Your best bet is probably to pour boiling water on the weeds.

The heat will kill the plants, and the water will of course be harmless to the birds as soon as it cools.

Just be careful not to burn yourself!

They make tools for just this purpose with the slightly-rude sounding name of "Crack Weeder".

They are either a very narrow hoe / knife, or a metal-bristled brush.

Using one of these is less tedious than hands-and-knees pulling of the little weeds.

For expensive and high quality tools see http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?cat=2,2300&p=33275 - no affiliation except they have a lot of my money and have always given good service - where you can see that some people prefer a 6" handle and they get down to the ground, while others like a long handle like a hoe.

I am sure you could find similar things in your local hardware and gardening store.

If you want a viable low maintenance solution you should consider removing the bricks/tiles and replacing any soil with underneath or in between the bricks/tiles with crushed rock.

You can usually buy it cheap in quantity if you have a quarry nearby.

If you don't want to dissemble the patio you can try to scrape out as much dirt as you can from between the cracks and fill them with finely ground stone.

Make sure to use a breathing protection when handling it.

You can use an old chisel or a flathead screwdriver for this.

I have a propane weed torch that I use to burn the weeds in cement cracks.

I got mine from a gardening supply store, but they are on Amazon.

I can't use it near the house or the porch screen (plastic screen), but it works pretty good on driveways and cracks.

You may have to revisit the weed area about every month or so.

Just be sure to inspect all of the fittings for leaks when you attach it to a propane tank and every time before use.

The one I have is a little cumbersome to carry around

and I wish the hose was a little longer, but you could put it in a wheel barrow or wagon and move it around the yard.

I cannot open the propane valve all the way.

If I do open the tank valve all the way and try to use the squeeze valve on the handle the pressure will sometimes put out the flame.

It may just be the one I purchased.

I've only had it for about 2 years but it works.

It just isn't fun to do in the middle of the day in the heat and humidity.

The burnt weed/plant may discolor the tile/bricks black.

Depending on how much time you want to sacrifice, you can also plant something in the cracks which will shade the weeds and make garden look nicer, here are some examples: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jul/26/gardens-plants-cracks-paths

gardening.stackexchange.com/users/14889/Rafs Kitchen Garden on Youtube

Question: Here in the UK we have many garden birds that feed from the small cracks in our brick-paved patio. Unfortunately, those small cracks are also full of various weeds and grass at the moment.  What is the best way of killing it all, but without poisoning the birds that eat from the ground?    I appreciate it can be weeded meticulously by hand, but I feel that way lies madness...!

Bird-friendly weedkiller for patio?

You could pour boiling water into the cracks or use a propane torch. There are tools that are made for this kind if weeding.

One easy way is to pour boiling water on the weeds or there is a tool for this purpose called a "Crack Weeder". A viable low maintenance solution would be to remove the bricks/tiles and replacing any soil underneath or in between the bricks/tiles with crushed rock or alternately you can use apropane weed torch to burn the weeds in cement cracks.

One easy way is to pour boiling water on the weeds.

There is a tool for this purpose called a "Crack Weeder".

A viable low maintenance solution would be to remove the bricks/tiles and replacing any soil underneath or in between the bricks/tiles with crushed rock.

You can use apropane weed torch to burn the weeds in cement cracks.


First, if the potatoes are big, you should cut them into smaller pieces so that you have one or two eyes (the bit that's sprouting) on each piece.

Leave the cut pieces out for a day or so to allow the cut surface to dry out a little.

This will help to prevent the potatoes from rotting in the ground.

While you're waiting, dig a trench about 12" (30cm) deep to plant the potatoes in.

Potatoes like a light, well-drained soil,

so if yours is heavy, consider mixing the diggings with some compost to help lighten it.

Backfill the trench with about 4" (10cm) of the dug soil.

Place

the potatoes with the growing stems pointed up, about 16" (40cm)

apart, and cover them with 4" (10cm) more inches of the dug soil.

Be careful not to damage the shoots, but it's OK to cover them a little: potatoes contain a lot of energy so they'll have enough to grow and emerge from the ground when they can start making energy themselves.

As the plants grow, you continue to fill in the trench; don't cover them completely after that first time.

Eventually you will want to mound more soil around the stems, up to around 12" (30cm)

high by the time the flowers die back, which is when they start putting energy into making tubers.

