I have several plants in more than 1/2 bushel of gritty mix (about 10 gallons or more), but I'm still pretty hale and don't have much trouble moving them about. ;o) You can use Turface in place of perlite or as any fraction of the 5:1:1 mix you're comfortable with. JaG (we miss him) absolutely hates perlite, choosing Turface in many cases in its stead. Al

You know, just a side thought for those of us living up here in the north.. Years ago when our parents and grandparents were using MG mix and other bagged stuff, they basically grew native houseplants that they rarely if ever put outside for the whole summer.NO root rot, no knats... Therefore, they had complete control over watering for these plants. Most houseplants, native to our area if you call them, were only kept indoors. In this case, Mg might work for some. This acoording to my mother.lol Now a days, look at how many of us grow plants not native to our areas, especially tropical,such as plumies, citrus, gardenias, and ect..., that we must put outdoors at the mercie of the weather elments. They thrive there after a long winter indoors.. Now they are also at our mercy to provide the right type of soiless mix to compliment the extremes in weather, especially ours which can be long cool and rainy days, even in summer. NOW, MG is not a good compliment to our now outdoors plants that must do not like constant wet feet. If we insist on keeping them outdoors all summer, we must then think of soiless mixes that allow these poor babies to be rained on consistanly, and even dry out without killing them. If I have anything in MG, it is plants kept indoors such as pothos, peace lilies, spiderplants,preyer plants, and so on. You know the kind I mean.. These never go outside. I keep all plain ole native ones inside while all my non native ones go outdoors, ones that you typical grow in the deep south..These non-native ones are never in MG..No way Hose.... Please, take a gander to the container forum, and you will learn of mixes that allow you to make the best of the outdoors,without scarificing your plants vitality and then eventual death. MG is no longer the choice for most of us, unless you are planning on sticking with just the plain ole indoor houseplant able to even take wet feet...:-) Al's mixes are perfect for plumies... Who of us likes to be bored with with regular houseplants anymore, you know, the ones I mean..lol Mike:-)

I love dips for parties because you make them way ahead (they usually are better that way), you don't have to keep them hot, you put them out and forget them, and they are very easy for guests to eat with one hand while holding a drink; no plate or silverware needed. And I love the leftovers! I'm happy to share. These are both excellent and also rather substantial, so they are good for hungry guests. This one is from New Mexico Cooking, by Clyde Casey. It makes a lot, but it keeps well. MMMMM! You can use leftovers for sandwiches, too. Corn & Pecan Dip 2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened ¼ cup lime juice 1 T ground cumin 1 T ground red chiles (I used 2 t cayenne and it was plenty hot) ½ t salt dash black pepper ¼ c vegetable oil 1 16-oz. can whole-kernel corn, drained 1 c chopped pecans 1 small onion, diced (I like more) In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except corn, pecans, and onion. Beat until smooth with electric mixer on medium speed. Stir in corn, pecans, and onion. Serve with tortilla chips (Trader Joe has great ones). **** This one is from a cooking class I took on a trip to Napa last fall with 4 other women -- we all turned 50 in 2007. It was fun. The cooking class was my favorite part. I liked the woman who did it, and the recipes were not only all fantastic, they weren't too hard or complicated -- we actually are making them at home. (If you are going to Napa, I recommend her highly. She has a good web site, too: cookingwithjulie.com.) This is so good, you won't believe it! Pomegranate-Walnut dip 1 cup walnuts, toasted & finely chopped (toast 350° 5 minutes) 2 small red bell peppers, coarsely chopped 1 small red onion, coarsely chopped 3 T lemon juice ½ cup bread crumbs ¼ cup pomegranate molasses* 2 T sugar 1 T cumin seeds, warmed a bit and ground** 2 ½ t kosher salt 1 t cayenne ½ extra-virgin olive oil ¼ cup pomegranate seeds (do underwater in a bowl to prevent staining hands) mint or parsley garnish endive leaves pita toasts Grind the walnuts in a food processor until finely ground. Add the peppers, onion, and lemon juice. Pulse on and off until finely chopped. Add breadcrumbs, pomegranate molasses, sugar, cumin, salt, and cayenne. Mix well in the processor; add the olive oil until well mixed. Place in a serving dish. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and mint or parsley. Serve with endive leaves and pita chips. * Pomegranate molasses is NOT the same as pomegranate juice. It is kind of hard to find, but it's worth it. They have it at middle eastern markets, and it's an interesting shopping trip! Anyway, one bottle will last you maybe forever, or you can share some with all the people who will ask you for the recipe! ** I warm the whole seeds, then grind them with a little mortar and pestle. You could use the bottom of a little jar in a bowl.

That's the one! I KNEW it! Thanks ...... Actually, I wrote TWO stories - one about the way it's always done, and the other one about a phrase, the use of which is intended to end all debates and certify the user as winner of any argument. Here it is (drum roll), sister to "We've Always Done it that Way" ............ "It Works For Me!" Example: Every year I ride to Sacramento from Chicago on my bike. I get there very quickly - only takes me about 5 weeks. Hmmmm. I took a plane there from Chicago last year. As I remember, it took about 4 hours. So! It works for me! The story: It Works for Me …. or, The Story of Ol’ Joe Pye There’s this story I often tell ‘bout a real good friend I had a while back - called hisself Joe Pye. Now ol’ Joe was kind of a stubborn sort, but at least sometimes he'd listen ...... if you caught him on a good day. Well, I’m gittin off the track here, so lemme git back to my story. Ol' Joe had a real peculiar habit. See, ever’ mornin he'd commence to banging his head against the wall for 15 minutes or so before he went to work. When I'd ask him, "Why o' why do you do that, ol' Joe?" His answer would always be, "well it works for me - wakes me up inna mornin. Gits my blood a movin". Now I'd been around the block a time or two; and I was sure there was a more productive way for ol' Joe to wake hisself up inna mornin, so I timed it to when I figgered Joe would be in one of his listenin’ moods, and sorta half whispered a suggestion to him. Had to do it more'n a coupla times, too - even got some other folks agreein with me and telling’ ol’ Joe the same thing … to sorta help ol’ Joe along. Well by gosh, through the blessed power of multiple suggestions, ol' Joe starts in to huggin & kissin on his wife ever’ morning’ afore work instead of pursuin his other long time habit of bangin his head on that wall. Stubborn as he was, ol’ Joe recognized right away he was better off - he just lacked the benefit of enough experience to see it at first. His wife was quite pleased with the change as well - took right kindly to it. Ol' Joe never ever did go back to bangin his head on that wall neither. There's a moral to this here yarn: If yer real happy with how things is goin, and ‘it works for you’, by all means, please maintain the status quo; but couldn'tcha jist allow it's possible there’s a better way you might not know about .... at least consider it …. please? Al