To answer the original question, I've just sprinkled a handful (my medium sized hand) around the crown of each hosta. Did it help? Well, the colors looked great that year (but its hard to compare one year to the next via memory, or pictures for that matter). Did it harm? No. I have been told that too much salt will leave those white deposits-- like the ones you see on terracotta pots that get fertilized and too much could be harmful to your plants. Anyway, you are adding Magnesium, so if you know your soil is deficient in this mineral.... Did you know that Epsom Salts is named for Epsom England where this naturally occurring compound was first found? M-A

The snow was gone here a couple weeks ago and thank goodness for this weather so far! After the past couple years (and even last month) where we've had below normal winter and spring temps, it's a nice break. You can thank a positive NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) and a neutral to slightly positive Pacific Oscillation for that. We had gotten so accustomed to teens and twenties for highs every winter for weeks at a time and being pushed to consider that "normal" (which it isn't, at least here in SE PA), that what we are experiencing now seems "mild" and in reality, it's closer to "normal" and what the temps should be (highs mid - upper 30s and lows in the mid 20s for the coldest month of January). Since the beginning of December, I have watched below normal weather here in the east being idiotically cheered on by several commercial weather forecasters (some who finally admitted that they were "snow lovers" after weeks on end threatening that winter is coming... winter is coming.... look out.... And even concocting hypothetical graphical scenarios illustrating what would need to occur to theoretically produce even more severely below normal cold weather), while those same ones cheered on the above-normal temps elsewhere across the U.S. But god forbid, let us struggle to normal and slightly above and they get their panties in a twist. Meanwhile out west, temps are some 30 degrees above normal. :-\ Sorry for the weather rant...but I've been wanting to get that out. ;-) beanmomma - if you can remember the winter of 2001 - 2002, you might be able to predict whether your plants will come out of dormancy too soon. I have a couple new potted shrubs and a new containered tree (a plum that only needs 250 chill hours which I'm sure has gotten that by now) that I am watching too. Right now it seems that the temp range has been perfect for "chill hour" accumulation. But I think as long as we do hit or go below freezing at night, I expect the plants will hang on in dormancy awhile longer. Crossing fingers that we can make it through this month like this and squeak through February the same way, then we should be pretty much on our way to spring! :-)

I missed your ammonia paragraph, Skybird, oops, shows I should read more carefully. Last week, my DD managed to kick a soccer ball into a bush with resident wasp nest and was stung when she retrieved the ball, ran into the greenhouse and slapped a paper towel with ammonia on it, and that was that. And for those who have fungus gnats in their houseplants/seedling starting stuff, that BT israelensis takes care of them very nicely. I order a 20 oz batch, and it lasts several years. When I start my seedlings, I sprinkle a couple of grains of the stuff in each cell, and no more fungus gnats. Here is a link that might be useful: link

Here's the M&P information from the link above. Melt and Pour Soap: Technically, all hand made soap is "Glycerin Soap." In many commercial soaps, all the extra glycerin (formed naturally by the cold process soapmaking method) is harvested out. Thus, all handmade soap is glycerin rich (since hand made soapmakers donÂt harvest out glycerin in their soap). In todayÂs market, the term "Glycerin Soap" is commonly used to refer to clear soap. Generally, the clear soap has extra glycerin added to it to produce a very nourishing, moisturizing bar. Glycerin is a "humectant." It draws moisture to itself; the theory is that if you wash with glycerin soap, a thin layer of glycerin will remain, drawing moisture to your skin. Clear soap can be purchased in large blocks to be melted down, colored and fragranced, and placed into molds (or used to make loaves of soap to be sliced). This type of soap is called "Melt and Pour" and the artistry of melt and pour is called "Soap Casting." Melt and Pour is gaining in popularity because of its ease of use. There are no significant safety measures (other than basic common sense  donÂt put your hand in the hot soap, donÂt cut your finger off with the knife etcÂ) needed for soapcasting. Children can do it. ItÂs a great outlet for creative types. You can also make clear soap from scratch. This method involves all the aspects of cold process soapmaking, but takes it a few steps further by adding alcohol for clarity and a glycerin and sugar mix to suspend and enhance the clarity. It is a dangerous process because of the alcohol vapors. If you wish to make clear soap (which will not melt down like melt and pour  itÂs one pour only soap), please read "Transparent Soapmaking" by Catherine Failor. This is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to make clear soap from scratch. So to answer your question, yes and no.... I refuse to make CP soap in my home, because I'd have to LOCK up the chemicals. I have very busy inquisitive boys. And once they learned that I had "cool" stuff..they'd wanna try it too. If I wanted to make my "own" soaps, I'd much prefer to buy M&P in blocks and enhance it, or buy soap to rebatch by taking CP soap someone else made, grating and adding more liquids and cooking it down to make a "new" soap. But I don't need to, because I have wonderful friends who make it and send it to me to "test". LOL