Well, what can I say, I'm hard headed! Everytime someone says it can't be or shouldn't be done, it makes me want to try harder. For about a month last summer, I thought that TTTF was a big mistake, and wished I had just bought Zoysia sod. By late August the TTTF grew green again, and I was glad I refrained from spraying roundup over the TTTF. Right now things look pretty good, but sweltering summertime heat is just a few weeks away, so we'll see what happens then. Auteck's pics from last summer look no worse than many of the Bermuda & Zoysia lawns here did last summer. The Homeowner's Assoc has had plenty of folks around here throwing out Bermuda and Zoysia sod this spring. Fortunately for me, my St Aug strip by the street passed their drive by inspection. The way I see it, cool season grass in AL = 9 months of glory, 3 months of pain. Warm season grass in AL = 5 to 7 months of green, 5 to 7 months of dormancy. Maybe I'll have the balls to take & post pictures in July & August of my lawn (I'll blame the dog for any dead spots!). Or maybe I'll just come up with a new screen name and be a Bermuda grass lover!

I pretty much agree with Lloyd. "Organic", as it is applied to agriculture, home gardening and food in general, is a term that has been widely used, abused and misused. Thanks to the USDA it now has specific meaning for commercial purposes for those who wish to label food products they sell as organic. But that's about it. After that it is a general concept that guides practice and process. Once it is understood it is a matter of personal preference of what is embraced and practiced as "organic". There is no absolute right or wrong, just a difference. Someone wants to be vocal and take a position, that's their position, and their's alone. There are no judges for the home grower or gardener. Each must decide for themselves. The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements defines organic agriculture as, " a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic Agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved." There is little more natural than crude oil, straight from the ground. The same can be said for sodium chloride (salt) either mined as a solid, or recovered from brine or seawater by evaporation. Both are abundant, natural resources where I live. But as amendments for your soil or additions to your compost, they are both quite destructive. As inputs for agriculture or gardening, the are few things that would have more adverse effects, and as a result be entirely inconsistent with the fundamental foundation and premise of organic gardening. Understand the fundamental premise, then do what makes sense.

Karen, I just happened to be trapsing through.. In my opinion the best soy wax is produced by Enchanted Lites. But I also know what it costs to ship wax. So I also recommend finding a reputable supplier as close to you as possible and working with the soy they offer. Soy wax burns better with fragrance oil added. And cotton wicks are great. I prefer HTP wicks, which are a cotton braided coreless wick, that bends towards the melt pool. Greatcandle.com candlecocoon.com Both these companies have very knowledgeable ladies running the show. They were chandlers first, then became suppliers. Unfortunately, they are both in the Midwest..I think Angie(greatcandle) has kits..that might be the best way for you to get started. 86 oz, that's over 5lbs of wax...WOW! And I'm guessing atleast 3-4 wicks?? If I did something that big, not including the crock or the cost of it, Yep it would cost about $40 for the wax, wicks and fragrance, based on my mark up rate. So $46 is not off base...But certainly it would cost about about 16-18 to make. So yes you are definately saving alot of money making your own..However, I will caution you that repeatedly refilling candle jars and crocks and burning in them will weaken the containers over time. So the more times you do it the more closely you need to watch those containers when they are lit.

Hello, I read your post and use to buy & sell Party Lite candles. I stopped using them when I found out that Party Light candles are not all made here in the USA which we did not like since we had no knowledge of the quality of the materials used in making their candles. We agree, Party Lite had a nice scent throw but the soot is far too much for our liking. We couldnt help wonder what it was doing to our lungs. So to find a healthier alternitive to burning candles, Many years ago, I became interested in making my own candles. I have sold them in my own retail locations for years. I have made all sort of candles using many types of waxes. Overall (next to beeswax) we prefer soy wax. There is no dispute that soy wax is a much cleaner wax to burn. We have had great results from our soy candles and our customers come back for more. We found that measuring our fragrances by weight, not by volume gave us a better scent throw. We also found that buying a higher quality of fragrance oil also worked well for us. At times, depending on the fragrance, we have used 1.5 ounces (by weight) of fragrance oil per pound of wax. Keep in mind, wax is like a sponge and can only hold so much fragrance oil. Too much oil and you can get the opposit effect and have a poor scent throw. It is important to mix the fragrance oils very well to make sure they bind to the wax. Without aggitating, we mix ours for about two minutes. Hope this is helpful. Debbie