Tom, take a 3-4" cutting from the mom tree. Dip in rooting hormone. (optional) You can either use peat pellets, peat pots, or small plastic pots. Fill w/a well-draining soil but add some peat, too. Remove bottom foliage of cutting, leaving only 2-4 leaves on the upper portion. W/a pencil or finger, make a small hole where cutting will slip in after using rooting hormone. Cover hole w/soil so cutting stands erect. Make a make-shift gh by covering w/plastic. Cut a slit in plastic for air vent circulation. Keep cutting in bright light but out of direct sun. If you plan on doing this in winter, then bottom heat in important. That's one reason it's best to attempt cuttings in late spring/summer. As soon as you see new growth, slowly remove plastic. The first day, remove about an hour and work your way up until there's no need for the plastic. The soil should be barely moist, not totally dry but not wet either. Misting helps, too.. One reason I like peat pellets is cuttings do not need to be removed after roots set..after roots are established, the entire ball goes directly in a growing pot. When plant is ready to be set in a pot, a 4" pot is best. You can also add a mild solution of fertilizer and a product called Superthrive (hormone/vitamin) to the cutting/s. Both stimulate root growth. Good luck Toni

Willow tea is well known for its rooting ability. It contains a hormone that promotes rooting, salicylic acid. It also contains high concentrations of Indolebutyric acid (IBA), the same stuff that is synthesized for commercial rooting powders. But it is in its best concentration at the growing tips and during the active growing season. The closer the plant gets to dormancy, the less potent its abilty to encourage rooting. The same chemcial (salicylic acid) can be found in aspirin (just the plain stuff, like Bayers) so crushing up a baby aspirin or two in water will achieve the same thing. Honey contains natural fungicidal properties and antiseptic qualities which is why it is believed to aid in root development. But it is best to use raw honey, not processed honey that has been pasturized. This process will remove most of its rooting benefits.

Hi there all of you! Look I am a REAL amateur...and am growing roses.. and am rooting them... and its not hard at all. I tried to root about 5 cuttings...last fall and all of them budded...and leafed. I made a couple of mistakes...but I learned... and ONE...is alive..and growing. Hereis how: Old grandmothers..knew. That was my first lesson. How do you think they shared with neighbors? Well, just like me. I cut off the rose..in the fall... and I stuck the cuttings in juice bottles..with water.. They developed roots...little ones...and several didn't...but they all leafed. Its the " where you cut "..that is important. Amazing eh? I kept two of the smaller bottles..like olive bottles..( because they had cuttings only 5 inches high) in my bathroom window near the open window..( cracked open about 1 inch) These leafed in spring. The others also leafed. I merely took the ends...which had little roots.. and several didn't...( these I just dipped in rooting hormone and dipped a pencil in the dirt..and planted the branch) and planted them..in dirt you buy from wallmart..or anywhere : Potting Soil. I placed them outside. Lesson one: Don't put them down on a deck...Squirrels dig. Lesson two...you might lose some..to something that turns the branch dark...and they die. Lesson...several make it! This fall...I will do it again. Happy rooting!

I'm all over the map. I actually a weenie who enjoys reading up on food production methods, chemicals, etc. Natural resource managment is my field, and I teach a lot about various methods of growing things. Also thru that process I have developed local connections with people who farm. There's a whole controversy about the USDA label "organic" which many small growers feel is way to restrictive, and also way to bureaucratic and skewed in favor of large, commercial producers. I'm much more concerned about knowing where my food comes from, where the farms are and who the producers are than some type of label. I buy local or regional produce when I can. Most stuff I cannot afford to buy organic OR conventional out of season. For fruit, other than in-season, I mostly only eat apples and bananas which is all I can afford. I eat those conventional, and always peel apples. I can't afford many of the high pesticide veggies anyway. I buy organic celery, my one concession. I buy conventional potatoes and always peel. I can no longer eat green peppers so occasionally splurge on a conventional red pepper, which I can barely afford anyway so I don't buy organic. I'm lucky to have a great U-Pick place up the road for peaches, cherries, strawberries and some other fruits. I buy tomatoes in bulk from a produce farm and can for winter use. Also still lots of great farms in the area so local stores often carry regional produce. Meat is mostly a non issue for me. I eat so little of it. I can't really afford most fish, I buy it rarely but then follow the Monterey Bay Aquarium's recommendations. Excellent Web site they have on the subject. Don't get me started on what's happening to the oceans, it is such a tragedy. I've started buying the canned tuna and canned salmon in the health food store that is sustainably harvested. Since I use both the salmon and tuna as more of a condiment, even though they are twice the price of conventional, it isn't cost prohibitive for those small cans. I buy canned Pacific salmon for salmon patties. I eat freshwater fish from Michigan when I go every year. They have lots of contaminants, but I don't eat the fish that often. People say, "Aren't you worried about eating Lake Michigan fish?" and I say, "Well, that's why I have devoted my life to conservation!! As goes my Lake, so go I." If I was a meat eater, I would try to develop relationships with local producers. I know a farmer who produces local organic meat if I was so inclinded. There are lots of cooperatives here where you can get organics, if you can afford it. Cheese, milk, eggs, produce, the whole nine yards. There are even businesses that will deliver it to you straight from a Lancaster cooperative. I can't afford most cheese anyway, only eat a few kinds and can't afford organic. But I limit my consumption. I buy organic milk. Meat is actually an area I would seriously want to buy organic, considering most toxins concentrate in the fats of milk, cheese, meat. But since I eat those things so rarely, that's my compromise. Also from what I have tasted, organic free range poultry is superior. I don't like the other meats anyway so I can't really judge. For me, the most important thing in my food purchases is to support my LOCAL agriculture, and also local businesses. Even the local greengrocer, which has great prices, is a fun place to go. Most of the stuff comes from Mexico, but most of the shoppers are from there too! They carry stuff imported from the Middle East too. The store is filled with a whole variety of ethnicities. That's where I go for my out of season splurges. I enjoy educating myself about where my food comes from, and meeting and getting to know local producers and local business people. Here is a link that might be useful: Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch