These are some tips for making Als gritty mix. I hope people on the forum and others who googled there way here will find it helpful. Screening  I would buy a large 18 gallon rope tub container which is only around $5-10. Then put an insect screening on top of it and use holding clips to secure the screen onto the tub. Make the screen concave down to the tub so the materials wonÂt fly out when screening. I believe all insect screening is 1/16 inch. Hardware cloth  I bought mine at Orchard hardware supply for around $2 bucks a foot. I bought 2 foot each. They fit perfectly on top of the tub with the insect screen right below it (see photo). I use 1/4 inch to screen out the pine barks. Fine bark  leave these laid outside in the sun so they will dry. Mix them around every few hours as the barks underneath will still be wet. Drying the barks will make it easier when removing the dust and powder when screening. Preparing to mix the soil - I would wash the granite really well, I can basically smell the salt coming out of it from the brand I was using (A1 granite grit #10). Mix your batch up first then wash it again really well before moving them into the pot container. Use insect screen to cover the holes inside the containers so the mix wonÂt fall out. Supplies  Use google map to find stores locally and just call the stores to find your supplies. Use "feed stores" for granite grit. (Gran-I-Grit  grower size, is the best). For turface, use this link, http://www.turface.com/distributors/state/. John Deere stores will carry Turface Allsport which is the same as MVP. "Allsport Pro" will be too fine for use in the gritty mix. Gypsum  if you plan on using a lot, just buy a 50 lb bag, I got mine for 6 dollars. Fertilizer  I am using a 9 month slow release fertilizer, brand = Dynamite. Some of these slow release fertilizer will also have the micronutrient you need so you wonÂt have to buy it separately. Remember to buy a few empty buckets to store your supplies.

I also have raised beds in Connecticut and have a couple of them (4 x 12 ft) covered with low tunnels, 4' high, made from 1/2" PVC pipe. I've used them for many years but only as season extenders. I was never able to get any crops to reliably grow during Jan and Feb because of the single plastic cover and no heat. I found that spinach is one of the hardiest crops to winter over if it is about 2 or 3 inches tall in November, but it didn't actually grow much until early March, then it took off like a rocket. I also used the tunnels to start seeds in early March of cold-tolerant vegetables. There was no provision for automatic venting on sunny days and that caused big temperature swings by the time April rolled around. Very heavy wet snows also caused structural problems since the PVC was only half inch. I had a coldframe for a few years with an automatic vent and that actually worked better because it was lower and had less heat loss, but it was not large enough. Last fall I build a large hoop house over two of the raised beds; it is 12' long and 10' wide and about 7' tall and is made from 1" PVC and 6-mil single-ply construction plastic. No heat. It has survived some heavy snow loads without any bending or distortion. I didn't have time to plant anything in it last fall because it wasn't finished until December but I planted lots of cold-tolerant seeds in early February. They were covered with Remay to get the extra protection that Coleman suggests. A min/max thermometer showed the temperature got into the low twenties at night. This week I expect the night temps to stay above freezing. The seeds I planted in early Feb are doing well but the ones I started indoors in late Feb and put in the hoophouse 2 weeks ago are doing just as well or better. I intend to remove the plastic in summer and replace it in November so I don't cook the plants. Temperature control is tough without fans and I really don't want to get involved with electric heat and ventilation (I might change my mind some day). I just built an automatic window this week and installed it yeasterday; it is 30" by 36" with a univent opener. I really needed it because the air temp might be freezing when I leave for work and get really sunny and warm by lunch time. I am working on the second one this week. This is a challenge with a PVC hoophouse because of the difficulties involved in making a window on a curved surface. This summer I am going to dig around the raised beds and put foam board vertically around them as far down as I can dig (about 18" in my stony soil). This should keep it warmer in the winter. I will also put low tunnels inside but I only need thin plastic covering because it won't have snow on it. But they will have to be well sealed especially at the edges of the hoophose where it is coldest. Maybe I'll give in and put a small electric heater in the low tunnel but I will use it to keep it from freezing rather than try to grow things like tomatoes. Then I will be ready to try real 4 season growing; I recommend the book because of the interesting ideas in it and will be looking at this forum for best crops to grow. I'll let you know how It turns out. Bob B.

My wife had a mastectomy 10 yr ago and because of a potential threat, all 21 nodes were striped out. Back then, that was the standard practice. Her lump was fairly large: A lumpectomy was performed while she was on the operatng table and the quick analysis said the margin was not 'clean' so the surgeon proceded with the full procedure including all node removal. It truned out that all nodes were clean and the removal was unnecessary. We also found that if the surgeon had removed just a little more material around her lump, the margin would have been clean and that would have prevented a lifetime of problems. Less than 2 years later, the recommendation for her case type changed and the new procedure became: remove the first node and check it. If it is ok, stop. It was our experience that removal of all nodes create a drainage problem. Fluid tends to build up for at least 6 weeks until the body can find ways to absorb and reroute it. These nodes are part of the drainage system for the infection fighters. The body did eventually heal, but a comprise remains. My wife has a lifing restriction of 10 lbs on that arm for the rest of her life. A larger weigth will not do physical harm, but the exertion can overload the drainage system and the muscles may be weak. it can result in a minor injury that will take a long time to heal. So my advice is: Do not let your nodes be removed unless these are PROVEN invaded. Over 10 years ago, complete removal was done to insure that an invaded node was not missed. In too many cases (back then) when nodes were left, they gave trouble and once the cancer invaded the nodal system, it is very late. Better (and faster) detection plus more research has changed the picture. Be sure to discuss with your oncologist.

Well all I know is the people that I know that have had cancer and had chemo and radiation were much younger than that and it was absolutely a terrible experience. My mom had radiation for breast cancer and was sick from it for a few years...she had another cancer and told them to just remove it and she was absolutely NOT going to take treatments, she lived about 15 years past that to be 89 YEARS OLD! My In Law had lymphoma and had radiation and actually died and had to be brought back during the treatment. He's OK now but he was only in his early 40s. My mom had a routine surgery when she was 84 and had a stroke from it and lived to be 89 not knowing what was up or down...just a terrible way to live! At 95 years old, I'd think you'd lived a good long life and just because there's a cancerous tumor doesn't mean you will die any time soon.