Kudzu and Ravencajun, I just went to the forum to find your reply and answer it, and I don't even see my question let alone anyone's reply. Cannot figure what's going on except NOW I see that the replies on the forum are dated October 15th which was 2 days ago, just like my clock which is 2 hours ago. I opened the time adjust and DID see it was set in the wrong time zone, but when I set it for Pacific it said the time was now 10:10. I now see something else on that same adjustment site that may be wrong, but since I have no idea what it means, I'm afraid to change it. It has to do with Internet time. It's set for Time-n.w.-nist.gov. This seems to be getting very complicated. Update, now I see the current forum posts/replies so maybe things are correcting themselves??? Thanks, BarbB

I am frustrated that I can't get an accurate color for the pictures of the fabric samples I have. Every picture I take washes out the colors. Outsideplaying, I have samples in both green and the gold/ brown you have suggested. They seem to work well with my rug. I also have a bold stripe that might work for an accent piece. If I go with a fabric as opposed to leather what combination of sofa, love seat or chairs would you use and what combination of colors and patterns would make for an interesting room.Should I stick with the roll arm sofa style in my previous post or would a different style work better. Here is one of my stripe fabric sample .....again the color is not accurate but I'm wondering if the scale of pattern will work in the room. The colors in the fabric sample match perfectly with with my rug. Both the rug and the sample have chocolate browns, bronzes and rust colors in addition to the gray green and black. I may switch to a different camera to see if that makes a difference.

Hydro, I must confess up front I am a chemist which makes it less intimidating for sure. But just for knowing the cost of this, I took the 5 major nutrient ingredients I add to make my concentrates and priced them in the 50 pound bulk bags they come in. (That is how I purchase it in bulk 50 pound bags) Then I took the mix I use and figured out a price per gallon to mix my concentrate. Then I divided the quantity of concentrate I use to make 1 gallon of working nutrient and came up with a price of working nutrient per gallon. It was so low I had to check my numbers on the spreadsheet I made. For vegetative mix it was 3¢ per gallon and for Fruiting mix it was 4¢ per gallon. And it was actually less but at 2 decimal places it actually rounded up to those prices. I was shocked. (By the way, 50 pound bags last at least 3 years for the major ingredients) The bulk nutrients are really easy to mix. Just weigh out a portion on a gram scale of each salt and mix them to dissolve in water and dilute to 1 gallon. Not even close to needing to be a chemist for this, more like an average cook can do it. I mix 2 fractions, the nitrates and the sulfates so they don't drop out of solution. That is the way most commercial nutrients are packaged as well. I did not include the cost of trace minerals which I calculated as well because they are more difficult to proportion for anyone without the proper measuring tools which for trace nutrients involves scientific glassware. But the nutrients only add 2¢ per gallon to my mix. Pre mixed trace elements are also available at hydroponics stores (albeit at a higher price) and are made to be simply measured out and added to nutrient mixes. This may not be for everyone, but for anyone serious about the hobby, pricing my costs was a real eye opener! In addition to Kieth Roberto's formula which I like, there is an excellent book by Jim McCaskill called Plant Nutrient Facts for Hydroponics & How to make your own fully formulated plant nutrient. He goes through the math and gives worksheets to help a hobbyist formulate their own nutes. It may be hard to find the book but worth looking if you are serious.

You can feed them once in Spring and then add "weak" fertilizers like coffee grounds, liquid seaweed and-or liquid fish during the rest of the growing season. If you had been located in the far South, your shrubs would go dormant between Dec-Jan, and you could add another shot of fertilizers in Sept. Add ferts after your avge date of last frost. Chemical fertilizers should be general purpose, slow-release fertilizers with a NPK Ratio around 10-10-10; apply them per label directions. Or use about 1./2 to 1 cup of organic compost, composted manure or cottonseed meal (for a newly purchased shrub). Those three are organic and slow-release that will last thru most of the growing season. Normally, you want them plants to go dormant before early frosts so you should stop all fertilizers by the end of June-ish. Amendments to control acidity (garden lime will turn colored blooms in acidic soils a shade of pink) should be added according to the label directions and should be continued thru the year on the specified frequency because otherwise, the soil will tend to loose whatever alkalinity you have added with the amendments. You normally would want to start several months before the shrubs bloom so feel free to start with the amendments now (if the soil is not frozen).