Hi! Apologies for the delay on seeing this post... The photos originally posted plantomaniac08(8) but the photo showing further down is the 'White Stripe' spathiphyllum we used to grow. Sadly, it didn't perform well for us, so we're no longer growing that one. Regarding tags and accuracy: I totally hear you --- our tagging isn't the most accurate in the world. We typically don't go variety-specific on our tags because it makes things MUCH more expensive for us... and we have to keep our costs within the threshold of what our retailer partners are willing to buy our plants for (while still being able to afford to invest in research and development to find and test new plants...). Another problem is that we're human --- everyone makes mistakes and with the volume of plants we produce, it happens from time to time that the wrong tag gets put in the wrong plant. We are always working on making things better, though, and we're testing some different systems that can help us be more specific on tags without becoming crazy expensive. But if you have any questions about our plants, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. Oh, and by the way: I'm working to get every plant we sell photographed and put up on the website with the variety name, but it's a slow process... ---Justin, Costa Farms

. Rudysmallfry: What your bills are in dollars is a concern; but moreso the kWh that you use . . . . electricity costs vary tremendously. Any place that will entertain installing a system will need to know the kWh usage . . . . FORGET about converting back to electric heat . . . and running with solar PV. You will be far better off to use solar heat collectors, rather than PV panels to run heaters . . . get rid of electric range and water heater as well . . . ANY appliance that generates heat from electricity is a NO-NO when doing PV ( Photo-Voltaics; ie panels for generating electricity from the sun ). Roof mount is NOT the only option . . . I ended up using pole mounts; house is shaded by trees to keep cool in summer . . . and besides; averaging better than 12' of snow a year comes into play as well. You can do ground mounts or pole mounts . . . they do offer two advantages: 1) They can be tilted up and down throughout the year; which affords more collection than being set at one angle ALL year long. My pole mounts are adjusted by a single bolt; easy and quick to do. You may not realize it; but the sun "moves" up and down in the sky a total of about 46 degrees througout the year. I move mine about 8 times a year . . . . . you can get mounts that also automatically track east-west as well; they are expensive and will ultimately need SOME kind of maintenance though . . I've heard they are prone to wind damage . . . . 2) By tilting throughout the seasons, not only do you get better output; but they will also be most vertical during the winter . .. which will help them shed snow more easily unless it's wet / sticky. And when you DO need to clean them off; beats &^#% out of getting up on the roof to do so . . . LazyPup: Utilities are a monopoly in the business to make money for themselves and their investors; not to provide clean, reliable, affordable energy to people. I pay a separate charge JUST to be connected . . . if I use none does not matter. THEN I pay a charge for the actual electricity; THEN I pay a charge per kW to DELIVER that electricity. In more "progressive" places like Europe; energy provided by people like me ( wind, solar etc ) command a PREMIUM . .. as it's greener energy than ANY other source . . . we need to move ahead into the '80's in this country in terms of energy policies . . . . . right now, they get my excees production at fire sale prices; at absolutely NO expense to themselves. What a deal, huh ? Good luck with your pursuit of things . . . . I'll answer questions if you have them . . . . Bob

earn44 - I am very impressed w Fireclay. Not only is the tile beautiful, but their customer service has been great so far, cheap samples, fast shipping, and personal emails to ask about my project. I am adjusting my pricing expectations and thinking that $35/sq ft isn't so bad! Thanks everyone for talking me out of the shapes, that saves $10/sq ft! Speaking of Fireclay, I'm back on board w Kelp potentially, I've been reading through many of the Craftsman kitchen threads on here and lunarlab's kitchen thread. The Kelp pic she posted on this thread is one of the many in her reveal thread, and shows the color quite differently. Hope you don't mind me posting this lunarlab, it is gorgeous! pippiep - I read through your threads on tile, I feel like you've saved me so much work and samples! I like the Leaf Peeper tile, but the Basil is just so much more vibrant and appealing to me. Checked out the Vermeere at Complete Tile, but paying for shipping is stopping me from ordering samples. Does anyone else balk at these silly expenses, that are so small in the scheme of things! More thoughts later ... thanks everyone for your ideas and feedback!

Claudia, couldn't be simpler. Here are 3 photos showing the back, side view, and completed simple assembly of the 3 components of my plant I.D.: aluminum pet tag with plant name, screw post (also known as Chicago Screw, which is the name of the company I am getting these cool fasteners from), and aluminum tent stake. The Chicago Screw Co. has just come out with a 1/8" diameter screw post in brass which fits perfectly through the hole in the pet I.D. tag and the aluminum tent stake. The samples I received are just a tad too long, so tomorrow I will request a slightly shorter sample and then, BINGO, I will have the perfect components for a weather-proof attractive way to label all the hostas, heuchies, roses, etc. in my garden. It is a bit of an investment initially, but once it's done, it's done. No more relabeling plastic tags or watching them degrade. The pet tags (which are now on sale at Drs. Foster & Smith online for 99 cents---see my other post about this) come in a rainbow of colors. I simply stick to black because I find it is maximally contrast-y to read, but there's green, pink, blue, etc. available. With these cool screw posts, you just screw the screw part into the outer tube, resulting in a smooth shaft with the screw heads on both sides, neat as a pin and a very secure attachment. With the right length of screw post, there won't be any swinging of the I.D. tag or twisting so you can't read it, as I currently experience with the little rings the I.D. tags come with.