As I said above, those of us who adore 'Cl. Peace' are members of a distinct minority :)! This rose IS something of a 'problem child', but I've found it to be very responsive to TLC. A heavy feeder, 'Cl Peace' seems to have a preference for organics like fish emulsion, kelp, alfalfa tea. When I get my annual load of stable manure, 'Cl. Peace' invariably gets the first helping, and I try always to hold some in reserve for a second, late season application. IMHO, it's worth the extra effort.

HI Jake, I have the QuadraFire 1200i. It's going on its 5th year and has been a fine stove. We have it hooked up to a digital thermostat so it sets back at night, yet is warm and cheery when we wake up. Neither stove will thoroughly heat your house in your climate if the house is not tightly insulated with good windows. If it is really cold outside and blowing hard, then it is likely that your furnace may come on while the pellet stove is running. But the furnace will shut off much more quickly than if it was trying to heat the house alone. Chimney height is not an issue, the exhaust is presurized and will need it's own 3" pipe inside of the existing stack. The Quad and the Harmon are both good stoves. I think the Quad is easier for maintenance, but I don't think you would go wrong either way. If you're having trouble buying locally, consider buying from a NW dealer and have it shipped. They're made in WA so I would expect freight to be approx $400.

This one was on the table at a book club potluck last week. Everyone raved and wanted the recipe. I'm going to cross post in new recipes. Zucchini Pickles - Heidi Swanson, 100 Cookbooks There are quite a number of ways to play around with the personality of these pickles. Sometimes I shave the zucchini paper-thin, resulting in a whispy tangle of pickled zucchini and onions. Other times I want my pickles to have a bit more bite, structure, and definition. In those instances, I slice the zucchini thicker, perhaps 1/8-inch, and let them drain as long as possible, sometimes overnight refrigerated. Also worth noting, when I make them for our personal condiment stash, I used a brown natural cane sugar. It gives the pickle liquid a brownish cast that, quite frankly, weirds people out if they don't know what is causing it. So, if I'm making the pickles to bring to a BBQ or something, I'll make them with regular organic cane sugar - one that is lighter in color.
 3 medium zucchini (1 pound / 16 oz / 450 g), thinly sliced
 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
 3 shallots, thinly sliced 1 1/2 tablespoons fine grain sea salt 
1/4 cup (small handful) fresh dill sprigs 1 small fresh red chile pepper, very thinly sliced 1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds 3/4 cup / 180 ml cider vinegar
 3/4 cup / 180 ml white wine vinegar
 1/3 cup / 1.75 oz / 50g natural cane sugar 
Toss the zucchini, onion, shallots, and salt together in a colander and place over a bowl to catch the liquids. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least a couple hours. Toss once or twice along the way. You're aiming to get as much liquid out of the zucchini as possible.

When you're finished draining the zucchini, shake off any water. At this point you want the zucchini as dry as possible. Place in a 1 liter / 1 quart jar along with the dill, chile pepper, and mustard seeds. Alternately, you can cram them into a 3/4 liter Weck jar like I do, but it's always a bit snug in the jar. Combine the ciders and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves, and continue to boil for a few minutes. Pour the liquid over the zucchini and seal the jar. Let cool, then refrigerate. The pickles are good for a week or so. 

Makes one large jar. Prep time: 120 min - Cook time: 5 min Here is a link that might be useful: Quick pickled zucchini

"Can I use Miracle grow on them by diluting it in water and then watering it into the soil?" Yes " I had some house plants before and I use it and it gradually killed it. What is the reason?" It wasn't the fertilizer that killed the plants unless it was misused and/or simply acted as a contributor to another issue that was severely limiting by it's own lack of merit. Nutritional issues often act in concert with poor soils and over-watering to force the plant to deal with limitations the plant is not genetically programmed to tolerate, which produces stress levels so severe the plant's systems just start to wobble like an out of balance top until they simply cannot function as designed. Fertilizers with 3:1:2 ratios are good for houseplants because they furnish nutrients in the ratio at which the plants actually USE the nutrients. This allows you to keep fertility as low as possible w/o having to deal with deficiencies, which is a big plus for several reasons. Miracle-Grow comes in many RATIOS. 30-10-10 is a 3:1:1 ratio. 24-8-16 and 12-4-8 are both 3:1:2 ratios and 20-20-20 is a 1:1:1 ratio. If I had to choose a MG product as my "go to" fertilizer for almost everything I grow, I'd probably make it the liquid 12-4-8 mixture because of how easy the liquid is to use, compared to the granular. If my choices were broadened so as to include Dyna-Gro's Foliage-Pro 9-3-6, I'd definitely opt for the 9-3-6, another 3:1:2 ratio fertilizer. I like it because of its ratio, because it has all nutrients essential to normal growth (note that your MG lacks Ca, Mg (secondary macronutrients) and several micro-nutrients. FP 9-3-6 also gets most of its N from nitrate sources, which helps keep plants from getting leggy and coarse under low light (indoor) conditions, an important consideration for houseplants. Growing well is a rather holistic venture that must be looked at in its entirety. In most cases, a grower's growing experience comes apart at the seams because the grower finds himself unable to keep the plant's root system healthy and functioning normally. My experience has been that if you focus on keeping roots happy and succeed, the rest suddenly becomes remarkably easier. Let me know if you want to chase that thought a bit to see if what I said makes good sense. Al