Yes, ringa it is our heat down south that causes the problems with the black plastic. It not only cooks the roots but the worms and all the beneficial soil bacteria. It causes increased transpiration for the plants which increases the need for water and increases the risk of plant diseases. The lack of adequate air to the soil causes the soil and compost underneath to turn anaerobic. That leads to disease, altered pH and loss of nutrients. Folks up north can use it (tho I'd argue that their soil too would be far better off with the landscape fabric - all the benefits with none of the problems) but it can be lethal to the garden bed down south. Since you have the landscape fabric use it or do as Dale suggested and use it early if you wish but plan to remove it once the soil temps reach 70. If you look at the holes in the landscape fabric it would be very difficult to punch all those microscopic holes by hand. ;) Dave

I think someone in the last few years used a couple, but that's all I remember, sorry! If you do use them, perhaps use cups or nursery posts inside, that way you can easily move things around. You may end up moving all the non-sprouted cups into one, and planting out the others. If you do use cups inside, be sure to put drainage holes in both the big container and the cups, and expect to have to water the cups that aren't directly below the vent hole.

I'm certainly no expert, but I personally would leave it alone. In my experience with propogating av's, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. You know what I mean. You know it's not going to make it when the leaf gets all limp and falls over. The ones which are 'still standing' after several days are on the right track, and I personally wouldn't tempt fate, lol! If you'd rather go vermiculite next time, so be it (and you may find you have even better luck) but I wouldn't disturb those you've already started. Amanda 'romando'

Along the same lines, I punched a small hole in the bottom of a galvanized bucket and hung it from a branch over a birdbath. It took an entire day to slowly drip, drip, drip empty. I filled it each morning, and the birds loved it. I have also used a timer for a mister, which really pulls birds into the area for leaf bathing. I ran it only 30 minutes in the morning, and 30 in the evening. I don't feel it wasted an awful lot of water, though I can't say I ever did the math. But it was such a very fine spray, and it sprayed directly into the foliage of a nearby shrub. It was such a very fine mist as to almost be like a heavy fog. But honestly, the bucket worked really well, and that was just 1 gallon a day. Just a thought. (And I loved how the bucket looked, too.) Marcia