Don't believe all the "provides 60 trace elements" hype. Do you know how many you actually need? Do you know how many you get in home made compost? I saw one claim of over 70- does that mean that you will have an inferior garden with 60? What happens if you only get 45 of them- do you really know? Look at what grows in the soil around you. It sits there and mines trace elements that it needs. Compost it, and you'll get all that you need in the garden unless you live in an area with some strange deficiency of something weird. Now, I go to the beach on occasion and pick up seaweeed while I'm there- because it's a free compostable while I walk my dogs. However- my garden never suffered without it before I started collecting it. Folks that live near the beach and use it- well- that's using what's around you. Just saying that people are growing fantastic gardens without spending lots of (or any) money. Advertisers tell us how incredible this stuff is until we think that we can't garden without it- which is patently false.

I start seed without any pretreatment and it grows fine as long as the surroundings are reasonably warm. Lots is written about how to enhance growth, but most seeds will grow fine without the extra care. It can be fun to try to speed things up, but don't get too worried about things. Plants want to grow. I grow peppers in pots 12 inches across and 12 inches high.....also larger and smaller pots. The larger the pot the less often you need to water and the easier it is to regulate moisture. The 12 inchers worked fine for average sized plants as long as I watered daily during dry, hot weather, and didn't want to go on vacation. If I went away, I needed to have someone trained and willing to water for me. I may look into rigging up some kind of self watering containers this year to save time and get away from the daily checkups. The 12 inchers were also a reasonable size to bring in to overwinter. Overwintering usually brings aphids and some other pests inside that get out of hand without the outdoor natural predator control. With fast growing varieties it may be easier to grow new plants each year....but it is fun to play in the dirt during the winter....even fun to squish a few aphids now and then. And the bigger plants set pods earlier in subsequent years. I potted with ProMix that I got at Home Depot. Not sure what other stores have. As long as you avoid soil and stay with a container mix you should be okay. I've fertilized with a variety of things including Miracle Grow. Follow label directions or go half of the recommended container amounts. I mix 1 level tablespoon MG into a gallon of water and use it now and then. Haven't had any trouble with it. Most of the time I just use tap or rainwater. My fertilizer "schedule" is usually based on how the plants look. If the leaves aren't looking as green as normal, I figure it's time to fertilize. However, if there is alot of rain and the potting mix stays very wet you will see yellowing that doesn't signal you need nutrients. You need to let the potting mix dry out some and the plants will green up again. I've not added bone meal, but our water is hard and contains a good amount of calcium. Not sure if that takes the place of bone meal or not, but I haven't been bothered with blossom end rot. Peppers seem resiliant to me. They grow well without alot of fuss, and that is a good kind of plant for me. Welcome to the pepper obsession!

Lisa.You know your favorite restaurant.You knew that once you ate there you had to keep coming back. Well this is also what owls do,and do well.I once worked on a farm that has U pick strawberries. They had 35 geese that they let lose in the fields at the end of the season to ride it of insects and pest.The summer I worked there three quarters of the geese never saw the strawberry patch.A pair of owls killed off 3\4 of the flock.At first they killed for food. But over the next week or so they killed to kill. They would kill the geese and leave them.One suggestion would be to put wire netting around the nest boxes with holes just big enough for your song birds to get though.Keep the wire back [cage like) to give the song birds room around the box.I don't think you would but remember killing owls is very illegal.While I enjoy song birds. I myself prefer the raptors. Off hand this is the only idea I can think of.Several years ago hacked Peregrine Falcons at Tunkhannock Falls in Ithica NY.They were wiped out by owls. While the Peregrine is the fighter jet of the bird world during the day.They don't stand a chance against an owl at night.

When my MIL was in her last years, what appealed most to her was soup. And the dietitician at the returement facility said that very often the elderly have a lack of saliva and lots of foods seem dry to them. Lots of creamed soups...potato soup was a particular favorite...made with real cream!..Cream of chicken soup, cream of spinach, home made cream of mushroom....and things like creamed eggs on toast. A very creamy rice pudding would be good as well as bread pudding with dried fruits. Breakfast doesn't always have to be eggs, toast and pancakes... and meals out don't always have to be non healthy. I had dinner out last night and I had a piece of fish...I could have had broiled salmon, but i chose fried flounder and a roll and a side of a huge portion of what they call "Normandy" which is steamed veggies, broccoli, cauliflower carrots and squash. There are lots of good things to eat at a restraunt...grilled meat, baked potato, salad with dressing on the side, a burger with slaw, soups...pasta. Just tell them to stay away from things like fries and the fish I had!...but it was good! Linda C