The only local source for FP is Worm's Way - and you'll pay dearly for it. The best local source for most grow media, fertilizers, and a bunch of other stuff is Hummert International up in Earth City. This includes Turface, perlite, peat, Fafard Mixes (get #51 or #52 and you wouldn't have to build your own 5-1-1 - it's more expensive though). There are 2 good sources of pine fines locally but you have to buy in bulk: Kirkwood Material Supply and St. Louis Compost. At various times you will find one has a better price than the other - same with the delivery fees. Either will work as-is for the 5-1-1. You can only get Axis locally at OK Hatchery or through a guy at the Botanical Gardens .. but I lost his number, sorry. OK Hatchery is always slightly expensive on most of their stuff but at least they have a wide variety. You can get Gran-i-grit there too - but I've stopped using that except for very small pots (buy the perlite + charcoal from Hummert if you want to substitute). You will find with our water that if you use soiless mixes with high nitrate fertilizers (like the one you purchased) that you will have some serious micronutrient issues. You want no greater than a 3:1 ratio of nitrate:ammonium and probably more like 2:1 if you want the pH to stabilize in the pot around 5.5-6.5. Note what it says on the link you gave for the label: "Potential Basicity: 131 lbs calcium carbonate equivalent per ton" - all other things being equal if the nitrates are taken up by the plants with that fertilizer you will find the pH creeping up over time. We're already starting with high pH and moderately high alkalinity. That fertilizer is also lacking S and we don't have enough in our water and we also have very low atmospheric SO2 levels which plants can use in lieu of sulfates - or I do where I am anyway. If you want to use the Cal-Mag product then you should alternate it with an acid-reaction fertilizer that contains S. 25-5-15 would fit the bill (you can get it at Hummert) but so would a bunch of other options. Or the FP if you want to spring for it (supplement the FP with calcium sulfate if you aren't acidulating with sulfuric acid). If urea doesn't bother you I think Hummert carries the 24-8-16 Peter's product as well - that will give you the 3-1-2 but with no calcium. You would alternate that with the Cal-Mag. In my experience even if you do use an acid reaction fertilizer you will find that the pH and alkalinity of our water is such that you will eventually run into micro deficiencies with both mixes. Be looking for signs of Zn, Mn, and Fe deficiency and have a plan to correct them. For aeroponics I would definitely stick with a 2 or 3 part nutrient formula system. Or make your own fertilizer concentrates from scratch (larger initial investment, huge savings over time). To do aeroponics correctly you're going to need high quality pH and EC meters, and a lot of reading or expensive trial and error...

Does anyone know why the magazine Houseplants and Porch gardens just disappeared? I had just signed up for a 3 year subscription and they disappeared off the face of the earth! Oh yes! I purchased a complete set on E bay 5 years ago. I love it as much now as I did in the 70's!❤️

Wish Design: I'll bring you strawberries (we talked about this, no?) and I can bring you both chocolate mint (yes, smells like chocolate mint) and spearmint. let me know if you need both. Busyasabee: Find me. I'll have named and unnamed verigated hosta. Watergal, too cool! :) I live in waterless hell sometimes, but things do seem to winter well -- if the voles don't get them. I'm taking LynnT's suggest and buying wire mesh today to make cages for bulbs. I'm tired of watching foliage wilt before my very eyes. LynnT -- didn't you get my email about the bucket of Blackberry Lilies sitting next to your bucket of Jacob Klein on the cinder blocks by my pine tree? They're a'waiting you. Hosta Albo Margineta is potted, sitting on the ground in a plastic tray ready to go to the swap. It's not labeled yet, but if you don't have any... It's a nice, medium-sized upright. I'm ready. I want you to bring plastic bags to take home the stuff that sulks. Can't wait! C.

Actually I use a wipe off calendar and it works well for me. Appts, etc are kept in my electronic gadget PDA? and before I was given this thing I had a paper calendar book that I carried in my purse. The wipe on/off calendar is so the family knows what's going on on any given day. My calendar board actually has 7 lines and I simply roll the months. As one week finishs I wipe and put the next week from the bottom in it's place - does that make sense? I had those plastic rubber things - like the decorations for windows, with the calendar month names that I would stick at the beginning of the month. If my DH or DDs/DS has something going on they add it to the board and then I add it to my PDA. That way I know what's going on with everyone. But it's an added visual each morning on what's going on for the day. I've been doing this since forever. I use a small one now but when the kids were little it was quite large - so the kids had space to write. A paper calendar never had enough room. But we also listed chores etc on the calendar. Oh and everything was color coded, each one of us was a different color.