There already is a gardening group on facebook started by people from Garden Web. "I'd Rather be Gardening" Personally, I don't trust facebook. I like to keep control of my personal information and facebook encourages me to just put it out there. I'm really turned off by the suggestions for friends and the idea that I should suggest friends for others. I joined to try it out and what I don't like about it is what it's supposed to do. I just don't want to know what my "friends" are doing. So, I expect to be closing my account, not adding activities.

it depends on your actual router brand it should have given the instructions in their manual on how to do that but I can help . In general all routers come with a default user name and password, say you have a linksys router you would type in a specific number in the address bar of your browser which would take you directly to the settings area of your router for linksys it is the following URL: http://192.168.1.1/ you would first see the page asking for user name and password the default for it is generally admin for the password and you can leave the user name blank or use admin for it also, that is what I am talking about when I say to be sure you change that because as you can see every single person that owns a linksys will have that same user name and password so getting access to one that has not been changed would be very easy we all know the info, that info is readily available on google. This link shows you what I am referring to. Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Broadband Router About the WPA2 settings for wifi at this point in time it is the most secure method available on most routers, In the set up you are able to select which type of security you want to use that would be the one to select. In that link I posted above since it is older they mention WEP that was the old one that WPA2 replaced so you would not want to use WEP is is not nearly as secure.(most routers will have a drop down list of several choices you will want the WPA2 personal) They also mention MAC address filtering that is one more way to add security but it is easily spoofed these days so I don't usually bother with doing that. (MAC address has nothing to do with a mac computer by the way, all computers have a MAC address) I personally also like to change the default SSID which is the name you will see when you look at the list of wifi networks it is what your network is called, do not use a real name for this you want to use something that would not direct someone to your home simply by seeing the name of the SSID, so if your name is Jones do not name the SSID Jones or anything like that, for example in my list of my neighbors I see one called Pandoras Box, one called BlueBird, and one with my neighbor Harry's actual name, I know that wifi is my neighbor Harry but the others no idea who they belong to. You can also set it not to broadcast so no one would even be able to see it but that is very easy to defeat with some free programs so best just to use a good name and not bother with that. Most of the routers today will come with software that leads you through all these steps easily one at a time, the important thing to remember is WRITE DOWN these usernames and passwords they are very important especially the really long one that will be your wifi network password, I recommend taping them to the router itself, under it but do not block the vents. You need that wifi password for anyone that comes to visit you and wants to use your wifi network or any device you may want to add to your wifi network. You have the option of allowing it to generate your passphrase for wifi I always do that, it is not something I can possibly remember so I make sure I have it written down in locations I can find it when I need it. The admin password I mentioned is the password to your admin account on your actual pc. I set up limited user guest accounts for people that come over to my house to visit and may need to use the pc, no one ever uses my admin account but me. That would be in your windows settings under accounts where you can create new accounts and set and change passwords.

