Hey there PP, and everyone else. I am elated to learn that I can get information from Ball online. I must be the worst googler, I have a hard time finding definite information online. I will be checking this out and will be buying the books as well. I cannot tell anyone how much I appreciate this information. I keep wanting to come here on this forum and post questions, I mean, who else better to ask than the pros, right? I do not want to disregard the information from ameteurs like me, though, because those of us without a greenhouse, and have to use grow lights, we have to adjust our methods to do whatever will work for us. For instance, last year, my Impatiens. I grew them in cells, and had problems with maintaining growth at the base of the plants. Even after pinching the basal growth was leggy, wimpy. My plants kept trying to grow upwards instead of outwards. My plants did not have a bushy growth habit until they were planted out. I found out from friends in the Impatiens forum that impatiens are sensitive to "touching" each other. With them growing so closely together in cells, they were not getting adequate light to the base of the plant. From what I understand, this would not have been a problem in a greenhouse where the light comes from all sides. So, as a grow light grower, I made the decision this year to plant my impatiens in 3 inch pots, rather than cells (those 3 inch pots that starter foliage plants come in). I have much more space between my plants,they get much more light to the base, undoubtedly because the plants are not shading each other from the precious light they get only from above. They are already producing fantastic side growth, and they have not even been pinched yet. I am sure you all do well with impatiens in cells, but I had to adjust my methods. I cant tell you how your little tidbits of information are VALUABLE to me, and to others. I happen to believe that it is very important to know not only WHAT to do, but WHY you are doing it. Calliope, you mentioned earlier that "plants should not be pinched until they reach the sides of the pot". I found this to be incredibly important information! Why had I never heard of that before? I was always following the "4 inch rule". I just wanted to take a minute to let you all know how much I appreciate your time. I feel that I shouldnt be posting here, as I am not a professional, so I do refrain, but feel priveledged to have this opportunity. Now, gonna check out those Ball Seed websites!

I always wonder why people hire contractors for big jobs without really knowing how they will work. Speaking as a contractor there are certain clues that will tell you if they are good or not. Do they communicate well? Do they call you back in a timely manner? Do they show up on time and, if they don't, do they let you know ahead of time? Do they keep the job site clean? Very important. How do they handle changes in scope and unforeseen job site conditions? The good ones will warn you ahead of time about the conditions they can not predict and have some sort of agreement in place about what to do if conditions turn out badly. In Philadelphia I often run into botched previous renovations that structurally compromise the home. I tell people what the job will cost if everything inside the walls looks good. Then I tell them what might be inside the walls (termite damage, bad wiring, structural deficiencies, etc.) and we agree on what to do if I find something bad. I want to find the problems early so that neither the customer nor I are locked into an unrealistic job scope. Basically I build in an out for the customer if there is a problem. The contractor you hired should have done a test first. Also it is good to hire someone for a small part of the job first before hiring them for the big part.

Sorry you're feeling so bad! That doesn't sound like fun, especially with an active toddler running around. Good thing he's so cute! :) You might want to reconsider the accupuncture. My best friend is pregnant and due in about 11 days. She actually just called me about 2 hours ago and said she had decided to try accupuncture because she's been so uncomfortable. She said that although the lady was a little "new agey" for her, she felt great and better than she had felt in a month. Might be worth another try. Certainly couldn't hurt. Hope you feel better soon!

ladyrose, did you have a trade list in place when the change to Houzz happened.... I thought all had been restored, the link is in the article here.... https://support.houzz.com/hc/en-us/articles/204109398-Where-is-my-Trade-List- To edit your trade list, go to your profile page, then click on Edit Profile, then Advanced Settings. On that edit screen, you will see a box marked My GardenWeb Trading List. You can make changes there, be sure to save any changes.... I didn't have a trade list up but did have some clippings stored, someone gave me the instructions on how to bring those back manually. It would probably work for the trade list too, if you don't find yours let me know and I'll look for those instructions again (involved googling my GW name and finding the 'cache')