In searching a bit I see that coneflowers do indeed need stratification. do others test germination? No, I just do my best at letting the seeds or seed pods mature, brown and split if they are the splitting kind of seed pods. I then harvest them and let them dry additionally before packing them for storage in a cool, dry, dark place. If seeds are properly harvested, they 'should' be fine. It is kind of a crap-shoot though when trading as some members maybe aren't as knowledgeable as others are about the proper maturing and drying of seeds. The Seed Saving Forum is a great place to learn about harvesting seeds at the appropriate time. Remy is our resident expert there fielding a lot of the questions with good info. hth...sorry, don't know how to really test them when needing stratification. If they were harvested properly, they should be fine. If you Winter Sow them, you would then later know for sure if they are viable or not. hth Sue

O MYYYYYY G ! You know that feeling in the pit of your tummy when you have to slam on your car brakes and come thisclose to hitting a car, but don't? When I read "only one mistake...the membrane is upside-down!" I got THAT FEELING! I immediately thought "WHAT? I never read anywhere that the membrane needs to go print side up or down. Ohhhh noooo!" Then I continued to the next sentence and broke out in a cold sweat from relief---Mongoct, you devil, you! ROFLOL If you were close, I'd throw a ball of mud at ya. LOL On behalf of Mr. Amity and myself I want to Thank you so much for your help and the Kudos --it means so much, sincerely it does. Am

I can understand you having mixed feelings about the quilt you made for your dad and wanting to hang on to it. You'll know when the time is right to part with it. I've always wanted to do a QAYG using that technique. With all the blocks I have around here, you'd think it would be a snap! Guess I'll put it on my To Do List for 2009. SharonG/FL

I agree with bikerdoc that unsoftened water is better than softened. Water softeners replace Ca and Mg ions, which are useful to plants, with Na ions, which are not useful. Personally, I use unsoftened city water. I also add a little over a tablespoon of vinegar per gallon because my water is quite hard. The pH range you mentioned is a good one to target. If you have a very high pH, or find it difficult to reduce pH, you could try testing alkalinity as well. Alkalinity acts to neutralize acid additions while maintaining pH. Adding sufficient acid will neutralize alkalinity, however, and pH will drop much more quickly as alkalinity is neutralized. A good alkalinity range is 0-100ppm. Mine is over 300ppm which is why I have to add a significant amount of vinegar to get my pH down. Really though, getting your pH somewhere in the low to mid 5's is probably all you need to concern yourself with in order to achieve ideal water. -Chris