hiddengarden-I can't stress enough what SB said about getting a thermostat for your fan. You only need one thermostat that you put in the center of the grhouse on the side, and wire it to the fan. Set the temp that you want the fan to come on to and you are done! My fan comes on throughout the day in the winter when the sun is out, and there is no way that I could be in there all the time to turn it on and off. $ 35 is a reasonable price, but you could probably get it cheaper, locally at a Graingers-or some store similiar to Graingers-just Google Graingers and see if they have a store near you. Same with BWI-which is a large wholesale grhouse/landscaper supply business. I get all my soiless mixes, pots, flats, ferts and other stuff from them. Just google BWI and see where they serve. What I was talking about above was the sprayer that you could use to spray any type of pesticide. Its only about $4 and its a plastic bottle that you attach to the end of the hose. Its a dilution sprayer, so even though it will spray 20 gallons of solution, the bottle is small, and you fill it with water and the concentrate amt that you need for 20 gallons and spray away. It is the only practical way to spray a larger grhouse. I just sprayed everything in one of my grhouses ( 30x65) and it took me about 20 mins. Kmart has them in 5 gal or 20 gal-but keep in mind that the bottle is small. They are similar to the "dial" sprayer that goes at the end of a hose ( which I can never figure out the rates with the dial). When you start seeds-you don;t have to keep to the soil temps that they say to germinate the seeds. For instance if the seed packet says 65 degrees and L and 5-7 days-all that means is that if you were to have the soil temp at 65, then the sds would germ in the 5-7 day range. If you had the soil temp at 60, then it would take a few days more. Higher temp would be a day less-give or take. The L means that the seed needs light to germ, so you don't cover the seed with soil. I never run lights at night. The D means dark-and so I use black plastic to cover the seed flat with so no light gets in. pcdur.....how I germ large amts of seeds at once ( anywhere from 300-5000 at a time of one kind )is first whether I want to grow them as plugs-and transplant them in about 4-5 wks from sowing or in seed flats ( about 300/flat) and transplant them when they start to show their first true leaves ( about 2 wks from sowing). I have a seeding machine that allows me to use plug sheets-but since I don't know if you have one, I'll skip that option. What I do first is fill the seed flats with a soiless mix-peat based. Then I spray them with a preventative rate of fungicides ( Clearys and Subdue). I remove any sticks or clumps of peat from the top and then I sprinkle about 300 of whatever seed that I am doing over the top all over the flat. I have all the flats lined up ready to go so I do all the spreading of the seed at once in all the flats. I do not cover the seeds with soil-unless they are huge-which is rare. I have sheets of plastic that I precut to be slightly bigger ( about 5" bigger on all sides) than 6 flats together (2 rows of 3 flats-so its a square-sort of). I lay the plastic out and on the edge of the top of the plastic I lay the first row of 3 flats, then the next row and then I flip the plastic over all the flats so that the back of the plastic is tucked under the back row of flats. I hold the plastic up while I mist all the seeds and the underneath of the plastic, then drop the plastic over the flats and be sure to tuck the plastic under the sides and front of the flats so it is air tight. You should see condensation on the plastic throughout the day. Each morning I lift the plastic up and mist the seeds and the plastic and retuck. As soon as I see that the seeds have started to germinate ( over 50%) then I remove the plastic and mist twice a day. This is when you may have to water the flats-but only if it looks like the soil is starting to dry out. When I mist-I have a small mister head that fits at the end of the hose and I use really hot water ( to keep the soil temps up)-it won't be too hot if you use the mister head, but once I start to water, I use tepid to warm water. If you were only to use one flat at a time-you could use Saran wrap-but I have smaller pieces of plastic because its easier to tuck under all the sides-thats the key-to keeping the seeds moist when they are germ. As the seeds start to put out leaves, I start to let the soil dry out some to avoid a fungus and to promote good roots. Roots grow in dryer soil because there is more oxygen in dryer soil, and roots need the oxygen to grow. Also I never water at night because that is when the roots grow, so I wait until the am to water anything that is dry. Seeds that are not covered with soil germinate faster than when you cover them. That is one reason why I don't cover. I think that is everything-but I may have left out something, or not done a good job explaining a step-or why I do something a particular way-so please feel free to ask any question. I wish I could post pictures here, but haven't figured it out yet ( well, honestly, I haven't tried yet-just have heard that it is a pain! lol too lazy)

