Hi Bernie! Yes the link to the Special Instructions is broken and has been for some time. That was why I was really 'amazed' that the Test Forum got fixed as quickly as it did. Anywho, I am the resident busy body here, and I started a thread with the Spec Instructions in them. We all then try to keep the thread 'bumped' up on page one. Special Instructions for the Exchanges When you get ready for your next seed exchange advertisment let me know. I'm curious how the whole process works. Well, my 'advertisement' posts as you call them were actually offering up seeds for BEAP, bubble envelope and postage, and the amount was determined by how well the member was set up for the Seed Exchange. Here is a link with instructions on how to get set up.addressing newbie and newer member issues-first draft. You aren't set up very well... No member page email link. and email link is not set to be shown to members. You have nothing on your Seeds Wanted list. No member page blurb...Come back here and holler if you have any trouble getting set up. I think you are just joshing me though. Sue...resident busy body

While sprouting daylily seeds recently, I came upon a method that works really well. I mix my hydrogen peroxide/distilled water in a container, then after the seeds have germinated, I soak a round cotton pad [not the balls, the flat cotton pads] in the solution, squeeze most of the water out, then put the seeds in half of it, fold the other half over and put back in the plastic baggie. This works just great! Also, for storing seeds in the fridge, a friend told me about this idea. Cut the bottom out of a cereal box, about 3-4" high, and you have a nice storage container to line the seed baggies up instead of jumbling them up in a bigger plastic bag. They take up hardly any space in the fridge. Got lots of these seedlings to plant this afternoon! Judith

gratefulgardener, I do now recall that last year you used the bags from inside cereal boxes. And I recall feeling then, as I do now, that kudos should go to you for such a great recycling idea. I hope you have better results this year. The one thing that gets me about using ziplocs is the non-recycling part of it. We are paying for more plastic to be made into something, and for the most part it is not being re-used again but going into the landfill. But then again, I'm getting to be a nut about environmental issues in my old age, I'm finding. Bonnie, I had the same experience with squirrels last year. I detest the critters to begin with because they are always digging up new plantings. Last year I went out to a bed full of knocked over sunflowers. I stood there wondering what the heck had happened, and I noticed that my neighbor's were in the same condition. When I saw him next he told me he saw the squirrels at work. Grr. :) Dee

Mike, One of my hobbies is breeding zinnias, and I use "hairnets" that I make from mesh fabric that I bought in the fabric department of Wal-Mart. The material is inexpensive and has an open mesh that allows easy air circulation and sun exposure, while keeping bees from getting at the flower. The nets don't harm the flowers or plants at all. Interestingly, I have seen butterflies sipping nectar from the zinnias through the mesh, but they don't go after the zinnia pollen, so I am glad that the butterflies can feed through the mesh. The nets are basically approximately square "sacks". I fold over a rectangular piece of the mesh and secure the top seam and side seem by weaving a piece of black yarn through the mesh. I alternate sides with the yarn about every ½" to ¾". The seam doesn't need to be really closely stitched. Obviously I leave the bottom open to allow the "hairnet" to fit down over the flower. I use black mesh and yarn because the black nets are less conspicuous in the garden. I just started using these nets last year and they have revolutionized my zinnia breeding. I used to have to race the bees to get at the pollen on my selected breeder zinnias, but now I can relax and get the pollen over a period of half a day, and have an abundant supply of good pollen. The bees are amazingly aggressive at grabbing any available zinnia pollen. The nets also keep the bees from randomly pollinating my selected breeder flowers. Here is a picture of one of the nets on a zinnia. This zinnia was in rather poor shape because it is one that I grew from a cutting this fall and I just used it as a "model" to wear a net for this picture which I just now made. My breeder zinnias typically look much better than this one, as you can see for yourself by looking at their pictures in the It can be fun to breed your own zinnias message thread in the Annuals forum. I make the nets in several sizes to accommodate different sized flowers. You shouldn't have any trouble making these nets to your own specifications from needles, yarn, and mesh fabric from a local fabric store. MM