Whoa Ohiofem! What on earth??? I'm very aware of Al's incredible expertise and generosity, and thanked him profusely in a recent email. Why do you think I put the word "just" in quotation marks in my previous post? To make the point that using the word "just" when talking about Al's knowledge and experience is a bit of an oxymoron! I don't know why the defensiveness but I can assure you it's unwarranted. I never said I thought "some clerk in a garden center necessarily knows more than Al about the 'best' fertilizer;" where did you get that? I doubt there's a clerk in *any* garden center that knows more than Al. But the question they asked is legitimate, and I figured if I could get an answer then it would be a great opportunity to educate future employees I might encounter. I can think of two recent instances right off the bat where I educated "some clerk in a garden center" about an aspect of gardening. They were appreciative, and I felt good about being able to pass on something I had learned that was helpful to them. And just so you know, I can't count the number of times I've raved about GWF to other "plant people" - employees especially. Science as I was asking is not "just extensive knowledge and experience." It's also controlled experiments. I was simply asking whether there was hard science - i.e., controlled experiments - to back up what Al has learned and experienced for himself. If there is then it would seem to me a 5-1-2 ratio would get the best results, therefore that's what people would rave about, therefore that's what would sell the best, therefore that's what would be in companies' best interest. If no one has proven this scientifically then I'm just surprised. It seems like such a basic thing. As for there being a "best" fert. you seem to contradict yourself. On the one hand you say, "One reason I am so grateful to Al is that he has convinced me that all plants use essentially the same ratio of nutrients." In your last post you say "I don't know why you would think all fertilizer manufacturers or all scientists would agree on something as complex as what is the "best" fertilizer for all plants." So which is it: 3-1-2 or something much more complex? Not sure what your point is about having "tremendous respect for people like" scientists and Al - why would you not? Why would anyone not? BTW, altho I cringed when I picked it up off the shelf, I bought MG today because you suggested it. I have to get *something* on my plants and I haven't had time to order DG. At least I feel better than if I were using 10-10-10 or something comparable.

haaahaha...i now don't feel so bad knowing that a family of squirrels has taken up residence in my garage. good thing my garage is not attached to the house. but they have torn a huge hole in the back of my garage, and it seems that they are not even scared of me anymore. when i go in the garage, the mother squirrel does not even move from her spot up in the rafters. i swear today that one of them was waiting for me on my back porch....wtf?? thankfully my husband has just bought a giant assault rifle type pellet gun and is excited to use it. the squirrels have done so much damage to our garage, i almost feel like we might as well tear it down and build a new one. they have ripped down ALL the insulation, and the holes are ridiculous. so...good luck to all you squirrel hunters out there...and just remember...they might be cute..BUT THEY ARE STILL RATS!!!!

When it comes to our life style and living habits relative to cleanliness and food, you donÂt need a medical or science degree to conclude that our entire system and thinking are designed to accomplish two undesirable goals, i.e. the weakest humans and nastiest germs from generation to generation. We are already beginning to run out of chemistry to kill off some of the newer microbes. Who is to blame? You know the answer. Previously In another thread, I mentioned that I do make a distinction between being sloppy and unsanitary, and that I have an unusual method to keep my living area healthy, which I choose not to elaborate at that time. Perhaps I should talk about it now. Without going into a lot about our bodyÂs natural defense mechanism, and the whole science about good germs and bad germs, I believe there is always a perfect balance of nature; we are all part of the chain of food cycle. The moment you begin to upset the balance, the benefit you get may just be temporary. I donÂt have the desire or time to keep my living space spotless and surgically sanitary. I more or less just keep everything somewhat acceptable, whatever that means. I only do a major tidy up when I expect company. I donÂt use any chemicals to sanitize, as I feel that whatever is strong enough to kill germs will also be harmful to your body. I use a 55 watt UV germicidal light which I made myself to once in a while clean the various areas in the house. I use it mostly to eliminate odor causing microbes. I donÂt worry about sickness causing germs unless someone who is very sick just visited my house. UV light is very effective in killing microorganisms. ThatÂs why it is used extensively in hospitals and medical facilities. However I donÂt recommend anyone to use it unless you really know what it can do. It can cause various physical harms, it can bleach certain colors, it can degrade rubber and plastics, it can generate ozone gas which is harmful to humans and damaging to sterling silver wares, etc. When I use my 55 watt UV light, I normally put it on a timer and I use it when there is no one in the house. A 6 watt UV light wand is not much use if you use it only for a few seconds. dcarch My home-made 55W UV germicidal light

Not a tile fan. Beautiful (especially Bill V's work! Gorgeous!) but not for me. I might put down stone tile on a floor but never a countertop. Just don't care for the look atop a cabinet, whereas we have several floors with vinyl slate-look tile or sheet, LOL. Had laminate kitchen counters (which replaced old worn tile; but we ran out of $$$), eventually replaced in 2003 with Swanstone which is similar to Corian. It's a neutral beige granite-look - more like beach sand color, actually - and love it. Two big corner seams in our U-shaped kitchen are INVISIBLE. The installers spent over 1/2 hour sanding on each one. Every once in a while I'm rolling out pre-purchased dough. Love being able to sprinkle flour all over the countertop and then scrape 98% off with a stainless hand scraper! So easy. Heatproof to 375 degrees. Being used to laminate, I toss a double-thick potholder down if I'm putting anything down that's over that temp. I love and needed the quiet of solid surface. Our kitchen is right above our MBR suite and I'm often in the kitchen in the early a.m. when DH is still asleep.