Thought Id churn this up during the time the snow was flyin in Central New York and while I was having a few minutes of a snow-blowing delay.

Fessin up on the stale coffee controversy!

I certainly didnÂt mean to offend those hard core "drink whatever is left in the pot," be it hot or cold before going to work, thank God for coffee, coffee drinking purists. But, personally like you I couldnÂt get a start on the day without having that first cup of strongest coffee ever made in the morning. So strong I have to add two cups of water to the 12 cup pot in order for the DW to have her first cup when she wakes.

But all in all, IÂm sure some of you "stale-stalwarts" would be proud of what IÂve accomplished over the past summer -2004- in making organic soil for our first year raised flower and vegetable gardens. Much of that success of what IÂve learned came right from the "Organic Forum"and possibly from some of you who would find my antics so unfavorable. So I have to thank those who contributed to those accomplishments. (UpStaterÂs, you have been a great help too!)

If itÂs true as they say, "time is money" it was like putting money in the bank with the early morning hours I spent before going to work, when my left over coffee was going "cold and stale" in the pot. It would eventually guide me in saving the liquid in gallon jugs through the Winter rather than dumping it down the drain.

During the process of soil making, IÂm sure a few of my new neighbors must have thought I was crazy standing at my first ever 4'x8'x4' chicken wire compost bin in the early morning. For countless hours after gathering and before going to work, I would cut small branches and twigs into 1/2" or lesser wide lengths in order to help in the decomposition process so as to hasten the art of making soil.

For the sake of whatever the neighbors might be thinking of my sanity I was also hoping I wouldnÂt be putting up a stink by bringing home the loads of fresh horse manure from the Fairgrounds in our brand-new station wagon. Of course I lined the bed with a plastic tarp and cardboard and after unloading took pleasure in breaking down the soiled cardboard, and guess where it went? Something else I learned on the "Forum." The funny thing was on the way back from the 12-mile trip I would always hope the windows would de-fog from the heat and steam created by the cool morning air.

VIA the Forum I also found another pot of gold when I called the local DPW. I learned they had a year-old compost heap that was created by those same new neighbors who tossed their yard-waste to the curb. Because of my clay soil problem, to me it was like throwing money out the window. I station-wagoned a few loads of that too. Boy, if my neighbors only had horses! The thought wasnÂt because of the 12-mile drive back from the Grounds that was the problem, it was the watery eyes and the constant blinking from the wafting ammonia vapor. Even with the windows open the odor was tolerable knowing what the smell would be like in a few weeks or months and what it would produce.

The biggest problem I had "Bringing Home the Gold" was having to fight the three lanes of morning rush hour traffic on 690 East with those who donÂt wake early enough to get a cup of coffee, or those "stalwarts" who lifted their heads in order to drink that last cup, "hot or cold" on the way to work. It was at times quite scary under the watery eye circumstance. It also became a strengthening tool for my defensive driving. I overcame the putting on the make-up thing long ago. My only disappointment with that was having to maintain the 70 MPH in the 55 MPH zone. It never gave me too much of an opportunity to see how pretty those rush hour traffic beauties looked.

But I have to fess-up. That stale coffee was really not stale coffee. What I was doing was saying to myself, "if coffee grounds are great for gardening then why wouldnÂt be "DILUTED"liquid coffee too?" So each day I would pour two cups of water into the existing brew and let it set for the day. In turn I would pour it into a gallon milk container. IÂve been doing that since Dec. where IÂve amassed 8 gallons of stale-diluted coffee.

Believe me ------ you wouldnÂt want to drink it.

Incidentally I checked the spoil date on the containers to make sure. The oldest one I could find was back in Dec. I went through all of the containers and none has turned green yet as others have suggested might happen. I filled the jugs to the brim and tightly sealed with the jugs having twist lids. So IÂll hang in a few more weeks and see what happens.

BTW. I canÂt wait to wake up in the morning have my first cup of strong coffee and to see what you all have to say about gardening.

And for those anxiously awaiting Spring, we had another harbinger for Zone5 UPState NY yesterday...

The Daytona 500! Yippee!

38 Days Âtil the first of April! I canÂt wait... to spread my liquid Gold.......diluted coffee that is!