"What is the merrit of container WSing? Why wouldn't you just WS in the ground vs container. I think that in the ground(garden) the seeds will germinate and sprout quicker, since heat is always coming from down below and they will be kept warmer than containers." Cyrus, the answer to your question is simple and one word "control". When you direct sow, which is what you are thinking of in terms of WS in the ground, you are at the mercy of mother nature. That is, you sow the seeds in the ground and then mother nature is totally in charge and so are the critters for that matter. Birds love your seeds, so if they are ones that are tiny and need to be surface sown, (poppies, rose campion come to immediate mind), the birds will have fun with them. Mother Nature will do you in with weather. Rain, snow melt, sleet, etc. will move those seeds to who knows where. One thing for sure though, is they will not stay where you want them to, at least many of them will travel all over from downpours etc. Those that don't travel have to fight with the birds for survival and the rest of the elements that mother nature will throw at you. If they are larger seeds, the birds will find those too, and the chipmunks, squirrels etc. Now, take those same seeds and put them inside containers with covers. The birds and critters can't get them, and Mother Nature and all her curves of weather, will move the seeds around in the containers, sometimes and sometimes not, but they aren't going anywhere. They are "stuck" in their protected container, in their nice little "home and greenhouse". Also, the soil will be warmer in the containers than in the ground, and will also warm up more quickly than in the ground. Ground soil warms up from the top down. So the direct sown seeds may possibly germinate a little more quickly and grow above the ground more quickly than in the containers, but their roots are slow to grow and form good solid root systems, because the soil below the seeds is still cold and thawing down. In the containers, the soil is warm all the way through. It heats up more quickly because of the greenhouse environment that we have made. The seeds grow more slowly above the soil, the stems and leaves because they are far too busy growing good, strong root systems because the soil is warm all the way through the container. When seeds are allowed to germinate naturally on their own in the perfect environment of warm soil all the way through, natural light and natural temps that mother nature intended them to have, you get strong healthy root systems and plants that she intended. WS provides all of the natural germination requirements with just a little helping hand from "us", those covered containers to keep the seeds exactly where we want them to grow and give them that little bit of extra boost in warm soil that the "mini greenhouses" we created provide. We are giving our seeds every natural advantage humanly possible, yet we still let mother nature do her job. I hope that helps explain why WS if far better than direct sowing. ROSELOVER, there are really very, very few, if any, seedlings that I plant out as an individual plant. Most plants look far better when they are planted in mass clumps. Even if I have some that are growing as a single plant, I put them in a wide hole all together when I plant them. Mother nature has a way of weeding out the less viable seedlings and leaving the healthy one in the hunks to keep growing. The few plants that are individually planted are 4 o'clocks and I still put 3 seedlings in a 12 inch pot, morning glory that are going to grow in a hanging pot, dahlias I grow from seed, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, snowpeas, and that's about it. Karen, I sure do remember you as a newbie. That's seems so long ago, doesn't it? Bonnie, sounds like you should keep your seedlings in part shade and let them get a bit larger and use the old rule of thumb that my farmer grandpa taught us. Nothing gets planted in the ground before Labor Day, Labor day being the original date of May 31st, unless its something like peas that need the cooler temps. I've gone by that date all my years of gardening and that's more than 30 and it's never failed me. We get those late frosts into may as well and can get some horrible spring flooding rain as well. May 31st is my date except for my peas and everything is fine. I always so a few extra seeds whenever possible of everything that I sow. Just have to be safe and in reality, not all seeds will germinate. Fran

This is such an interesting thread. I come from the Canadian prairies where there were no disposal facilities at all until recently, and what there is remains limited. So disposing of all manner of garbage on your property was the norm. Maybe that mentality developed because of the seemingly endless space out there (as opposed to dense urban areas where they can't find landfill space to save their lives). Everyone burned their garbage in a burning barrel (and still do) or created their own little dumps. I doubt people thought much about how their actions might affect ground water, air quality, etc. Some of these things we just did not know then. We used to carry water to our livestock in "rinsed out" 5 gallon pails that used to contain herbicides and pesticides. ARGH!! I live in Eastern Canada now. People in my area burn garbage in barrels. Recently our municipality regulated burning. At first, I was annoyed ("what are they going to regulate next?!"). Now "they" are saying that backyard burning is one of the worst forms of pollution. Don't know if I buy that but I stopped. I felt a bit shocked, like I should have known better, but I'd just never really thought about it. I just did what others did. I'm a bit obsessed with reducing and recycling, and try to be informed about the environment yet there I was burning garbage. People here still "bury" old barns. I haven't seen it but it involves burning it to the ground and covering the foundation with soil - poof, gone! I have 2 such foundations on my property and have to work around them (broke a shovel "discovering" one of them). We have to take our stuff to the landfill and dispose of it for a fee. We can recycle lots of stuff for free. But when I drop my garbage, it seems very few people are recylcing. All around on the garbage heap is paper, cardboard, bags of cans, etc. You wouldn't believe how fast the landfill is filling up. You can't fail to notice it but it doesn't seem to be affecting people's behaviour. Yet folks sure complain about having to pay $1.25 per bag! Very disheartening. I wonder if it will take a crisis for us to change how we think about the materials we consume and dispose of? Interesting how many people have commented on how lazy those people who bury their junk are. But when you think about it, digging holes by hand to bury those mountains of stuff must have been hard work! Seems almost ironic. My mom reused and recycled long before it was in vogue. She came from poor, hardy pioneer stock who didn't waste stuff. So the stories about using carpet to keep weeds down strike me as an example of "not wasting" more than ignorance or laziness (altho there's always room for those!). As alyrics noted, if it's not bad for the environment, maybe it's not such a bad idea. Having said that, I don't envy those of you who have to clean up those awful messes. I'm amazed and grateful for the time, money, and effort you have put into properly disposing of garbage that's not yours. There's a little back road near here that I take in summer. Every year, some clown dumps a dryer or stove in the ditch. Drives me nuts. I wonder what's going through those people's minds that they can behave like that. I always try to use that to remind myself to watch for my own behaviours where I do "stupid" things without thinking (like burning garbage). cnid

Good for you for getting your stock organized. I actually love my small pantry and I like to keep it organized. I do need to get into the home canned jars and see if any of them need to be tossed. I stock up to like Nicole and I am a budget, thrifty shopper. Cathy from Idaho mentioned couponing a few days back and I decided to drag out my coupon box and start using it again. I did a little research and found out how to really do the coupon thing to your advantage. Oh and I saw that couponing show.....how sad that those people do that....How can anyone use 300 toothbrushes or like you said soda......I've had soda taste bad in just a matter of a few months.....The point is to buy exactly what you know you will use and stock up. I love having a stash and I always have paper products and cleaning supplies as well as food...Our Albertson's has great buys of meat for loss leaders and I take advantage.........

Lauren will do great, she is lucky that Alex went first and I'm sure picked up on some stuff. I was going to ask about Alex! That is sooo awesome he is doing a double major! Is he still also doing engineering?!?! Living & working outside this country will be great experience for him as you know. I wish I had had guidance going into college, thru out college and beyond. I am happy with how things worked out but sometimes I envy kids going into college now with all these opportunities ahead of them! Start finding time for yourself now and the things you have put off doing! ~ liz