If you want to try your hand at making the most inexpensive, organic, and most durable ( durable=meaning breaking down the slowest, so that it lasts the longest before a rose needs to come out of the pot, root bound or approaching that state), try these simple ingredients that are readily available: 3 parts - mini pine bark mulch 2 parts - sphagnum peat moss, not Michigan peat moss, must be sphagnum peat moss 1 part - aged manure or aged compost...homemade or store bought 1 part. - average garden soil This formula is for all potted roses that are expected to remain in the container for up to 5 years. The pot should not be clay, that is unglazed terra cotta, but should be plastic or resin. Of Course, a pint sized own root rose should not go into a 15 gallon pot. It would most likely get rot in a heart beat. It has to be graduated up to the 15 gal. size in steps. Moses

You probably just need to add more bedding and stop feeding for a while. The biggest problem people new to worm farming have is they feed too much and wind up with a rather ucky wet worm bin. Most of the unplesantness of worm bins comes from too much food which can stink, attract flies/maggots, and cause everything to be too wet. Add more bedding to dry it out a little (it only needs be as moist as a wrung out sponge) and wait to feed until you can't find any of the previously fed food. Also, most people recomend to bury the food under bedding. As to heat, if the bin is outdoors and never gets touched by direct sun, you are probably ok at least this time of year in british weather. At least my bin has survived 97 degree days here in Florida. My bin is wood and gets plenty of air. Some plastic bins with little air flow might have more trouble staying cool.

Note that the leavening is baking soda...and as of NOW the directions in also say soda instead of powder as in the first I posted....and now I will correct it on my copy too!!! Carrot cake Julie Ts 3 eggs 3/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup buttermilk 2 cups sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 tsps cinnamon 1 8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained 2 cups grated carrots 1/2 cup raisins chopped with 1 Tablespoon of flour Buttermilk glaze 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup butter 1 Tblsp light corn syrup 1 tsp vanilla Orange Cream Cheese Frosting 1/2 cup softened butter 4 oz softened cream cheese 1 tsp vanilla 3 cups powdered sugar 1 tsp orange juice 1 tsp grated orange rind Preheat oven to 350 With a mixer Beat eggs, add oil and buttermilk, sugar and vanilla. beat to combine. Stir together flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and stir into batter. stir in pineapple, carrots and raisins. Pour into a greased 8 by 13 pan or 2 greased round 9 inch cake pans. Bake 35 to 45 minutes until set in the middle. Remove from the oven and immediatly spread with the buttermilk glaze. Cool completely and frost with the cream cheese frosting. Buttermilk glaze: In a medium sauce pan ( don't use a small pan) combine all ingredients but vanilla. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes stirring often...it will bubble a lot. It should be a light caramel color, stir in vanilla and pour over the cake Cream cheese frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter until light add vanilla powd. sugar and juice and rind...beat until smooth and frost the cooled cake.

Ricky and Annie – beautiful cupcakes and cakes! As one who’s made quite a few fondant cakes for first my family (for fun and out of love), then friends, and years later acquaintance’s special occasions (a little something on the side) and making all ingredients from scratch, I can attest that fondant is entirely unpleasant – no matter how I tried using various flavors and methods! I dare anyone to argue that a chocolate sculpture made of quality chocolate is not divine in taste as compared to sugar and glucose formed into a sheet or elaborate sculpture, and even a gently flavored sugar-blown sculpture is preferable on the palate than fondant. I eventually stopped making fondant cakes altogether and to create desserts that were both pleasing to the eye and enjoyable to consume, reveling in the diversity of pastries that I felt were both attractive and a delectable to the consumer(s). Try as I might to convince otherwise, most still wanted the fondant cakes. Typically tailored to each person’s unique personality, I have wonderful memories of huge smiles, squeals of delight, tears of joy and appreciation, awestruck looks of surprise… I have to admit, my memories of the reactions to those cakes far outweigh any compliments of other desserts/pastries I made – no matter how elaborate or simple. Many people love them. I could wax on and on, but instead, I echo annie1992’s comments for my answer to the question: Have wedding cakes gone too far? No more so than the venue, hiring a wedding planner, the gown, the flowers, the menu, the music, the invitations, the gift registries, favors, the photographer/videographer… ad infinitum. The accoutrements typically last a day; the memories (hopefully) a lifetime. A Groom’s cake is not bridal, but a reflection of the groom. At the National average cost of $30,000+ for a wedding? And I’ve seen some unique weddings. The cakes have not gone any further than the rest of the visual pomp and circumstance. Would I do that? Nope. Just the 2 of us, simple garb which has been worn repeatedly since, a small speaker softly playing Pearl Jam’s Future Days, and a brief ceremony. It was perfect… for us. A couple months ago my friend’s DD told me she’d far prefer to have a simple ceremony and put the money saved toward their first home. Wise and sensible young lady! Fast forward, with the engagement now official it turns out she does want the gown, the venue, the flowers, all friends and family, and yes, The Cake. Were she my daughter I could not deny her desire to make her wedding day special. To answer one more question: Yes, mostly the sculptural fondant cakes are for show, as is the rest of the pomp and circumstance.