Hi Mary! I want to grow them for the butterflies too! I've read that you can use ethanol cider (?) to soak them, on a heat mat. The website is easywildflowers.com, go into butterfly host plants, then into passion flower. I have no idea what ethanol cider is; checked online-very vague discriptions. anybody know; it's probably going to be something very simple like pure apple juice! I too have read that they can take up to a year to germinate! I'm going to plant mine as soon as I get more soil. Oh, did I mention WS yellow echinacea on my mile long post? Yeah, it's out there!! Best of luck with the bareroots, let us know how it goes!

When I read Veggie Chica's original Q I thought of some ideas we got at a veggie conference on selling herbs, perrenial and annual. We grow many herbs to sell as cut bunches and Basil always tops the list in our area, whether it is sweet or one of the lemons,limes,cinnimon,licorice,opal,red...well you get the picture. But pesto recipes are a great sales booster for basil and I always situate the basil (and cilantro) next to our tomato display because people need to be reminded of the association of the two. But when it comes to the other herbs, we had moderate sales of potted herbs until we took it to a new level in offering mixed herb "SIX PACKS". Six different basils= "PESTO PACK". Combine other herbs to make the "SEASONING PACK", "FRAGRANCE PACK", "MEDICINAL PACK", FLAVOR PACK", "TEA PACK", etc. Start your herbs separately and at different times to allow the packs to all look uniform when you combine them to create the six packs. For instance, dill and cilantro grow much faster than ..... Rosemary, Lavender and Thyme are slow growers. You will be amazed at the increased sales, especially in areas where people associate six packs with beverages.

there is corn in the pic above??? .. perhaps you loaded the wrong pic??? ... i have a weed called dock that looks like that ... aphids can be sprayed off with plain water ... if you want to go wholly organic.. do not be upset with a little leaf damage ... the pic above.. isnt all that bad.. if it has stopped.. and you figure that out.. by watching newly emerging leaves.. and whether they are damaged .. if not.. then your first cure worked ... you have to understand.. that spraying.. curing.. is not going to make the holes disappear.. and you have to figure out if one cure worked.. before you go piling them on.. as to the first pic.. i would be looking for small caterpillers/worms.. on the reverse.. of the exact same color as the plant .. they are after all.. what they eat ... see link ... if you find them.. squish them and be done with it ... no need for sprays etc ... lift them out with a stick.. and put them on the ground.. and squish them.. the brave do it with their fingers.. [and keep looking for them, if the new growth is munched on] and realize.. aphids are suckers.. they are not chewers .. so you need to zoom in on what your damage is.. rather than some particular bug ... ken ps: the bird could have beat you to the luscious worm ... after all.. they are what they eat.. lol ... Here is a link that might be useful: link

I'll echo the thoughts not to skimp on the range, but I do want to share with you...we were going to get a Dual Fuel Wolf (36"). One big savings (a few thousand) would have been to drop that down to a gas only. And then our ultimate savings was to skip Wolf all together and go with a Lacanche, which is basically the same thing, but made in France and it has color :) Ok we didn't save much...but we'd been toying with upgrading the 36" to a 48" wolf and instead got a 55 1/2" Lacanche for the same price as the 36" wolf. With in that space we also got a warming cabinet, which saved a couple grand on the warming drawer we didn't need anymore, so there was still savings and we got all we'd ever want in a stove. In our rental we have the same amount of space and wanted a nice looking range so we went with an Aga, which was much less in $$ but still had the look we were shooting for in a 36" range. Skip, a good friend of ours has the Kenmore Pro Series Range and he likes it quite a bit. He's a chef and uses it to it's utmost. His comments in discussing our choice were that he'd like that extra oomph he'd get with a Lacanche but considering that this range came in their home, he's very happy with it. They have had repairs though I think three or four times??? Issues with heat regularity on the oven were a repeated problem and I think one of the burners had a clicking issue if I remember right (this is a conversation from a couple of years). I have eaten at their home many times...he can cook like a saint on that range :) Saint Chef that is heh heh Oh now on the hand made subway tiles...I built the poorhouse that pecanpie is residing in out of the things. I'm not going to tell you how much I love them...I do...but I could have done other things with that money. I'm not sure it was the best use of our funds for an item that I actually want to have take backstage to the other bling in the kitchen. I know KNOW you can acheive a fabulous backsplash look without spending the thousands I did...and the rent on the poorhouse just ain't cutting it to recoup those costs...Pecanpie...rent's going UP UP UP!