I started my Facebook about 7 years ago, around the time my youngest son at age 15 started one. I have had a very positive experience here, and on several levels. I have discovered it is my go-to place several times a week, for connection with friends and places, and also for yes, finding out about the beauty of having knowledgeable friends to ask as well as from pages for different stores/companies and blogs for information, including the best sites for anything...like the many incredible live cams for "birders" I found through other people , whom I friended during live-chats. You would be amazed how many people in certain categories of what they like on Facebook, who will give you tried and true sites beyond one, to find. A few of us have been "friends" for 6 years! We were and still are, all watching same sites. Example; there is a live-cam, one of many nation-wide,, on Catalina, Ca., of an Eagles' next, a great one & maybe still there, Duke Eagle nesting site, was a favorite, and more Eagle sites for the asking of the others watching. The humming birds sites: you can keep up with by dropping into it every so often, and see the Mom actually nesting, flitting around, close up live cam that has been up for about 5 years, this one repeatedly returns to the same rose bush to build nests, and the site is professional yet friendly and intelligent ,with past videos avail. on their Facebook, in case you missed an egg or two hatching! "Phoebe Allans" is "her" name! I highly recommend her Facebook, friendly, easy to use, and amazing footage and discussions. I found that the bird watching folks usually share a passion for our gardening and wildlife! People I met have advice about gardens , are planting gardens to attract and sustain our birds and butterflies. I imagine that putting out a question may/may not get all the responses that are so good here, on Houzz/GardenWeb, yet you can explore other websites, links, that gardeners use, and still go to Google to find fast answers which leads to all kinds of places to look through. A large group like GardenWeb will normally establish a "Page", as it has thousands of friends and followers. Much sharing goes on within some of the better ones. It also attracts people, so I say go for it! Facebook is for connection and reaching out as well as a social media, so to speak. That is fun, too. I usually now like to share news and important issues around environment, our state's neglectful attitude about our land as we invite in gas and oil explorations, and through a local news piece I learned about the N. C. groups who are very proactive and got me involved with emails, personal when Federal representatives and reps. looking for opportunities to explore our beautiful state for resources were to be here for a press conference; I am writing letters to the editors of papers now soon across the state, it is worth the effort and can make a difference to have a voice. Facebook is my means of sharing things like this with 400 people, some of who then share again. It's a good place to get involved in local service opportunities, and online discussions about some of the most in-depth subjects in life that I ever imagined, as I was online with people around the globe. It's about sharing the "word" for me now, and catching the news about people I rarely get to see. Brandon 7, give it another shot, it is a shame that you didn't find it interesting and don't get that at all. * (too much data, so will show her later) I have posted if they let me, a photo sideways again, sorry, of a rose of a fragrant variety, who has been in her large container from day one! I have ivy in for evergreen interest, since this is at our farm, between Chapel Hill and Mebane and Saxapahaw, in the middle of N. C. We can dip into 20's many days in winter, with 2 years in a row of snowstorms that left at least 6" each week for a month, which has been unusual or at least since I was a child in nearby Reidsville, only 20 miles from the Va. border. Whatever I plant has to be a tough one, in the containers even surprised that there is the creeping Jenny, a small red Nandina shrub version, with ivy and violas surviving our 20 degrees down east as well, (see photo, taken last week at my landscape friend's home)! We are at the beach house mainly now, where I also have containers here for(cont.) seasonal plantings, a raised bed for herbs and such, and a stucco wall someone kindly built around our small house, ( a U shape, with gates for entry on each side of the front), upon which we can trail one rose that is in the ground. I can only keep two hybrid roses here due to the natural lack of sun,( they were planted in the ground, maintained by the pro who does our yard work every few weeks). I discovered container gardening when we were selling our home 4 yrs. ago, when I did a lot of creative staging with flowering or green plants on our deck/garden to be beautiful year-round. We began potting and staging them according to the seasons. Garden centers I frequent guide me to what I need. They,(planters), did, and do, great things, especially for those of us who are physically challenged and can't stay out all day like we want to! An hour or two is my limit usually, or I will pay the price of some pain in my spine ~ thus the double- beauty of raised and large containers, allowing even staging pots within changeable pots as the weather dictates. Good luck, all, happy almost spring, check out Facebook and reach out a bit!

Back when I first stumbled across this forum and started thinking about winter sowing, I asked my neighbor who goes to the town landfill every Monday to bring me a truckload of recycled gallon milk jugs. I'd come home Monday evenings to find the bed of my pick-up inside the garage filled. He asked what I wanted with them (we're friends as well as neighbors and all of us garden). I told him about winter sowing and he howled with laughter. When my first sprouts showed up mid-March, I showed them to him. He stopped laughing. Later that year I found an envelope stuffed in my kitchen door when I got home from work. There were 4 apple tree seeds and 10 pear tree seeds inside with a note that read, "Please grow these for me." I WS the seeds and in May of that year gave him 4 apple tree seedlings and 10 pear tree seedlings. The trees were taller than he is a couple of years ago. Folks that question the method can probably benefit by this post. FYI - I WS 538 milk jugs that first year.