OK Melissa, we can do our daylight countdown together. Naturally, it doesn't help my light-afflicted cause by staying in bed till 11am but, in these days of unemployment, I am loving my pillow. I also need to work harder (ahem) although the next skip arrives soon for the final death-throes of my home garden.Buy the lilacs, Melissa, and the paeonies. What else is money good for? Sherry, while you are 'fixing' your back garden gravel and paving, I will be doing the very same. I save 2pound coins in an old teapot (!) and am now up to almost 300 (6oo pounds! riches) - the new garden funds. Loving the blog too (although, once the gardening days get longer, I am betting the blog entries get shorter) Elemire, medlars: gorgeous flowers - weird fruit, weirder 'bletting'. Schisandra though - me too. Think we need two if we want the long strings of berries. Have been fancying this for my north wall for some time. Sandersonia....ah yes, I have also had it twice - each time for only one year. I tried to dig it up the second time but forgot exactly where it had been....and you remember those tiddly little rooty things to plant - totally invisible! Now consigned to the growing list of plants which I have failed with - along with gardenias, red echinaceas,cercis canadensis, zephyranthes, azaleas,phlox, hebes... Annececilia: pruning apples - although there are many, many books out there, you really cannot beat hands-on teaching. Until you find a good course or get a knowledgeable friend in, wait. The trees will not die if they never see a lopping saw or secateurs again. Sadly, in the UK, we have grubbed up many ancient orchards (philistine farmers, landowners) yet there are still century old apples and pears, blooming and fruiting, all over England. Pruning, training, shaping, mmmm, as an inveterate meddler, I LOVE these jobs. They should be approached joyfully, without fear and anxiety so dispense with worry, clear your head, sharpen your tools and jump in with confidence. Look upon it as a great experiment and take photos, if you can, of the bare branches. Step back from your work often and look again. When you have looked for a good while, make a cut, any cut. Then step back and look again. You can practice renovation pruning on some of the old gnarly trees and shape some of the younger ones into pyramids or standards. If you still feel anxious or uncertain, then wait and read and look some more - you have lots of time and apples (unlike cherries or peaches or plums) are obliging. Oh yeah, cross the weeding off the list - this is another futile, tedious job which we never really get on top of and it just makes us feel guilty. Those weeds are some creatures livelihood. Holley - yes, yes, yes - a greenhouse. Your life will be changed forever. I am in my third year of owning a greenhouse and, even though it takes up a QUARTER of my entire garden, it is a most wonderful investment (mine was free on freecycle so check those sort of things first - who cares what it looks like as long as it works. As for raised beds - my whole garden has been laid out on rubble with NO soil at all. Raised beds are the way to go - not so much bending, you can choose your soil, you can sit on the edges (for hours)and the soil remains friable because it does not get trodden on and compacted. You will never look back. Kim - aaaah. You have given us a few laughs and plenty good advice. Glad to raise a smile for you.

Rj, " The differences I'm noticing are that all the tea recipes I've found before bug juice brew in the shade, bug juice in the sun." It really doesnÂt matter; the amount of time to brew CT is more important. 12 (twelve)-24 (twenty four) hours is more than enough (unless temperature is less than 60°F). You can do bug juice in the shade too IMO. Stirring compost tea with a stick is almost as effective as using aquarium bubblers is the opinion of some. I have used a stick when I feel the need. " Does the fruit feed it longer w/ out addition? I'm guessing that over ripe would be best?" Yes, there is no need to add extra fruit. Rotten fruit is always better, more natural sugar in the fruit. I try to make a batch of Bug juice that will be used completely, with none saved. CT, from what I have learned should be used before the brew goes anaerobic, thus the limited brewing time. " Bug juice say's to use ''good fresh compost'', is that finished but not cured? Still cooking, and taken from the core?" Finished (all material unrecognizable) is good, cure/matured is better. The reason is because cured will have nitrogen fixing bacteria in the compost, thus you will be growing those bacteria when you make the tea. As it relates to fungi, from what I have learned they do not grow in CT, that is why using bigger bubbles while brewing is a good idea. Fungi are shaken loose from the compost and float in the tea; without good agitation one will not get as much fungi into the brew. Any compost that is still "cooking" should not be used; there may still be pathogens and other bad bacteria/fungi, along with seed seeds still alive in the compost. We donÂt want to be spreading bad things all over the property, thus the suggestion to use cured compost when making compost tea. " You mentioned that you store yours and use it at 50:1 when it gets older. Are you shaking it daily? What do you use to store it in?" Again, I try not to have to store CT (with bug juice), better to use it all at once. When I do have to store it I only use it as a "soil drench" for plants only. I do not stir or blend once the tea is in a drum, they are mixed when I add them to whatever I am using to transfer the brew to the garden. When storing, I use one of the drums pictured below: Fermented is easier to deal with and store; however, aerated compost tea is faster to make. I am not exactly sure which is more effective due to my short time using BIM. I will admit that I am starting to like BIM more, but it is still too early to tell. I trust this helps; if you have more questions, just ask Blutranes

