Non-conventional.....crack three eggs in the pot every three or so weeks and stir it in a little. I have experimented many times showing eggs to be just a touch less effective than MG. On another note....the extended feeding ferts by Scott's et al. are only time-released with respect to nitrogen via the coated urea...to my knowledge....and thinking the time-release is based on water contact. The rest of the fert blend is just micronutruients and a regular fert chemicals. I believe the only exception is Osmocote, and I don't know the manufacturing process there, but don't think that Osmocote has any micronutrients....would need to check the label. Btw, IMO, the ferts out there are pretty much the same chemicals acquired and blended based on supply and cost...nothing new. I can say that the water soluble inorganice blends, i.e. Miracle Gro, have some better quality ingredients for better solubility.....

I emailed you yesterday. I have lots of perennials and some bulbs. Would any of these work as a trade?

Hey Marie, nice to hear from you! I just returned from a month-long trip to Chile, most of which was spent on a ship. We did have a week in Valparaiso, and a few days in Arica, in the northern, tropical end of the country, so I skipped a good chunk of winter this year. I came home to find Arnold Promise and his cousin, Diane (both cultivars of Hamamelis x intermedia) looking lovely, still in full bloom. The heath is still blooming, but there's no color on the winter jasmine (j. nudiflorum) - maybe the winter was a bit too tough for it this year? Or maybe I missed the show, sometimes the flowers are killed on that one, if the temperature dips too low after buds have formed. Dawn viburnum is in bloom, to the extent that it ever is - the flowers are small and, although they're supposed to be fragrant, I can't claim to ever have smelled them. I haven't looked for the winter aconite, winter hazel, or snowdrops yet, and I know the hellebores must be in desperate need of a trim - the old foliage is pretty ratty by this time of year. So, although we never have much of a spring on the cape, it seems like the end of winter is in sight, and I'm really happy about that. Gets tougher to take the cold every year, it seems. Best of luck with your new equipment! Hope to see you at a swap or a nursery before too long - DtD (Nan)

Glad to see you posting again. Love them both, especially the intermedia which I assume you got from RF. I have it also and hope to see blooms soon as the newest lead matures. It's a fabulous plant. Marci