I agree that I jumped to an unwarranted conclusion as to the reason for the licence not being changed ... but I was thinking more of the unfortunate situation if people were unskilled, rather than being critical of the lady. If she felt that I was being critical of her, I apologize wholeheartedly to her for that. Apart from that, I've been thinking of making this thread for a while. I don't feel a need to alter the main points of my story, though ... and if I implied that I thought that many kids aren't so qualified, I didn't intend that, either. All that I was saying was that I felt that all children should be encouraged and helped to learn how to look after themselves. Also that they should feel a responsibilty to do their share of chores around a household which they inhabited, as they became able to do so. I didn't refer to the money end of it, as I've said quite a lot about that before and wanted to confine this message to one simple, uncomplicated topic ... but I agree that such is a necessary skill, as well. I hope that your children and others that you know grow up developing not only the simple skills of managing their daily lives, as referred to, but also a number of the potential capabilities and skills which lie semi-dormant within their being. One of the wonderful opportunities in being a teacher is to engage with their students and to become sensitive to the talents which each possesses, then to encourage the child and parents to awareness and to develop those potentialities as they are able. And of being a parent, as well, to be sensitive to the potential which each of his/her children possesses and encourage the child to develop their possibilities. ole joyful

I think Robin did what she felt was right. I debated over the leash too, although I have one & have not used it. I know everyone says it takes patience & time but it's not like we're strolling aorund practicing these things. Usually I have things I'm holding or pushing so I don't have the ability to wait out the process which can become dangerous if I test it outdoors. As with many things I do think that some of these things come with time all on their own. For example, my daughter who is almost 17 mos old now occassionally walks holding my hand & I didn't really do anything different than I had been. It started 2 wks ago when my father & I were walking along the Chelsea Piers. She was in a safe environment where if she ran off she wasn't going to get hurt. Well I even video taped it b/c she was reaching out for his hand & walkign so nicely with my Dad. I have not tried any of this while walking on thr sidewalk yet b/c I'm afraid & b/c we really never go walking like that either. We usualy hop in the car & go to whereever our destination is & if it's a store I always have her in a stroller or shopping wagon so I never really let her practice b/c it's too much trouble for me. I think learning to do things earlier or better comes with the opportunities you really have to do them. For example, my daughter was climbing stairs before she was walking (she took 1st steps at 10-1/2 mos & started walkign all the time a few days before her 1st bdy). Since she was probably 13 mos old we no longer had to use any gates or watch her. She goes up & down the stairs all by herself. I know many kids aren't allowed that opportunity b/c they don't have stairs at home or b/c the parents are too afraid to let them practice & thus they are 2+ & still need to be watched or held while climbing stairs. It was the best thing she ever learned to do which made things safer for her & less difficult for us. Michie

Dandy, I can only go by my experience. My grains do not make new ones overnight; the existing grains grow slowly and need to be separated eventually. I just remembered something. When I first started making kefir, the first couple of batches weren't quite "right" either. The gentleman who gave me the grains used only organic milk and he told me that I should use the same. I did not. If you are using a milk other than the grains were used to, it may take a few culturings to get them acclimated. I do not seal a lid over the kefir when culturing. I use a wide mouth canning jar and purchased plastic lids, which I have cut most of the top away. I cut a circle to fit inside the lid out of plastic canvas with the large holes. The kefir may bubble a bit on top and in hot weather some will seep out over the lid (I put a saucer underneath to catch any overage). When I prepare my kefir to drink during my commute, I put it in a blender bottle with any flavorings I want and shake away. Upon opening the bottle, there is a definite fizz, like when you open a soda. The blender bottle gives me a smoother kefir than if I just shook it in a jar. That little stainless steel "springy thing" really makes a difference.