I'm not the expert that Al is on this topic but if you can use Dry-It in boiling water and it doesn't break down then I *think* it would work for soil building. Again, Al or other experienced members of this forum might have better advice. Last night I spent time on various bonsai sites, and all of the sites had extensive threads on soil building. Although I didn't have time to read each and every post on how to build soil, here are a gew general things that I took away from the threads: 1. Turface: A tremendous product for use in most bonsai and container applications. PRO: It's extremely stable and will not break down. Great as a soil component. CON: It can be difficult to find in some areas. 2. Moisture absorbers: Various products like OilDry, Dryz_it, etc. can be used in soils in place of Turface if tested beforehand. I believe these products are similar to Turface, however most are not kiln fired to such a high temperature as Turface, therefore they could break down faster. I would carefully test these products by soaking in water for extended periods and see what happens. PRO: Easy to find at auto supply stores, hardware stores, Home Depot, etc. and inexpensive. CON: Some break down faster than others, so test before use. 3. Cat litter: Quite a few members used cat litter in place of Turface or OilDry and had mixed results. Some users said it worked well, while others said the cat litter broke down and turned to mud in a hurry. (As posted earlier in this thread, I found the same thing.) Overall I personally would avoid using cat litter as there are so many brands and contents available that it would be a major effort to find one that worked as well as Turface. PRO: Inexpensive and available everywhere. CON: Many brands break down into mud in a hurry. So those are my two cents worth! Again, Al or other members of the list may have other opinions but if you can find it I'd stick with Turface. If you can't find Turface and feel like experimenting with some expendable plants then maybe try the OilDry to see what happens. Thanks. Dave

I am a first year gardener. I grew up on a 160 acre farm supplemented with huge vegetable gardens. The gardens were beautiful and I helped tend them, as directed, but as a child had no interest. I had more important things to do. My parents had an interest because they needed to feed a family of six on the income of subsistence farmers. Fast forward 33 years and gardening is my new obsession. I referenced this board for hours to figure out what was happening almost on a daily basis. I know I would have been much less successful had it not been for the wisdom and willingness of people to share. Here is a list of goals I had in the middle of this past May: - get a garden in the ground - try to do something right to produce something - learn, learn, learn. - stay organic if possible. Biggest lessons learned: - plant at the right time for my zone. I grew up in Ky, a zone 6 I believe, and now live in zone 8, almost 9 because we are right on the coast. In zone 6, you live and die by the frost dates. Here the "ender" of the season is a mixture of heat and bugs. - don't crowd the plants. The viners like cukes and melons need a lot more space than the 8 foot diameter requirements specified on the packets. - I think I could have pruned more and been ahead. Planting in May instead of March, like I was supposed to, was asking for powdery mildew due to the crowding and the high humidity here. I learned a lot in my little 14 by 20 foot space. I produced 37 pounds and it's still going. It will be like a jungle when I get back, since I am away on a two week work trip. The three biggest producers were cucumbers, tomatoes, and green bell peppers. I also interplanted with flowers like Zinnias and Cosmos, and these also did very well. I have a 14 by 22 plot next to the existing undergoing solarization, and about 80 seedlings in the starting trays. I am encouraged and plan to start my fall garden when I get home. There will be broccoli, cauliflower, and lots of lettuce. I also plan to start some more yellow crook neck squash. It and all zucchini were destroyed by SVBs in the summer garden. I did however, remove and destroy about 15 of SVBs, so I did my part in removing them from the population. I get a lot of information and inspiration from this board. Thank you. And right now, it lets me be a "virtual" gardener since I am away from home.

I've seen an Ypsilanti growing on the other side of Clinch Mountain and it's a Gallica, but there's enough 'other' in it that the late cane growth may come from the 'other' (along with its tendency to bloom quite a bit later than almost all other Gallicas that I've seen. One thing that I've seen on rose canes that I think I see on yours is a possibility of sunburn to the canes. Ideally, roses have such dense leaves (as if Black Spot didn't exist) that sunlight doesn't touch the canes, at least for the first couple of years. Anyway, I think you may have a touch of sunburn on the upper surface of these canes; way to test? Look on the underside, or on the northern side of more vertical canes. Those sure do look like Ypsilanti leaves, but they should be starting to change color now. My gallicas have always shut down for winter not by temperature, but by daylight limits.

I mentioned something earlier that didn't seem to be noticed so I'd like to mention it with more details. There is a specification for gasoline that's called Top Tier. What it is is simple - it's a formula of detergents and additives that are put into gasoline (with no pollution consequences pro or con) that prevent carbon and other deposits to allow the engine to run at its peak efficiency. Gasoline without these additives causes the build up of various deposits that can lead to premature problems and lower fuel economy. Many of the discount gas brands are NOT Top Tier gas - especially from grocery chains - and using such brands consistently can lead to problems and lower gas mileage along the way. Some, like Costco, do use the Top Tier additive package. If you're concerned about saving money, be sure to drive a car that isn't bigger than your needs require, that gets good mileage and that you keep well maintained. And use Top Tier gas. These steps will save you far more money than worrying about whether you've gotten the lowest possible price for gas, which may result in your buying an inferior product that could cost you more in the long run. We own three cars and all are makes that suggest using only Top Tier gas, so that's all we buy. Top Tier-selling stations are all over so it doesn't take an effort to restrict purchases to just this type of gas. Here's a listing of gas retailers that sell Top Tier gas Top Tier Gas retailers Here's an article describing it: Top Tier gas