Sylvia, I keep them for a bit before adding them, since they crack up/crush up so much easier when they have dried out. And they are much less slimey. We buy our eggs by the 2.5 dozen -- as I crack an egg, the shell goes back in the carton. Egg shells from boiled eggs are already in pieces, so those go straight into the next compost donation. When I have a bunch of egg shells all dried out, I mash them or break them up. It all depends on how destructive I'm feeling at the time. When hubby is in charge of frying eggs, those shells end up in the compost sooner. I'm surprised he hasn't complained about the empties in the fridge -- the only time he ever said anything was when they got left out and attracted bugs.

Hi Chipshot- After I posted I went and checked my supply of Charlie's liquid and found that I needed some more. I called them and a very helpful gentleman steered me to the powder rather than the liquid. I'm going to give it a whirl. I also bought 3 bottles of the stain remover for my mother, daughter and myself. The Charlie's guy told me to buy some STPP or real TSP from the paint store and put 2-4 TBLSP in with a load of towels for 3-4 washes. He said that the "crunchies" would wash out and from then on I could use vinegar. He thinks that the water out here is harder than usual. The Miele installer ( from my dw) doesn't think so, but I'm willing to give it a whirl. Vinegar alone did nothing. I tried that for over a month with no results. I think you may have something there that DD is using too much detergent. She bought some soap from Melaleuca-- I think it's an Amway type of company. She was supposed to have 80 loads or something and the bottle was almost empty when I saw it. I can't imagine, even with 2 little ones that she did that many loads. I'll try and tell her gently... BTW when she used that detergent the kids clothes didn't smell!

Interesting, I use ProMix BX and it comes as dry as a popcorn's toot. I actually use a tote and pre-wet an amount that I think I will need at the time. If any is left over I just leave the tote open and it air dries like it would in a pot. I don't do things days in advance as I am not that good at planning when I will have time to sow and since I use heat mats for germination I don't worry about the temperature of the mix as it will be warm within hours. The mix being slightly damp makes it easier to work with and it doesn't move as much when I mist fine seeds to have them make contact with the mix. Nice reading about different ways as I am always into changing things up for the better. SCG

Not nearly close enough to ID the problem but I would be inclined to let it grow some more to see what happens. It is possible that it is just a transient issue and will clear up once exposed to air and sun so it can dry out some. Dave