Hey Marshall. :) Not much to tell, really. Just the anecdotal evidence from one casual experiment, and a few guesses. When I grew the alfalfa sprouts (indoors) I soaked the seeds for a day then drained them, rinsed them once, then put them in a tall clean glass jar with holes drilled in the plastic lid. Once a day thereafter, I'd fill the jar with water, let it stand for five minutes or so, then drain. After a few days of growth in indirect light, the sprouts grew big enough to eat. Whatever sprouts didn't get eaten were put in a blender with a small amount of water and turned to mush. This slurry was poured over the garden bed soil, covered lightly, and left for the next spring. All of the sprout soaking & rinse water was also poured on the surface of the garden bed. Now, the following is pure speculation on my part, but it might help explain the boost in growth. Someone I knew years ago -- a very bright and idealistic person -- actually lived for a while on a diet of various kinds of seed sprouts. This person didn't like the ways animals and plants were raised, didn't approve of the politics and economic inequalities of food distribution, and wanted to avoid contributing to those systems. They told me it was possible to get all the necessary human nutrients, including proteins, by eating a variety of sprouted seeds. Apparently sprouts contain all that people need to survive and be healthy. However, they said it was crucial to eat a wide variety of seeds -- and eat them at different points in their sprouting cycles. (I'm sure most people reading this have their eyebrows raised and are thinking "whatta flake" or similar. Let me quickly note this person was eccentric -- but also genuinely idealistic, hardworking, and damn smart. I worked alongside them on multiple projects and never once doubted their word. I thought what they were doing was unusual, but entirely believable.) Anyway... back to using sprout water and sprouts in the garden. It may be there is something in the root exudates from the sprouts which provides helpful nutrients, or in the sprouts themselves. I have no idea. As well, alfalfa supposedly contains triacontanol which I gather is a natural growth stimulant. I don't know if this chemical is present in significant quantities in the seed/ sprouts, or not. Finally, I wonder if there is some kind of growth stimulant or special nutrient which is released by sprouting seeds. I haven't been curious enough to repeat this experiment with any controls. Perhaps this summer I'll try an A-B test on plants in the garden, or beds side by side. A pound or two of alfalfa seed for sprouting isn't real expensive, be interesting to see what difference it makes. All the best, -Patrick

You might get a faster answer in the Pumpkins, Squash, and Gourds Forum.

Hi Tigerdunes and all I had the four Installers here on Friday and at the moment only 1 has given me a firm quote with the details of the equipment that will be supplied I had not mentioned in my conversations with you before that the space for the air handler is restricted. The existing air handler is 45 1/4" (H) x 20 3/4" (D) x 16 3/4" (W). The total height from the plinth that the handler sits on to ceiling is only 48 1/4". 1 installer has suggested: 2 ton 15.5 seer Ruud RA1624 paired with the RHALFR24P air handler at a cost of $3906. This includes: A new digital Thermostat 10 year warranty on Parts 2 year labor warranty and FPL & MFG rebates Of the other Installers one has suggested a Rheem 2 ton system at a cost of $4396 and the other Installer 2 Daikin systems A basic 2.5 ton 16 seer straight cool with Digital thermostat costing $5482 and a Superior 2.5 ton 16 seer straight cool with digital thermostat costing $6422 I'm led to believe that these are Goodman units, is that correct. your thoughts on the prices and alternative systems would be appreciated kind regards Keith

The Gloriosum is in a 16 inch bowl with another philodendron or two. This year it got tangled up with Asian jasmine so it broke in several pieces when I was bringing it in to the basement. I have those pieces in a pan with some other begonias trying to root. I don't plant any sensitive plants in the ground here unless I intend to leave them all year. I do dig up my banana plants though and did dig up dahlias that were in large pots. Everything else stays in the pot it is in and brought in to the basement for winter. The narrow leaf plant (3rd from the bottom) is another philodendron but don't ask me the type. I trade with a woman in KY - begonias for whatever she grows. I don't keep houseplants? Well considering the basement is fairly full with them, I'm not sure what and where I said that. Maybe my remarks meant I do not keep many plants on the main floor. I run around 90 shop lights in the basement. I have X-10 controllers but have no confidence in them so I go downstairs in the morning to turn them on and turn the few I have on at night off. Then in the evening I go back down and reverse that. The X-10 do give me some freedom from getting on my hands and knees to reach in to manually turn on if I had mechanical timers. At least mechanical timers would be good for most things until I needed a light on to do any kind of work. Yes, I have a lot of plants. B. angularis is so far back to the wall that I just add extra water in the tray for bottom watering. One of my tightest spots is like a "U" with 3 stands and plants on the floor so I have very little wiggle room to water everything here. this is a small shelf with two lights (I might have 3 like this) - 4 feet high. Most are 6 feet high and have at least 3 shelves, while some have 4. I don't count top shelves since they don't hold plants but valuable for other items and also holding the light above the plants on the next shelf down. big pots go on the floor Anyway this is just a glimpse into my madness.