Potatoes grow on the covered stems, so you want a good amount of the stems covered by that point.

Staring with the basics, potatoes will take about 12 weeks from planting to cropping, and the plants will be killed by the first frost.

(The actual potatoes will be fine since they are underground, but the plant's leaves won't survive).

I don't know what the climate is like where you live, but midsummer is probably about the latest time you can usefully plant outside.

On the other hand, you can grow potatoes in pots or containers indoors, if you have a large enough space and plenty of light.

A single potato plant will grow leaves that cover an area more than a foot in diameter.

Indoors, you can plant them in August and harvest "new potatoes" at Christmas.

"Grocery store potatoes" are not the best source of seed, because you probably don't know what variety they are

(i.e. whether they are "early" or "late" varieties - quick or slow growing).

They may also have been in storage for a long time, and treated with a growth inhibitor.

They may also have been infected by plant diseases which have no effect on humans, but may affect growing them for a second season.

"Genuine" seed potatoes are grown separately from potatoes intended for eating, and special precautions are taken against disease infection.

If the potatoes are carrying virus diseases, they may infect the soil and the diseases may be transmitted to related plant species in subsequent years.

The most common related plants in a vegetable garden are tomatoes, aubergines, and chillies, but there are also common garden flowers like nicotiana (tobacco plant) and petunias.

Just a final safety warning since you mentioned a 3-year-old

: your potato plants may flower, and then set seeds which look like small tomatoes.

The flowers can look quite pretty, but the seeds are poisonous .

Don't forget that potatoes are related to deadly nightshade!

Removing the seeds and disposing of them safely won't affect the potato crop.

Unfortunately I cannot comment, because it's not a complete answer, but every year when I invariably find some sprouting potatoes in a drawer, I just put them in some big pots (no more than 2 per pot) on the patio, plant them about 1/3 down (roughly 15 cm of soil on top, 35 cm underneath) and 'benignly neglect' them afterwards.

When the plant has grown and starts looking tired

I go and dig out the potatoes with my daughter and every year we find an abundance of small but perfectly tasty potatoes.

This might be an alternative for a three year old that doesn't have patience, but would like his 'own' plant.

I haven't grown potatoes, so I can only answer the last part of your question, which is quite interesting.

Your process would be considered planting.

Planting takes place when something, frequently a seed, bulb, or other type of root, is put into a growing medium, in this case your garden, for the first time.

Your potato is the result of something that has been planted, so the question makes sense.

However, the sprouting parts, or eyes, are actually where the roots for the next potato will form.

Therefore, you'll be planting those potatoes for the first time.

Transplanting involves removing a plant from its current soil or other growing medium, and placing it somewhere else to continue growing.

For instance, if you had already planted the potato in a pot or different area of your garden, the act of digging it up and moving it to where you're now growing it, would be considered transplanting.

gardening.stackexchange.com/users/7305/Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL

If the potato has a decent sprout, you can remove it from the potato, and plant it by itself, and eat the potato!

The aim of hilling the sprouts is to prevent sunlight from reaching the new tubers which turns them green, and poisonous.

If you try to hill to get the stems to produce more tubers, that's a waste of time.

I presume that you're coming into summer now and the problem with that is that the heat will stop tuber formation if it gets too hot.

So, don't expect much from this little experiment.

And, if you're using grocery potatoes, you risk potato viruses getting into your soil.

Best to use certified seed potatoes. https://www.growveg.com.au/guides/what-to-do-with-sprouting-potatoes/

Question: I'm gearing up to plant some red potatoes from the grocery store that sprouted in the pantry. When I plant them do I plant them stem-side-up? And, should I plant them shallow so the stems poke out of the soil?  And last, would this be considered planting or transplanting?

How do I plant potatoes that sprouted in my pantry?

If the potatoes are big, you can cut them up so you have one or two eyes on each piece. You should hill the sprouts so the potatoes don't turn green.

If the potatoes are big, you should cut them into smaller pieces so that you have one or two eyes on each piece and then leave the cut pieces out for a day or so to allow the cut surface to dry out a little. Potatoes will take about 12 weeks from planting to cropping, and the plants will be killed by the first frost. If the potato has a decent sprout, you can remove it from the potato, and plant it by itself, and eat the potato!  You should also hill the sprouts to prevent sunlight from reaching the new tubers which turns them green, and poisonous.   Also bear in mind that if you're using grocery potatoes, you risk potato viruses getting into your soil.


