aimee, as far as pinching the buds goes, there are those who do and those who don't. Experienced rosarians like Jeri do pinch buds on bands, with the idea that the energy that would be put in bloom production will go toward leaves. I have noticed though that on some of my roses where I pinch off the buds they seem to be producing new ones like crazy. The only fertilizer I use is alfalfa meal, which I pour on top of the plant and then water in thoroughly. I don't use the tea because it's too much work, although I think I've read that if you prepare it properly it doesn't have that bad smell. The alfalfa meal is just easier. If your bands have at least doubled in size I would apply about half a cup of alfalfa meal per rose. I'm no expert, though, and others may disagree. It's difficult to get a consensus on anything because we all tend to do things differently. The best thing is to try out what's comfortable for you and see how the roses respond. I personally use nothing chemical, whether it's fertilizer or any disease control method. Basically I just keep the roses that are healthy and bloom well with just water, leaf mulch and alfalfa meal. Ingrid

personally.. i try to avoid eating insect poops ... intentionally anyway but on the other hand.. contemplating how they turn pine tar/resin/sap [since i have had them on pines] into sugar is bewildering ... maybe they can swap some dna with scale and solve the human waste issues .. double yuck ... where am i going with this??? even if i had been tempted to 'taste it' ... i might not be willing to admit such ... besides the ants... when everything underneath starts turning black ... is also a way to 'find' the scale... i think the sugars mildew .... rotflmbo ... ken

Speaking as someone who's been through the good, the bad and the ugly in terms of remodeling: I'd definitely demand an itemized quote and a written contract,specifying everything that is to be done and establishing a delivery as well as payment schedule. You pay as the work gets done (or each phase of it). Not before. In most states the law allows the contractor to charge up to 1/3 upfront, for material and payroll, so it would be very difficult to get more than that from me, without explaining and itemizing. I'd get quotes for more than one contractor before signing up for anything. Ask neighbors, friends and coworkers for referrals. Check all the bidders for compliance with state certification, licenses, insurance etc...(Most official state websites allow you to check contractors over the internet - go to your local government site and search for words like contractor or consumer protection) Ask the contractors for references and actually check them. Check the local BBB chapter to see if there is any complaints filed against that company and try to find out how many years they've been in business. Most home improvement companies go out of business in about 5 years. So if the company is in business longer than that, chances are they know how to conduct business and will be there for many years still to honor the warranty they give you on their services. The services you are contracting, depending of the finishing materials, fixtures, embellishments and appliances used, might be well worth the $96K. I also found out that the "cheap" can cost you more down the road. Unreasonably low quotes, might be a sign that the contractor is either about to deliver a lousy job or has no intention to deliver it at all. However, no one would be able to get 96K out me, without a very, beyond reasonable doubt good reason.

Can't say anything about the quality of Ferry Morse seeds, but it does make you wonder if you indeed got a true hybrid. And assuming you did there is no reason to assume with a variety name as old as "peaches and cream" that the sources are the same. Heck you could have got a mix of random yellow sweet corn and white sweet corn. Hard to tell. There is obviously a difference in sugar genes between the two from your picture. Whether that is an SE vs an SU or an Sh2 vs an SU, or whatever i don't know. But i'm not surprised that corn that varies for appearance in the seeds would also vary for robustness and or growth, or in your case germination.