Here's a little geology for anyone interested--more in-depth than necessary, but kind of neat I think: The group of minerals to which vermiculite and the various micas belong, the phyllosilicates (or clay minerals), is interesting. There are two basic components: the SiOâ tetrahedra (T) and the XOâ or X(OH)â octahedra (O), in which X is a cation, usually Al or Mg. In a mica, two T layers surround an O layer, forming a sandwich, and multiple sandwiches are bonded by interlayer cations. I think it's reasonable to think of micas and chlorites (very similar structure) as "complete" phyllosilicates, composed of repetitions of the entire T-O-T/interlayer cation sequence. They form in metamorphic and cooler igneous environments, and are moderately unstable at surface conditions, so they weather into other clay minerals. Clay minerals can sort of be lined up according to how much of the T-O-T/interlayer cation sequence is still intact; some minerals are T-O-T with no interlayer cations; some are T-O; some are just O. Depending on the exact structure remaining, it is possible for some of these minerals to capture water molecules and expand, or to hold onto varying amounts of nutrients in the form of cations. Contrary to what demeter said above, vermiculite does not break into sheets of mica; mica weathers to vermiculite. Vermiculite can bond to water, whether it has been flaked into smaller pieces or not, because the bonding takes place at the molecular level. The people who said mica are probably correct. It's not just that it's shiny, but also that if it's a phyllosilicate and you can see individual grains of it easily, there is a good chance it's mica, because when it weathers to other minerals, the grain size tends to get microscopically small. Someone above also mentioned shale particles: shale is composed largely of clay minerals, including some micas, but in my experience, the micas flake off of the rest of the rock very easily so any shiny flakes in the soil may be mica that came out of a shale, but are probably not technically fragments of shale.

Deb, 2 words....YOU ROCK! ok maybe a few more words: You have seriously outdone yourself. This is my first swap and I am sure none will ever compare. Now the problem is how much bigger I can make my garden without my wife yelling, or thinking im crazier than I am! How do you not plant every single one new tomato seed I recvied!!?!?!?!? Thanks again, you really made a lot of people happy, and thank you to everyone else for sending in some AMAZING seeds. I am going to overdose on Lycopene this year!

I am not linking to an external source just making HTML within the editing box given by Garden Web. So here's my dilemma. I can remove to extra bullets above the pics using (p) but I have to run all of my script together as follows: This is how it looks now with an "invisible" line of equal signs so that I can keep my entries separate. (a href="http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m114/nettasaura/seedtradepics/33247996.jpg" target="_blank") (img src="http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m114/nettasaura/seedtradepics/th_33247996.jpg" width=60 height=60)(/a) (b)AGERATUM(/b) '06(T) - "Blue Mink" - (i)(ageratum houstonianum)(/i) - blue - 2 packs/30 seeds each =========================================================== (a href="http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m114/nettasaura/seedtradepics/AlyssumRosieODay.jpg" target="_blank") (img src="http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m114/nettasaura/seedtradepics/th_AlyssumRosieODay.jpg" width=60 height=60)(/a) (b)ALYSSUM(/b) '06(C) - "Rosie O'Day" - (i)(lobularia maritima)(/i) - pink - 1 pack/50+ seeds each =========================================================== Apparently in order to get rid of those top bullets I have to run everything together like this. And as you can see that would make it very hard (especially in that narrow editing box you are given)to make quick and efficient trades when I have to dig through all of this with no separation for entries...and I have an update of at least a hundred items coming in the next few weeks. (a href="http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m114/nettasaura/seedtradepics/33247996.jpg" target="_blank") (img src="http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m114/nettasaura/seedtradepics/th_33247996.jpg" width=60 height=60)(/a) (b)AGERATUM(/b) '06(T) - "Blue Mink" - (i)(ageratum houstonianum)(/i) - blue - 2 packs/30 seeds each(p)(a href="http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m114/nettasaura/seedtradepics/AlyssumRosieODay.jpg" target="_blank") (img src="http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m114/nettasaura/seedtradepics/th_AlyssumRosieODay.jpg" width=60 height=60)(/a) (b)ALYSSUM(/b) '06(C) - "Rosie O'Day" - (i)(lobularia maritima)(/i) - pink - 1 pack/50+ seeds each(p) So do I just have to live with the extra bullets in order to make my life easier? Thanks, Netta

Hi everyone, I really regret not working out the furniture details of my island. I was so focused on the function of my kitchen and choosing finishes. Now if I want to make any changes I have to act fast (and I do want to make changes to make it look more like furniture). Please help me work out if I can add two posts similar to mags kitchen posted at Aug 7 at 0:01? Here for reference is both sides of my kitchen island Business side: seating sides (there will be 5 counter height stools)