Just want to state my facts as I have personally experienced them since using the recipe for Lisa's fish food. My pond is in it's fifth year. I started with six 5 inch koi and two shubunkins. The only thing I fed my fish during the first four years were Cheerios, watermelon, canteloupe, zuchinni and Tetra Pond food sticks. Five of my fish did not seem to grow and their coloring was bland, however the white ogon butterfly was always a little bit larger than the other five. The orange coloring on the other fish looked like a light peach and the black coloring was gray. Last spring I purchased six more koi that were five inches long. Same as the koi I started with five years ago. This year I started making my own fish food using Lisa's (goodkarma's) recipe and I can't believe what has happened. The five year olds are larger and their coloring is very vibrant, the koi I bought last year have caught up to the older larger fish (five year olds). All of the other fish are also this size. These younger fish were only about seven inches long this spring. I would guess they are now approximately 18 inches long, or longer. Here is a picture to show you exactly what I mean. The large white fish to the left of the photo is my 5 year old white ogon butterfly, the fish in the center right behind the white ogon is also 5 years old (orange and black ginrin) and the fish on the right is the 2 year old I bought last spring (white with black down the middle of its back). If you compare them, they are all the same size (the small brat in the middle is a shubunkin). If you look closely in the top of the pic you can see some of the fry that were born in the pond this spring. They are now about 4-5 inches long. I supplement the homemade fish food with Hikari Gold which they are refusing to eat since I have been making Lisa's food. Another good thing with this food is that it is a sinking food. Koi are naturally bottom feeders. The only purpose for floating fish food is to enable you to see your fish when they come to the surface to eat. As I said the facts speak for themselves. Jenny

Hi cottagegarden: years ago I looked into Jack's classic soluble 20-20-20 and it's expensive. The one that is clinically proven to be the best soluble fertilizer is Daniels low-salt soluble (similar to Jack's, but lower-in-salt). Daniels is only commercially available to large green-house (High Country Roses uses Daniels soluble). My neighbor works for Ball Nursery and uses Daniels soluble on his tomatoes: amazing: thick stems & dark-green leaves ... but my tomatoes ended up beating his in hot weather, because I use slow-released organics, which doesn't burn like chemicals. Even the most expensive chemicals cannot measure to organics in terms of health. The best soluble is still Fish Emulsion, and slow-released organics like alfalfa pellets, and red-lava-rocks. Chemical soluble work best for pots, where it's constantly leaching. But to use chemical-soluble for in-ground roses ... it depends on your soil. If you have sandy soil, that's great, since it works immediately. But if you have poor-drainage & dense clay like mine ... it retains salt too well, and chemicals will induce diseases with salt-accumulation. I already tried that for my rock-hard clay, soluble DID NOT help Le Nia Rias rose to bloom for 3 years, only when I fixed the soil with red-lava-rock & cracked corn, that rose finally bloomed & healthy.

I answered on your post on the cooking page, but just in case you don't check there, or someone else needs a tip: Scrub with a little baking soda. It's non-toxic, non-abrasive, cheap, handy, anti-bacterial--and it's going to do the job for you. My enamelled cast iron has a white interior that still looks brand new, even after a year of use--because I always use a little baking soda when I clean it. Stains are NOT necessarily a way of life with enamelled cast iron, as some seem to think.

Here is the recipe: Apple Kuchen Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Streusel Topping: In a food processor with knife blade combine: 1/2 cup flour 1/3 cup sugar 3 Tblsp. Butter, chilled, cut in 3 pieces 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon or nutmeg (I use cinnamon) Process until crumbly, about 20 seconds. Put in a large mixing bowl. Slice 2 medium apples, cored, peeled and quartered. Add to topping and stir to coat apple slices. Cake: 1 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup butter, chilled, cut into 3 pieces 1/2 cup milk 2 eggs 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt ( I usually use 1/2 teaspoon) 1 teaspoon vanilla With knife blade in food processor, process flour, sugar and butter until butter is cut into flour and sugar, about 15 seconds. Add remaining cake ingredients, process 5 seconds. Turn off processor, scrape down sides of bowl and process another 5 seconds. Spoon batter into a greased 9 X 9 pan ( I use a glass 8 X 8 baking dish). Neatly arrange streusel mixture on top. Bake until came is set and apples are tender, 40-45 minutes. I don't wash the food processor after making the topping, I just mix the cake ingredients in the processor after making the topping. Let me know how it comes out if any of you make it. Enjoy!