishwashing detergent for several weeks thereafter. And yes, I washed and rinsed it out thoroughly afterwards to remove the detergent slime residue. Researching alternatives I decided to try the Oxi clean method since it is made from natural ingredients. Also, I achieved total success in a few minutes with no scrubbing or soaking, it was literally like magic! Here's what I did: first I put a kettle of water on the stove to boil. Then while waiting for the water to boil I filled my carafe with the hottest tapwater available at my kitchen sink to preheat the carafe. Once the kettle of water reached boiling I emptied the tap water out of the carafe poured in 1/4 cup of Oxsee clean powder into the carafe then immediately began pouring the boiling water from the kettle into the carafe. Important this must be done in the kitchen sink or over the sink. As I was pouring the boiling water into the carafe, The Oxi clean began to foam so much so that it began to overflow out of the carafe and into my sink. It was nothing short of a science experiment! I observed the foaming action and streams of brown gunk were coming out with the overflowing foam. I happened to have the carafe lid in the sink so I allowed the overflowing foam to pour on it and into its innards where the coffee flows through and dark brown solution came out the opposite ends of the lid so I knew it was getting cleaned as well. A minute or so later The foaming began to subside and I noticed the carafe was only about a third full and it looked pretty clean and so I put my dish wand (one of those sponges on a stick you can buy at a grocery or big box store) inside and swirled the solution around to insure complete coverage. I poured the remaining solution through the carafe lid to further clean it then I rinsed the carafe with water and it was amazing. Perfectly clean and did not smell like soap or anything. I did give it a wash with the usual mild dish soap just to make sure any residue was washed away. I was absolutely amazed at the results and I even was pleased that I could get the innards of the carafes lid clean throughout where the coffee flows through. No soaking or scrubbing was necessary. My carafe was a medium brown color inside to begin with and I wonder if this method might need to be done twice on those that have so much buildup that they are almost black inside. In any event, I'm sure this will help any situation and best of all there is NO detergent smell or taste left behind to ruin future coffee flavors. I do recommend using potholders when pouring the boiling water into the carafe just in case the hot Oxi clean foam gets on your hand while holding the carafe you don't burn yourself. This is SO MUCH better than using automatic dishwasher detergent of any kind.

Jo, Sadly there's almost nothing to do at this late time. Only with-in maybe the first hour if you sprayed heavily with water you might save the big stuff but will lose a lot in looks the first year or so. I sprayed some of my plants with Deet for protection for myself and it over sprayed some of my plants. Washed off the best I could a day later but with-in a month, they all died. Take pictures and call the police to record the event and ask your insurance agent about refund or at lest could maybe write if off income tax if you file the long form. A little is better than nothing. Police report is needed to do anything first. Ask a local nursery for a estimate of damage for cost replacement. Trees are more valuable than you think.