It's not a crime to profit from business. Even treehuggers must agree on that. Excess profits; that we can talk about. Corporate welfare; that we can talk about. Making sure businesses pay the full costs of the impact they have on our environment; that we can talk about. But it's a straw man to imply that anyone who is okay with businesses making money is somehow in their pockets. the homebrew i have seen looks equaly as clean as the diesel from the bowser But how do you know the fuel is "equaly as clean"? Because it looks clean? Glycerine (a component of making biodiesel) is clear. How do you propose to see if there's too much in a batch? Visually inspect for a clear liquid? Or sample frequently to make sure it meets independently-established chemical standards -- or, at the very least, the standards of the company making the engine in which the fuel will be used? Would you allow a surgeon to operate on you after (s)he dropped the instruments on the floor? They might look clean after that. But how would you know they are clean? Would you want to take that chance? I have a full-time job/career. I care for an elderly mother and an infirm relative. I would like to have some semblance of a life in the remaining hours of my days. I don't have time to homebrew my own fuel any more than I have the time to grow my own wheat, mill it, and bake bread with it. I also don't have the kind of budget that allows me to spend lots of money on fancy production setups or on the continual analysis which will prove to me that what I'm stuffing into the tank of my vehicle will not harm it in the long run. Muffing the motor of my sole vehicle doesn't have any "green" fixes. I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to prove, len, but you're ignoring my point. And, in declaring profit from a business "evil", you are setting up an argument that you cannot win -- unless you live in a hut, like Theodore Kaczynski or Henry Thoreau.

I've vacationed at every one of them. All the above suggestions are good ones. High altitudes and Summer sun = a huge need for major sunscreen, hats that work, not just look cute, to keep the sun off your faces and heads, good sunglasses, constant hydration. Drinks like Gatorade hydrate while giving you back the electrolytes your body has sweated out . . . and make no mistake that you will sweat out here. Our air is just so dry that it evaporates sweat much more quickly than at more humid places. Nose bleeds occur more often because of the higher altitudes and excessive dry air, so bringing along bottles of Ayer will definitely come in handy. Dress in layers because the nights can get very cold, despite the heat of the days. Here where I live in the mountains of New Mexico, we have an average drop in temps of about 30-degrees between 3PM and 11PM during the Summer months. Smallish canvas backpacks can carry your needs, without causing excessive weight or sweating. Loose, sturdy clothing in natural, breathable fabrics. Sturdy, comfortable hiking shoes (or at least good sturdy tennis) are a must . . . with socks! Avoid sandals, especially at Bryce, Zion, GC and Sedona outside of the town. Speaking of Sedona, a place we LOVE to visit, Oak Creek Canyon is our favorite place to stay and The Silver Saddle at The Cowboy Club (for gourmet Western dining) and the Oak Creek Bar & Grill at Tlaquepaque for the best burgers (by far!) in all of Sedona, with a great setting overlooking Tlaquepaque (pronounced ta-LA-kay-PAH-kay) . . . not to mention, their delicious, award-winning, home brewed beers. Wishing you a wonderful trip! Lynn