Good Day, ladies, Lucille, I'm so happy you got your trays and book. Great news. You'll be busy for some time playing with your new toys and book. You're saying the trays come in different sizes? When viewing the site I only saw one size, but didn't have time to read all the info either, so probably missed it. I was shocked by their shipping costs. 30 something dollars..Yikes. How did you talk them down? LOL..I'm wondering if 30.00 is actual shipping costs or they include handling like so many other sellers are doing. How did you determine the right size? How many plants fit on each tray? Do they fit according to pot size. I think you said you bought 29 trays..How many AV's fit on each tray, and what size pots are your AV's in? You also mentioned these trays are thicker than those sold at Walmart. Are the trays you're referring to used for sowing seeds? The type Peat Pellets or Jiffy Pots are set in? If that's the case, I've got several. Before getting a gh, I used to sow annuals seed every winter/spring. Still have most of the trays. I agree, they are lightweight, so I double or tripple.. You've given me an idea though, Lucy..thank so much. I use two trays for a Coffee tree, a couple small Hibisucs, Azalea, and Ming Aralia. Since I have extras, I'll see how they work with AV's. Each tray would probably hold, 12, 4" pots. The minimum, 9 pots. I don't have an extra shelf to set AV's, they have to sit atop 3 single shelves in the LR windows. One shelf w/lighting isn't sufficent for AV's, so in winter, I place lower light plants or plants in dormancy. I'm really happy you got your goodies..I wish you'd take a pic of AV's on a tray to give me an idea what it looks like. BTW, I was reading your Bio..You have parrots? Do you mind if I ask their types? birds are the best. Anyway, thanks for the help.. Irina, it's too late..I've already contracted the AV bug..LOL..I'm planning on getting a Tiger, but waiting till cc statement is PIF. LOL. I also want to order the two books, Growing AV's and Growing to Show, but that too will have to wait. But I will, definately buy both books. About soil or soil less mixes, I'm afraid to pot in a completely soil less mix. I've been growing plants in soil so long, to change now is frightening..LOL. Don't get me wrong, my mix contains non-soil mediums like Perlite/Peat/Vermiculte/sand, but I still add soil, too. There are so many experiements I want to try, one is using a completely soil less mix, another is deadheading flowers so nutrients focus on foliage, last, breeding flowers..LOl..Is that what it's called? In my AV Orthos books, one article details how it's done..It sounds easy enough, but waiting is the thing..How long does it take for an AV seed to germinate? Its' been some time since reading the article. I beleive it was stated AV seeds can take up to a year to germinate.. Also converting soil to completely soil lees would be like starting over. I don't water any plant by schedule. (Fertilizing and ST is planned by date.) The AV magazine should soon arrive. I'm hoping between GW and the mag will explain AV care from novice to pro. I hope..(S) How are you girls today? Do you garden outdoors? How about indoor plants? Or dedicatated to AVs alone? Toni

Tried taking a picture, but they're just too small to get a decent focus on. They really do look like spider mites in that they have a dark body but tiny lightly colored (legs?) sticking out in front but slightly larger in overall size. They also have antennae like aphids. Smooth, solid black with a tiny white speck on the left and right sides. Their undersides are white-ish. They tend to hop when disturbed or trying to get to something and they're pretty good at it. I'm only finding them in the top 1/16" of soil, but I've also noticed a few green aphids hanging around too on the surface. They seem to be spreading to other containers. So far, I've found them in containers of seedlings/seeds of: Texas bluebonnet Platycodon Aster Datura (more recent) Blackberry Lily All containers have a bit of algae growth in them. Overnight, I noticed that they flocked to a cup of water that I had a chrysanthemum cutting in it. Most drowned, but several seem to be hanging on to the stem a few inches above the water, which leads me to think that they're an aphid or mite of some sort. Once again I noticed another green aphid nearby.

Cook your lettuce leaves well before feeding them. That's what I fed my indoor ones with, and when they got to a certain size they loved it (but it has to be soft and squidgy!). You can cook them up first and freeze them and just chuck them in as needed. Now I know why Sean, with rare exception, I never see a dead stickelback! At this time of year I take the snails in the garden for a walk down the road to the park and that has helped keep their numbers down, but now I know what to do with the slugs. I have a bargain with the frogs and toads--I keep the little ones for them, and I take the big ones to the park. Whether it works in proved via the state of the Hostas!

Hi again, just another thought about the frogs and tadpoles. Given your pond is very new, there might not be much for you little tadpoles to eat when they hatch. Algae and decaying plant matter after they finish with the spawn jelly, and after they get legs they get look for meat, and your bug and microorganism population won't be that terrific yet so it is more likely they would look to one another for breakfast. (They do that anyway, but less if there is a variety of options). So two options--give the spawn back to your sister for this year, or take it indoors to rear until they get legs and hope the pond has matured enough by then. Boiled iceberg lettuce works to keep them going as food source indoors when they are big and active, and keeps in the freezer. The wildlife will come and thrive when the conditions are right and that won't take long, and you are on the road to have the most fantastic wildlife site. I dug my pond the same time of year as you, and as a frog fantatic, was desperate for frogs. The day after fillling, there was a pondskater already trying it out from somewhere. By spring after the planting had taken off, the bug population took off, and so did the blanket weed. Stuck a few stickelback in (4) and they provided some wildlife interest for the first summer, and by June there were visiting frogs and toads. In fact, I am sure I saw a newt by the end of the first summer, but convinced myself it was a big stickelback. When spawning season came a year later, there were 30 out there and 6 clumps of spawn--and we have not looked back. Put a birdfeeder up and the variety of birds that come to the pond is incredible. And of course there are the dragonflies which will find your pond this summer, and you will gradually see the results of that next spring for the damselflies, and over the next 3 years for the big guys. And by that time, the newts, frogs and toads have shown they are here to stay. Must admit, I am a stickelback fan as they are a native species, too small to attract heron, but provide fry for everyone else and only eat a few of the tadpoles. They also provide food for a kingfisher who comes from the river a mile away (see thread of unexpected visitor). I think having a branch or something to perch on helps. Stickelback are also fun to watch during breeding season, as the males do all the work making nests, attracting females, guarding the eggs--dab hand at multi-tasking! The plant pots and marginals in your sisters pond provide that shallow area and help with with food chain. Clever little guys to find eeny weeny ladders too! Have fun--