On Mon, 13 Apr 1998, Catharine's ma wrote: > A cement mixer? To mix dirt? Surely you jest! That's exactly what we used at Iowa State to mix the basic potting soil mix for the botany greenhouse. Good garden loam + sand + perlite, shoveled into a small batch mixer, then tipped into metal garbage cans with steam lines in place for sterilization. It was really quite an efficient system. Go fer it, Catharine! Kay Lancaster kay@fern.com just west of Portland, OR; USDA zone 8 (polarfleece)