Nothing to quarrel with in your 1-8 list, but I would mention that perlite & vermiculite are very different in their effect on aeration. Perlite is actually a form of porous glass that is made from a mineral called obsidian (or an aluminum silicate rock). It's heated and kind of popped like popcorn. Vermiculite is mica that is treated in much the same way. Trapped moisture expands and creates lots of air pores in both products. In soils, perlite promotes drainage and improves porosity. It's also effective for starting seeds & cuttings. Actually, perlite holds quite a bit of water @ about 3/4 quart per gallon of perlite. The dry weight of perlite is about 7 lbs/cu ft. Wet, it weighs about 18 lbs for the same volume, so it holds more than 2-1/2 times it's weight in water. Vermiculite is about the same density, and has a even higher capacity for holding water and a very high cation exchange capacity. It also contains magnesium and potassium that are available for plant uptake, but it is not very durable and will compress if handled when wet. It also has a slightly higher pH than perlite. You probably should not depend on vermiculite for aeration as it collapses and loses its loft very easily. When I occasionally use it, I try to limit its presence in container soils to less than 10% of the total volume. Will Turface, sand, perlite and/or vermiculite add any nutrients/minerals as they break down? I would consider them inert, except for vermiculite, which can add some K and Mg. A couple of sites state that the optimal pH range for the solubility of certain minerals is between 5.0-5.5. I am just curious if this is only for very specific kinds of plants? And if not, why is a pH of 6.5-7.0 most recommended. I'll try not to complicate this, but some plants are able to add ions to the soil, changing soil solution pH to make other needed ions more readily available. We know there is a 'sweet spot' for mineral soils at around 6.2 - 6.7. I've always preferred to grow in a more acidic container soil. I even often add elemental S to certain soils to lower pH. Indoors, I add vinegar to my irrigation water at every watering. "Solubility of mineral nutrients are affected by substrate pH. Iron, manganes, boron, copper, and zinc are most soluble when pH is above 5.0 and below 5.5. On the contrary, as pH increases greater than 6.5, the availability of iron, manganese, boron, copper, and zinc decrease and micronutrient deficiencies symptoms begin to appear." Unless I misunderstand what you're pointing out, I see nothing contradictory about the original statement when the nutrients listed are considered as a group. Which of those ingredients is raising the natural acidity of the bark up to 6.5. Or is the bark that we are using treated in some way that the pH is raised? The bark is acidic, the Turface only mildly acidic (around 6.5), and the granite slightly basic. Because the bark pH is around 4.0 - 5.0 doesn't mean that when it's combined with other ingredients the o/a soil pH will be 4.0 - 5.0. The other soil ingredients buffer the pH of the bark. Is the top bark already composted somewhat and is that why it looks wet? . . . If I am correct, does the decomp of the top bark help provide nitrogen where the "raw" bark would not? The bark at the top IS damp, AND partially composted. I prefer this type of bark simply because it requires less N to compensate for N immobilization. Al

Posted by nightcrawler46 (My Page) on Tue, Mar 11, 14 at 21:21 True, seedlings dont NEED nutes if they're planted in cheap store-bought MG or some other crap, but if a proper medium is used they certainly need them after the first week. As a commercial organic grower in the southwest desert, I amend my fields with only phosphorous in the beginning ... @@@@@@@@@@@ Very interesting NEW concept to me. Is this also true during the growth season, or just for the seedlings ? I had been hearing for ever, before that all you need is the so-called ALL PURPOSE fertilizers with a 1-1-1 ratio (like 10-10-10 ;; 16-16-16 etc). Then we are told that the plants (in general) do not need nor use NPK at equal ratios. They (the proponents) say that what we need is a fertilizer with a 3-1-2 ratio (like 18 -6-12, 12-4-8 etc). So the latter has now become the new ALL PURPOSE fertilizer. Now what "Nightcrawler.." is talking about is totally new to me. That goes at 180 degree opposing to the current practice And phosphorus becomes dominant nutrient ( at least for peppers ) I AM CONFUSED. HELP, HELP, PLEASE. Has there been any scientific university study about this PHOSPHORUS issue ?

I went through the same exercise a year ago and chose the 36" Wolf cooktop, a Wolf single oven with a Wolf convection/microwave on top. I have been using them for four months and am very satisfied. I chose the cooktop because (1) Wolf has a good reputation for quality and service, (2) I liked the layout of the burners, the placement of the knobs on top and the backlit indicators that a burner was on, and (3) the appearance of the grates which are very solid. I was also influenced by the fact that we are using propane and Wolf makes both an LP and a NG version, rather than having the system retrofit by an installer, which is true for some brands. I cook a fair amount but don't need all the burners to be high BTUs as they are on the range tops. I purchased a separate All Clad griddle which straddles two burners nicely. Previously I had cooked only on electric stoves. The one thing I notice with the cooktop is the need to be careful not to turn the burners too high or the flames come up the sides of the pot and cause scorching. It may be that the Thermador star design is better in this regard as the Wolf burners appear to heat the edges of the pot faster than the interior of the bottom. However, the simmer is fantastic. It never needs to be adjusted. The ovens were a more difficult choice for me. I went with the Wolf in large part because of appearance. My ovens are placed next to the Sub Zero fridge and everything matches nicely. The regular single convection oven is a good size. It bakes and roasts well; the broiler is nothing special. I have put three trays of cookies in at once and they all cooked perfectly. You do have to remove the racks for cleaning. Some GE ovens are attractive because the racks can stay in. I notice that there is much more spattering of grease in a convection oven than my older conventional one. Therefore I remove unused racks when roasting meat or poultry. The controls look complicated but are actually fairly intuitive once you go through them once. All in all an excellent choice but I am not sure the performance is any better than less expensive ovens. I was unsure about the convection microwave. It is, as Wolf readily acknowledges, a Sharp or Panasonic product with an expensive trim kit. The exterior is black plastic and not up to the standard of the regular oven. However, the microwave works well. It has about 100 watts less power than a regular microwave but that does not seem to make a huge difference. I was surprised that I use the small convection oven as much as I do. I use it for warming bread or leftovers and cooking small pieces of fish or chicken. It heats up quickly and is probably much more energy efficient than using the large oven for these tasks. It worked well for baking a single pie crust but I use the larger oven for cakes. I also use the convection oven for warming plates or holding side dishes as I did not get a warming drawer. Hope this helps. Wolf was a good choice for me but I am sure there are other options.

countryboymo, I totally agree with "cold in the winter and warm in the summer" as being a lack of proper airflow. The reason registers/grilles are twice the size of the ductwork is because there is a "Free area" factor with them. Registers/grilles are louvered and the louvers block airflow with translates to about 50%-60%. So a 14"x6" equals 84 sq in, and at 50% free area thats 42 sq in. The stud space at 3.5"x14" equals 49 sq in. A 3 ton unit should circulate aprox 1200 cfm and if the return is sized for 500 fpm then you would need 2.4 sq ft total free area (346 sq in) aprox seven 14"x6" returns. First I would address your situation with balancing dampers, each branch should have one, if not install them there easy to do. With all the dampers open, tweak down the rooms that may be over ventilated to force air into the rooms that are under ventilated. Stay Warm! Dan Martyn