HI again Ann ,yes i have looked at it several times ,no doubt its top class ,yes i realise that the blooms are not of your making ,in general i think the quality of a lot of todays commercially available Hippeastrum bulbs leave a lot to be desired ,to much tissue culture and not enough trials before marketing ,and some that are released are just poor growers ,Pity but it has happened in Australia as well ,including wrongly named or simply same bulb but 2 different names ,from their first flowering to naming / selling ,i used to let it bloom 3 consecutive years ,if the blooms varied from year to year ? trust me its a dud ,only size should vary ,for instance ; a true ( geneticaly ) pure white should not " bleed" or flush any red colour , if so ? its not a true white , i was / am very critical ,anyway am sure you are very happy to have that bulb ,guard it well , cheers ,Jack

I like to start with the 96 cell tray... Then to a 36 cell for under lights... They get larger as seedling grows... And I bottom water too... My strategy is to never disturb the roots and the surrounding fungus I inoculate the seedlings with. So, we have a bottom tray that is watertight, inside that is a watering tray, inside that an uncut cell tray and finally the cut out inserts that hold the growing medium. Looks cumbersome, but very handy for moving individual seedlings around as I sort by plant size. Lastly before plant out I modify my deck trellis by adding temporary shelves and using hunter-type camo cloth to cut down on the wind and shade the seedlings until hardened off. Expecting record setting high temps today (80+) and first freeze of the year tomorrow night. Time for me to head for the deck and make burritos to freeze. jt

I would want to see what was going on in the bin. I would scoop up material onto a piece of cardboard set on a 5 gallon bucket. Then I would slid tablespoons of material off the edge of the cardboard into the bucket looking over each bit. Then I would put it all back into the bin. If you have eggshells then perhaps you have those cardboard egg cartons or coffee trays? This material torn up might hold water better than torn up newspaper. If it was not for the drying out I would say try to ignore the bin for a while and then peek in it again.

I'm not a fan of venison but have used this deer recipe for beef & it's excellent: PEPERED VENISON STEAKS 4 venison backstrap (loin) steaks, 4-6 oz each, 1" thick Marinade: 1 cup dry red wine 1 cup canola oil 1 medium onion, chopped 3 TBL Creole mustard 1 tsp dried oregano 2 garlic cloves, minced 4 TBL coarse black pepper 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 TBL canola oil, if frying If the venison is frozen, thaw it in red wine to keep the meat moist. Reserve the wine to use as part of the marinade. Puree the marinade ingredients together in a blender or processor. Arrange the steaks in a shallow glass dish & pour the marinade over them. Refrigerate at least 4 hours but preferably overnight. Drain the steaks, reserving the marinade in a small saucepan. Combine the pepper w/the salt & rub each steak with equal portions of th pepper-salt mixture & let the steaks sit, tightly covered at room temperatore for 30-45 minutes. If grilling, fire up enough charcoal to form a single layer of coals beneath the meat. Meanwhile, bring the marinade to a boil then reduce the heat & simmer until it's reduced by half. Taste & adjust the seasoning. Keep the sauce warm while you fix the steaks. Place the steaks over hot coals that are covered w/gray ash. For pan frying, place the TBL of oil in a heavy skillet, bring the heat to medium-high & add the venison. Cook the meat until desired doneness, turning only once. If pan-frying, deglaze the pan by adding the sauce to it & scraping up any browned bits. Serve immediately with sauce on the side. Good w/buttered noodles.~~Texas Home Cooking