The cause of the crystalline formations is a high level of solubles (salts from fertilizers and tap water) in the soil. The crystals form by a process called 'unassisted nucleation', Soil particles act as a place for solute molecules (dissolved fertilizer and metal salts in your tap water) to meet. A solute molecule encounters the surface of a soil particle and adsorbs to this surface. Most of the time when these solute molecules come together they will stay together for only a little while, but then other forces eventually pull them apart (water low in similar solutes). Sometimes though, the two molecules stay together long enough to meet up with a third, and then a fourth (and fifth, etc.) solute molecule - as in when water at the surface of your soil evaporates and locks them into place. Other solute molecules are attracted to and begin growing on the surface of the crystal and it keeps on getting bigger until it's large enough for you to see. Leaching the soil by proper watering technique or intentional flushing will dissolve the crystals and reduce the soil solution to below saturation levels. Al

Jose, Thanks for posting that information. I had seen it before when you posted it sometime back. It a good reminder and very applicable at certain times of the year. Some of these practices are indeed used by me the many Citrus growers in my area. They do work quite well. It is a well kept secret that Louisiana does indeed have a small (compared to Florida and California) Citrus Industry. The taste of Louisiana citrus rivals the fruit that is grown in Florida and California because it has a better sugar to acid ratio. Our farmers did a great job of protecting MANY citrus trees from the unusually cold winter that we had in our area this past season. I lost some but saved most of my citrus from the cold temperatures that we experienced. Fruitnut...... Wind chill is a function of both AIR temperature and its relative humidity level. And yes indeed, WIND CHILL CAN AFFECT PLANTS. Here is some technical information that I posted in another thread to help explain this multi variable phenomenon. [This is FYI only and for those other forum members who might want to know some "WHY's" behind potential leaf damage due to cold............it is not just about AIR TEMPERATURE. It is also about wind, leaf temperature, and air humidity level. On a windy night with clear or cloudy skies LEAF temperature will be nearly the same as AIR temperature. However, on a cold, clear night with little to no air movement.....leaf temperature can easily drop 3 to 4 degrees lower than the ambient air temperature. (It can drop as much as 8 degrees in my area.) This is because of the RADIATION heat loss of the fig leaves. The rate of heat loss of those leaves is a function of the air's humidity level. At higher humidity levels often frost will form on those leaves. So, while the ambient AIR temperature might only be 35 degrees F......the actual LEAF temperature might well be 31 to 32 degrees F. That temperature could affect tender new growth. In my area it is not uncommon for us to see frost form whenever the ambient air temperature is at 40 degrees F or below. This means that the actual leaf temperature reached 32 degrees F or below which froze the dew that condensed on the leaves as the dew point of the humid air was reached during the night. Late Spring frosts can kill fig trees in South Louisiana......especially if the outside air temperature has been cycling through several periods of warmth and cold. Yes, in my area, damaging frosts can form on fig leaves with ambient temperature as high as 40 degrees!! Ask me how I know and what I fear most at this time of year. Potential plant damage is really about leaf temperature and that is a bit harder to measure.] Dan

No trudging through the snow and arctic windchills to get these. Apparently one set of storm windows on the north side of my house could be a little tighter. So, I just set up there with a macro lens. the different colors come from changing the angle to get either snow out the window as background, or blue sky.

Sounds like you might have the Alpine Strawberries, which are small but absolutely packed with flavour! When they bred for size, they forgot about flavour, I reckon. Now, I've never used an ice cream machine, and I've found that the best way to prevent crystals forming in ice cream is as follows: You make up the mixture, then partially freeze it in trays - until it's slushy. Make sure to cover the tray with plastic wrap - and that the plastic wrap touches the ice cream all over to exclude the air. Then, beat the dickens out of it, and refreeze until slushy, repeating the plastic thing, then beat the dickens out of it again. I usually do this 3 times, but you might be happy with twice. The partial-freezing/beating prevents the cream and the water from separating during the freezing process, and makes for a more fluffy ice cream. It's very important that you exclude all the air because that's what forms the crystals. OK, so here's a recipe. A punnet, in case you don't know, is the tray you buy the strawberries in. They vary in size a bit, but they hold roughly 2 cups. You can of course add more or less berries according to your personal taste. They'll turn to mush with all the beating, but if you want lumps, stir in a few more on the last beating. And you can use other berries in the same way. (Oh, and I wouldn't dream of adding salt to anything, much less ice cream, so I consider that an unnecessary ingredient!!) Strawberry Ice Cream 3 large eggs 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 5 cups milk 300g tin evaporated milk 400g tin sweetened condensed milk 2 tablespoons vanilla 1 punnet crushed strawberries, sweetened with 3 tablespoons sugar Beat eggs in large mixing bowl. Add sugar and salt, beating until completely blended. Bring 5 cups milk to the boil. Add hot milk slowly to egg mixture, beating constantly. Add evaporated and condensed milk and vanilla. Add crushed fruit with its juice. Let cool in refrigerator or freezer. Freeze according to ice-cream makerÂs instructions.