OMG, I can't stand up straight or straighten my fingers anymore! I've been outside all day and haven't eaten a thing since breakfast. I made one batch (6 gallons) of gritty and ran out after re-potting about 2/3 of my succulents. I made a 2nd batch of gritty, but ran out of daylight before I could pot up the rest. I learned one thing today - sifting sucks! Maybe it's just using the small bonsai screens I have, but I think larger screens would be too heavy to shake for me. I did end up tying a bandanna around my face to keep from breathing the dust. I'm sure my neighbors really think I'm crazy now. For the pine fines, I started with a large-sized 1/2" screen that I placed over my wheel-barrow. Then I used the 1/4" bonsai screen followed by the 1/8" screen. I kept what went thru the 1/4" but not the 1/8" screen. For the All-Sport and the Manna Pro chicken grit, I sifted using the 1/16" screen. Then I rinsed it all, mixed it up, added gypsum and started re-potting. The re-potting took a long time because I had to remove all of the soil from the roots. After all, I didn't want to contaminate my gritty with that nasty old potting soil! I was shocked to see how much moisture was trapped in the soil, it's no wonder why the plants were struggling. I was wondering, can I use the pine fines that were 1/4" in any mixture or will the particle size be too different from the other ingredients to make it useful? Either way it won't go to waste, I just figured it would save me on having to sift more. I'll post pictures after I finish tomorrow. This post was edited by ifionlyhadabrain on Sat, Sep 14, 13 at 21:44

You'll probably get an answer sooner in the Container Gardening Forum

Kayl- Plywood alone WILL NOT PREVENT cracks in the tops!!! Your fabricator (IMHO) needs to re-think their logic in what they are doing in relationship to using 2CM thick stone and people sitting on the countertops.... OF COURSE THE STONE IS GOING TO FRACTURE IF A TEENAGER SITS ON IT!!! Here's the saying I have for this scenario: "Countertops are made for Plates & Glasses NOT for FEET and DIRTY ARSES!!!" People hve to realize that a countertop is NOT a seating surface! I will venture a guess that the top that cracked was an overhang like a breakfast bar - or an area where chairs were under it for a dining application, and the kid sat on the unsupported top and the stone cracked where the cabinet line was - I see this all the time on jobsite inspections that I get called on to do - and have to write an "industry expert opinion" on WHY the countertop fractured - kind of like CSI for countertops..... HA! This can be prevented by the proper use of corbels and support of the assembly with either corbles or counterbalance plates spaced out no more than 16 inches on center. Whenever a consumer is going to use 2CM thick stone - IT MUST HAVE A SUBTOP - and the subtop should be 5/8 inches thick - PLYWOOD - ACX grade... This has worked for me flawlessly for over 25 years - no failures!!! Plywood should be used as the subtop in lieu of OXB, Particle Board, Masonite, etc. It should be screwed down to the cabinets- sanded side down where there is an overhang - sanded side up on conventional cabinet applications where the countertop is the depth of the cabinets (plus an overhang of 1 1/2" from the FACE of the Cabinet frame) hth kevin

Mila - sounds like you have a plan, and I know what you mean about not wanting to wait to follow through on your plan. There's always room for more roses if you get creative! Glad the pictures helped you get tempted - they're all great climbers and you can't go wrong with any of the three you mentioned. Summers - for sure you'd have to finagle a way to attach the canes to the trees, and that's getting way too close to Quadra for my skin's sake. He's big and thorny, and between two trees he'd be just waiting to pounce. For sure you'd need another kind of support in addition to the trees, or he'd be flopping on your other roses as you mention. I used to grow my Quadra as a free-standing bush and he was at least 7' wide and aggressive with space. Can you stretch some sort of trellis or arch between the trees for extra support? He might not bloom as much in part shade beneath trees, but I'm all for giving it a try if that's where he is. I have Veilchenblau beneath a huge oak tree and it's pretty impressive (though it doesn't want to climb). Cynthia