Hi, rina. I know wood chips are different than bark, but I saw a nursery that was using these mixed with some alder saw dust. In about a year it turned to this incredible black, rich "soil". The guy as the nursery said it breaks down better and more nutritious for the soil and depletes less nitrogen in the process. The wood chips I was seeking are about the size of medium bark in nurseries. In retrospect, I am glad I didn't try that. Works great outdoors, not sure about containers! The black bark is essentially composted evergreen tree bark. I say evergreen because it could be a mix of a number of different types here in the Pacific NW --- hemlock, fir, ceder, spruce, etc. I didn't screen it, it seemed plenty loose initially; small to medium size in comparison to bagged nursery store bark. It would have been o.k. had I added the peat and perlite per the formulas given here. Screening would have left just the larger pieces, but that would be quite a chore for the volume I was using! I repotted some of the plants using the 5:1:1 formula with my black bark and those are doing much, much, better. A gardening friend said "Think of it...bark is like big saw dust. If you pack it down it gets as hard as a board". That is essentially what happened when I used the black bark alone without the the perlite and moss. ;(

I'd chop 'em all off just above the crown and keep the soil damp, but not wet. WHILE you repot, it's important to keep the roots constantly wet. That means you need to be dipping them in a tub of water at least every minute, or removing the old soil with water pressure. The all-important fine roots dry out and die quickly unless you stay on top of keeping them wet. AFTER the repot, it's important that you keep the soil moist where it's occupied by the roots, That might mean watering every day until the roots start to colonize the deeper part of the pot. Other than that, you'll need to get a feel for how many fine roots you must leave to support the water needs of the top of the plant. I regularly remove up to 90% of a plant's roots during a repot and I almost never ever lose a plant unless it blows out or an animal helps it out of the pot. Al

As others have mentioned, 15" of clear leg/knee space is the minimum recommended seating overhang for counter-height seating. That means 15" after you account for finished end panels on the back of the cabinets. If you have standard depth cabinets on ones side of the island plus seating, then the minimum depth of the island is 40.5" for semi-comfortable seating. Here's the math: 1.5" counter overhang + 24" deep cabinets + 1" thick finished end panel + 15" overhang = 40.5" If you do not install finished end panels on the back of the island cabinets, then you save about 1", so a 39.5" deep island would work - with the appropriate aisle behind the seats (more on that later). If this is the only seating in the house, then I would discourage island seating as this type of seating is not the most comfortable for meals, is not conducive to personal interaction (especially if seating is like "ducks in a row"), and will definitely be a major detriment to resale (if resale is a consideration...) In your case, you appear to have a DR. So, is it a fair assumption that the island is only going to be used for snacks, the occasional quick meal, and for visitors while you work? Of note is that for a kitchen to have cabinets and/or appliances on both walls + an island with seating, the kitchen needs to be at least 187" (15'7") wide. More math! 25.5" perimeter cabs/counters + 42" aisle + 40.5" island + 54" aisle + 25.5" cabs/counters = 187.5" (15'7.5") If you have an appliance like a refrigerator on one side, add another 6" if it's not a true built-in refrigerator; if it is, add another 2" to 3". You have a 13' wide kitchen...at least 2'7" too narrow for what you want. Reducing the 42" aisle width to 39" will gain you 3", but if you have a DW on that aisle, even 39" could be problematical - unless you're OK with no one being able to pass by when the DW is open. Reducing the 54" aisle will really only work (1) if there's no path through the kitchen on that aisle and (2) if there are no work counters or appliances behind the seats (e.g., pantry cabinets only). If these conditions are met, you could reduce that aisle to 48". If there is nothing on the back wall at all (only wall), then you can probably get away with 44". Be aware that skimping on overhang does not save you on aisle width. People will still take up the same amount of room - they will just have to sit back farther from the island and lean over more - not very comfortable! They might sit sideways or "straddle" the island, but again, those are very uncomfortable positions! [I speak from experience - we have friends with a 12" overhang and it is NOT comfortable to sit at their peninsula! My DH and DS never sit there b/c it's so uncomfortable for them. Even our 15" is too shallow for my DH & DS, but it's not as bad as 12". If I had it to do over, I would try for an 18" overhang.] Another pitfall is the "barrier island" problem. If you can't avoid it, then perhaps an island is not appropriate in your kitchen. I know that islands are the "in thing" right now, but not all kitchens can support an island. Note: While 12" of clear leg/knee space is the minimum recommended seating overhang for bar-height seating, that small a counter is not very useful if you plan to eat any meals there - there's not enough room for plates & glasses w/o the risk of knocking one or the other off the counter and down onto the lower counter. In addition, bar-height seating is very uncomfortable for older people (if not impossible for them to use) and not very safe for young children. Plus, it breaks up your workspace on the working side of the island and sometimes causes that side to have even less depth than perimeter counters/counters with no raised counters on the other side. HTH!

Hi Robin!!! I'm still getting notifications on the threads that I post to. You can adjust your setting by going to " your Houzz" then ' edit profile' then hit ' advanced settings' that should help fix what you need as far as notifications. If you look at the bottom of this thread where you would comment, you will see in green letters " switch off notifications about new threads". If its already off you can click it back on. Always nice to see you!!! One of my Plumeria trees is blooming inside right now. It's supposed to be a dark pink, but its yellow. Go figure!! ;-) I agree about Al reposting if they can't get it fixed. I am sure he has it saved on his computer. ( I hope so) I just worry about all of the other threads, fertilizer, intro for beginners etc. so much information that needs to be fixed for the new people. We need this great information for us to share as well as for the new people searching for the great threads. Happy Valentine's Day, Robin , Al and everyone!! Laura