Marguerite, I purchased all my Coleus from one mailorder nursery (in 2004 and 2005) but pretty sure they were pestfree when received...especially as I kept them all near sofa the first few days so I could admire them...LOL They spent all summer on my patio so probably picked up mealybugs (or eggs) there. I think I've found part of the answer...attached article says Coleus very susceptible but constant inspection and washing can prevent infestation and spread if caught early. Also, I just had 3-4 little mealybugs...not all over the stems as I've seen in photos (shudder!) Another thing the article recommended was growing potplants inside house a little dry and using less fertilizer. In winter I just "maintain" my plants, not try to grow them...and I never use fertilizer (although some may be in some of potting soil I buy). My house is kept between 66-68 degrees F days and cooler still at night so they sort of go into hibernation mode. So maybe I was doing the right thing inadvertently. I'd always felt fortunate not to have had pests on my tropicals indoors...I think possibly my method of brisk thorough shower and watering well and then letting pot dry out a good bit was, in addition to catering to my laziness, a good insect preventative...LOL Of course when outside they get thorough spray/watering every other day...temps in 90's all summer here. But they flourish and grow so well they don't mind the lower light, cooler temps and reduced water in winter inside. Oh, the one Coleus that got the mealybugs was 'Klondike', orange-red leaves with yellow edge. Iside house it fades to a soft copper-pink but still nice. josh Here is a link that might be useful: Mealybug Life Cycle & Prevention

Hi, welcome to worm farming. I've been doing it for about a year now. Questions are good, and lead to learning more. Hope we can help out. 1. They like it best at 70, but thats not to say you can't keep them in a place that is hotter or colder. I have a bin outside, were it is 100+ during the summer and as low as 0 during the winter, and it is very active. 2. Thats a big bin. How many worms do you have? I would worry about how much air they get if you have the doors on. You would want it covered, but the fridge is made to hold air in, so if you keep the lid on, give it plenty of holes for fresh air flow. 3. Grass clippings are fine, but they can heat up. I would use in moderation. I will bag mine up every now and then, and use in my regular compost pile. Leaves, newspaper, veggie scraps make up most of my worms food and bedding. 4. As stated with the grass clippings, they heat up, so your worms could be escaping the heat. when things cool off they may find their way back. Don't let any mistakes now make you think twice about what you are trying to do. This is a great thing to do, you'll make mistakes and learn from them. Once you get it down, it is easy. You just have to learn what works best for you.

I do believe you, and I do believe her, but I don't understand the cutout number. How can 23.5 fit in a 23.375 space? The cabinets I'm buying say the box is built with a 5/8" thickness...this could be thicker than 1/2" in something like a Kraftmaid cabinet. I would so like to reconcile the calculation! Lovely thought on the drawers. I actually did have drawers first there, but changed the rollouts thinking that they gave just a bit more vertical space with no horizontal framing having to cross the space. But I agree it's less effort to open a drawer. Regardless, I like the look of the 26" oven depth to break up the line, so will likely switch to drawers and deepen.

Hi Pat, What I do sometimes with success in regards to a stains + odors+ plus whatever unfortunate thing has crossed my laundry room is: Prewash/soak: 1/4 cup powder Biz or one Dropps Oxygen Bleach pod, half cup Borax, line 3 of Tide Free&Gentle liquid (or powder), let machine mix around, pause or turn off machine, allow to soak for however long it needs. Drain and spin. Mainwash: Line one of Tide F&G liquid or 1/4 cup of Tide F&G powder (same dose if using regular Tide liquid or powder...) 2 TBS STPP. Run through wash cycle as usual. Over here, this will 99% of the time remedy whatever the situation may have been. I use warm for the prewash/soak and hot for the main wash. Sometimes I feel it would benefit the situation if I let the main wash soak for 20 mins... Beagle is correct; Tide pods of all variety contain optical brighteners, but they do clean very well. Liquid Tide F&G does not contain OBs. Hope that helps.