Mike, One of my hobbies is breeding zinnias, and I use "hairnets" that I make from mesh fabric that I bought in the fabric department of Wal-Mart. The material is inexpensive and has an open mesh that allows easy air circulation and sun exposure, while keeping bees from getting at the flower. The nets don't harm the flowers or plants at all. Interestingly, I have seen butterflies sipping nectar from the zinnias through the mesh, but they don't go after the zinnia pollen, so I am glad that the butterflies can feed through the mesh. The nets are basically approximately square "sacks". I fold over a rectangular piece of the mesh and secure the top seam and side seem by weaving a piece of black yarn through the mesh. I alternate sides with the yarn about every ½" to ¾". The seam doesn't need to be really closely stitched. Obviously I leave the bottom open to allow the "hairnet" to fit down over the flower. I use black mesh and yarn because the black nets are less conspicuous in the garden. I just started using these nets last year and they have revolutionized my zinnia breeding. I used to have to race the bees to get at the pollen on my selected breeder zinnias, but now I can relax and get the pollen over a period of half a day, and have an abundant supply of good pollen. The bees are amazingly aggressive at grabbing any available zinnia pollen. The nets also keep the bees from randomly pollinating my selected breeder flowers. Here is a picture of one of the nets on a zinnia. This zinnia was in rather poor shape because it is one that I grew from a cutting this fall and I just used it as a "model" to wear a net for this picture which I just now made. My breeder zinnias typically look much better than this one, as you can see for yourself by looking at their pictures in the It can be fun to breed your own zinnias message thread in the Annuals forum. I make the nets in several sizes to accommodate different sized flowers. You shouldn't have any trouble making these nets to your own specifications from needles, yarn, and mesh fabric from a local fabric store. MM

I don't know what I can contribute to the Sungold/Black Cherry conversation - don't grow either. I started with SunSugar and since it was so good, stayed with it now for about 6 or 7 years. I have a friend who grows Sungold. When we are sampling his, we admit that it's the best! Then we sample SunSugar and are just as convinced that none could be better. I once thought that they were just variations on a single cultivar. Not so sure about that now that I've learned they come from 2 different companies. Both Japanese, I believe. Sweet Chelsea has been in my garden for about 4 years. I like it real well. If it was as productive, I'd replace the Large Red Cherries with Sweet Chelsea. It's a much tastier tomato and the same size. Dad had a volunteer a couple of years ago. As he would, he carefully nurtured it thru the season and it managed to nearly ripen 3 tomatoes with a couple more to take indoors when frost hit. It was obviously a Sweet Chelsea. I was pleased that that 1 plant and fruit were so similar to the parent. SC is a hybrid. Dad seemed kind of disappointed that they were so similar . . . different perspectives on the same thing. digitS' Oh, and I harvested 8 (3 gallon) buckets of tomatoes over the last week and one-half. Thank God they werenÂt all cherries!!!

Hi elly, Where are you in your trip through menopause? I can't imagine that the decaf coffee is causing your problems. But......I really think the amount of caffeine in decaf is really variable. In fact, one time, I got some that seemed totally caffeinated. I do know that the decaf bothers my stomach just as much as the caffeinated stuff. I also know that if our GI tracts are stimulated, our brains are also stimulated, and can keep us awake and cause night problems. In fact, the nights that my GI tract was going crazy, I was too!! When do you drink your 2 cups? If before noon, I'd say don't worry about it being that. I also would quit eating anything after about 6:30p.m. if possible. Our GI tracts are called our "second brains" because they secrete tons of neurochemicals, just as our brains do. So try to keep your GI tract calm at night. When I was in the middle of perimenopause, I could pretty much count on a panic attack every night. Not fun! They are sooooo real. No one could tell me I wasn't dying! Sometimes those sleep medications can do the opposite of what you think they're doing for you. I'm afraid I couldn't find much to keep my nighttime panic attacks from happening......except to treat my GI tract better. Also......after having so many of them, I started realizing that they weren't going to kill me, and that helped a little. Have you ever tried breathing into a paper bag, as soon as your panic starts? I found that that helped too. Sometimes our biochemicals go a little haywire during perimenopause, and can actually cause an alkalosis in us that brings on a panic attack. Breathing into a paper bag can help reverse that. Have you tried taking something like Estroven? I hope this helps a little. You have my sympathy!

My 15" trash pull-out holds one Rubbermaid 8 gallon wastebasket, which measures 14-1/2" x 11" x 18" (the #2806, which can be found virtually anywhere). I guess there is slight tapering, but it fits grocery store paper bags perfectly. (Though in my city, they have a fairly new policy to add 5 cents/bag to your bill if you don't bring your own bag, and need grocery store bags instead.) As an aside, I wish I had a double-bin trash pull-out so that I could have one for trash, and a second bin for recyclables. I simply did not have the room, but if you do have the room, I recommend it. My recyclables must go directly to the garage recycle bin.