Back to the topic of contaminants from waste wood: In my state (MO) most if not all of the mulching and composting operations are exempted from obtaining a permit for processing/disposing of solid waste since they are turning waste into a product. Technically they should get an official Permit Exemption letter from the state, but only some of them do. The exemption states that they are not supposed to use treated, painted etc. wood. However, since they are exempt from permitting, there is no inspection process as there is with permitted facilities. Some of the larger composting operations, especially those composting food scrap, are required to get permits so the state can help control odor issues, etc. That gives the inspectors an opportunity to at least see the operation. The person I talked to also said they know of no federal regulations on mulch. Your state may vary, but there is certainly a possibility that all kinds of stuff *could* be used to make mulch and it would be hard to detect by looking. As always, buyer beware. This post was edited by toxcrusadr on Wed, Sep 17, 14 at 14:52

I don't see any crazy here ;) Radical? Why? Because we won't be led like sheep into our graves? Decisions made by WHO(M) for us, whether we like it or not? It is all MARKETING. The big vaccine hoopla - the meds - it is to make money for the STOCKHOLDERS ONLY. Be it by commercials on tv, or ads you see EVERYWHERE! MONEY MONEY to be made. To pay off the FDA, the AMA, etc. Trust me. Bush never required the gmo people to test before allowing. Neither is this president. So guess who is the guinea pig? YOU! guess what HIS family eats? ORGANIC. Just like mine. Gmo is in ALL corn *and corn is fed to cattle to make them fat! Soy. Unless it is organically grown and fermented just pass it up. CANOLA - who in their right mind would even touch this one? Soon to be rice - cotton - etc. There is NO stopping it. Problems are being seen and they are being hushed. We can NOT travel by air without molestation. We MUST obey to take a vaccine due to Health care? what? what if we are allergic? What if we give the disease now to someone else since we have been injected with it? Soon all of our rights will be taken, or so it seems. Be careful out there. Don't be so quick to believe what you are being told. There is google. There is research. They claim vaccines build up your immunity by giving you either the LIVE or DEAD virus? Well, what is homeopathy then? But each doc will tell you THAT is crazy. Why, because they can't patent it and make billions off our deaths? Open your eyes, soon. Please. Do NOT accept the MARKETING

Hi Squishy, "When the seedlings come up how will I tell the difference between them and any weeds that grow?" This is a picture of a couple of zinnia seedlings just after they have emerged. If you look closely, you can see a few very tiny weed seedlings, as well. This next picture shows a row of young zinnias that have gotten their first pair of true leaves. Some tiny weed seedlings are also just visible. Since I cull my zinnias heavily (I am trying to improve them), I plant them much closer together than is recommended, because I know I am going to remove a lot of zinnia plants at first bloom. The picture below shows a row of zinnia seedlings with some weeds present. Can you pick out the zinnias? It can be a little tricky telling a zinnia seedling from a weed. The zinnias have two cotyledons (seed leaves), but so does about half of the plant kingdom. That is why it is a good idea to plant your zinnia seeds in a straight line. That way the zinnia seedlings will be on a straight line among the weeds, which will be somewhat randomly spaced. That will help you distinguish which are the zinnias and which are the weeds. "Also how much space will the full grown zinnia plant need? I have a small garden. " That depends entirely on the variety of zinnia. Thumbelinas and Zinnitas only grow about 6 or 7 inches tall, so each plant could need a comparable amount of space. Benary's Giants grow 4 feet tall and would need 2 to 4 feet of space, depending on whether you wanted to crowd them or not. Some cactus flowered zinnias can grow to 6 feet tall if they are a bit crowded. so you might want to give them 3 feet or more of space. Zinnias will tolerate quite a bit of crowding, but they then get into a height race with each other, competing and reaching for sunshine. "If I run out of space, is it possible to grow zinnias in pots? " Yes, with adequate pot size and a good potting mix. A single Thumbelina plant or Zinnita plant might do well in a 5-inch or a 6-inch pot. Large zinnia varieties would need a much larger pot per plant. Zinnias resent becoming root bound, and they develop large root systems in open ground that are as big or bigger than their mature above-ground bushes. Their pot volume should be comparable to their bush volume. "My garden likes to produce weeds at a colossal rate " So does mine. Declare war on your weeds with a good sharp hoe and a companion hand hoe. And pull weeds that are too close to your good plants. If they are really close, you can snip them at ground level with scissors or a hand pruner to avoid upsetting the root system of the crowded zinnia. ZM

ZM - major storm here last night - thunder and lightening (one strike very close - will walk the property to see if I see damage), followed by heavy rain and hailstones that sounded like they were the size of marbles, though I didn't go outside in the dark at 2 or 3 AM to confirm it. The cats inside were a bit freaked. One of the ferals who typically eats with the inside crew was out all night; came back soaked this morning. There are many places to shelter in the area, so I imagine he wasn't out in the worst, just wet from the transit. Anyway, now bring on some heat and this place will really see the green. The 40 seed packets was a rough estimate, but it's not all. This is just the first wave. However, some of those packets have no more than 3 seeds a piece, specifically some of the zinnias that I am starting early. I don't want many of those right now when they will need to be taking up light space for more than 2 months. Today I will start the teeny-tinies in 6-cell plastic planters with my Baccto propagation mix: petunias, lobelia, nicotiana, some campanula, etc. I've decided again that I am very satisfied with the way this propagation mix performs. I wet it first before I ever plant, then water the seeds in. From then on, as long as I don't let the mix get bone-dry, it will take water in immediately without danger of run-off, as some mixes do. The price is steep - about $24 per 2 cu ft, but I feel the quality's worth it. Oh dang - just went to look at the radar map to see if I could tell you if the storm was moving down your way, and I see we are about to be clobbered again BIG TIME. Lights just flashed out and came back on - better send this and get off line.- Alex