Before spending money on something called "soil" take a good look at the soil you already have. It does little good to add to bad soil some even really good soil but even bad soil with the proper amendments can be made good and often at lower cost then buying some kind of "soil". Contact the people at your local office of the Washington State University Cooperative Extension Service about having a good, reliable soil test done so you know your soils pH and present level of certain nutrients and then dig into your soil with these simple soil tests, 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. which can guide you in making the soil you have into a good, healthy soil that will grow strong and healthy plants better able to ward off insect pests and plant diseases. Here is a link that might be useful: WSU CES

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

Planto, Thank you for clearing up what I wanted or meant to say. I saw a E. lactea cristata when I was visiting friends at Tampa, FL. It was well over 8 ft. tall. Never been trimmed of any reversions on the crest. It was on it's own root system. And I have rerooted cuttings from my white ones all the time. Gave BikerDoc one. They grow just find on their own. I also have a white Ghost from a cutting from the same plant. And yes they will break off from their graft stock at some time down the road. These guys get large and big in time. Mine are very heavy and must be handled extremely carefully. One tip and it can come off its base. At some time (years from now) I can show a crest 3 ft. sq.

Here's some info about dolomite. It is from a master class in agriculture. Just remember you add lime, then foliage pro, better watch what you do. To much of a good thing can be just as bad. ---------------------------------------- High-magnesium lime Dolomite, or high-magnesium lime, can cause problems too. When dolomite is applied in too large of a quantity it can cause an excess in magnesium and have a negative effect on yields. The problem is it can be as long as three years after the excess lime has been applied before seeing the greatest amount of potential damage to the crop yields. By this time, unless the grower has kept good records, a connection between the liming and declining yields may be overlooked. (A moral here is to keep good records of when, where, how much and what type of lime each field receives.) Have you applied dolomite lime on any of your fields in the last few years? If so, count three crop years from the time of application and check the yields that year and thereafter as compared to yields prior to liming. Even if the applied magnesium from dolomite lime will have a detrimental effect, do not expect to see that yields have dropped the first year. For example, when too much dolomite is applied to land for cotton, it can eventually cause the plant to send out two lesser roots instead of one longer taproot. These roots do not go straight down, but curve to one side instead, and have less depth than the one taproot would normally have. (If you rip and hip, this effect will not always be as evident.) It will take three years to see the full negative effects of overusing dolomitic limestone. But when overused, once those effects have come into full effect it can cost a cotton farmer about ¾ bale of cotton per acre, every year, until the problem is corrected!Excess magnesium costs money In corn, on medium to heavy soils, a high level of magnesium (15%+) costs the farmer 10 bushels of corn per acre. Above 20% magnesium on the soil test reduces the yield by another 5+ bushels per acre. In addition, it will require more nitrogen to produce each bushel of corn every year until the problem is corrected. In legumes, taking soybeans as an example, 13-14% magnesium levels can cause 10 bushels per acre loss per year, even when all other nutrients are present in the proper amounts. Be sure what your soil really needs Even though too much, or the wrong type of lime can cut yields, limestone should always be applied where shown to be needed. Applying the proper amount of lime in the right form can provide far greater increases in yield than the losses that occur from misuse. Have your yields suffered in certain fields in the past few years? If so, avoid the mistake of failing to correctly check for and properly apply any lime that is needed. Just be sure that you use enough to correct the problem, but not so much that it causes problems three years from now and several years thereafter. If there is a need for lime, autumn is the best time to spread it for next Spring's crops. Do it correctly as needed and see the difference liming can make for crops over the next several years.