As far as I can see, the benefit is the two trees pollinate each other.

I think after they get to a certain size though the stems will become too woody/stiff to continue twisting them together

so I am not sure of the long term benefit.

These 'twisted apple trees' are a fairly new concept, so how they perform over a decade or more will be interesting to see.

Viv is right in that the benefit is you only need one twisted apple, because the varieties are selected so they pollinate one another, and that's an advantage where growing space is at a premium.

Over time, they'll either fuse together or twist themselves, or at least, that's the theory - more info in the link here http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2015/05/15/new-twisted-trees-produce-apples-on-their-own/

Is there a picture we can see?

There is no conclusive way to answer this question without looking at them.

If they are twisted quite well and on purpose, then that seems a bit odd.

If they are twisted just slightly on purpose, that makes sense in a way.

If they are just incidentally twisted, it probably will work out fine, given enough room for both trees to grow next to each other.

If they are quite intertwined, they may have a tendency to strangle each other.

The purposeful twisting sometimes may be done to save space or for the trees to be exotic in look, and share space to produce different fruit simultaneously.

One word of caution though, if this is a big box retailer, at least some of the time, they are not necessarily knowledgeable and usually don't inspect the supplying nursery's inventory.

Many local nurseries will directly bring their product and stack them on the shelves of big box stores like Home Depot, Lowe's, OSH etc.

Sometimes, the retailers employ knowledgeable gardeners they have trained (CA has one such program), but there are not that many of them, and usually even they are tasked with moving product.

So many times, they don't really know what they are selling past a certain level.

This is why dealing with exclusive retailers is helpful.

They too source saplings, etc.

from the same nurseries, but are more knowledgeable typically and will pay a lot more attention in helping you choose high quality saplings, give you advice on planting locations, soil amendments, fertilization, etc.

I suspect that even with complete knowledge they'd still sell them.

It would take years, maybe even decades for the trunks to do a lot of harm to each other, by which time the sellers reckon you'll have moved/got bored of the trees/pruned them sporadically enough that you blame yourself...

They appear to be a subset of the "family"apple tree; according to the RHS: "These solve the problem of cross-pollination, but can be harder to prune, as the different cultivars often grow at different rates."

I've heard (but can't find a reputable source) that it's common for one of the family to die or be stunted.

I would have though these problems are more likely at least in the short term.

The 'problem' with this 'braiding' or intertwining of trunks is that it could cause problems with the vascular system

but I've never seen that happen.

They 'grow together' and share vascular systems.

Outside or where there is a lot of wind and when branches rub they aren't able to 'grow together' and the rubbing leaves room for disease to easily infect the plants.

This is very similar to grafting.

Other forms of the same species are grafted right into the host

and then they grow together and have a bark system completely enclosed.

You won't find this braiding happening out of doors with continual movement by the wind.

Question: My friend recently purchased an apple tree twist from a local retailer, and was wondering why retailers sell them that way if they will try to kill each other?  Please correct me if I'm wrong, and they will help each other grow, and not try to kill each other.

If twisted trees will suffocate each other, why do retail stores sell them together?

It is so the trees pollinate one another. It could also be to save space. This is a new concept so the trees might not live for a long time.

The benefit may be that the two trees pollinate each other. The benefit may be that the two trees pollinate each other. But if they are quite intertwined, they may have a tendency to strangle each other.

These 'twisted apple trees' are a fairly new concept, with the twisting sometimes done to save space or for the trees to be exotic in look.


There isn't a way to force plant growth any faster than it's programmed to be either organically or inorganically.

What you can do, though, is provide optimum growing conditions for whatever plant it is, which will give the healthiest plants with the best growth rate possible.

This means providing fertile, healthy soil which has been improved regularly with the addition of humus rich materials, sufficient space for each plant, sufficient light/sunlight and water, and for some plants, the best soil ph that suits.

Optimal temperature range helps too, but that's not something you can do much about (other than growing at the right time of year) unless you grow in artificial conditions like a greenhouse or polytunnel.

Plants are best grown at their own pace.

I always joke about "Miracle Gro" asking people if they would feed their kids crack if that would help them grow faster.

Jokes aside, when plants take their natural time - some just grow naturally fast, they have a better chance of putting down good roots, fighting diseases, healing and producing a good crop.

That itself can be seen as "speed".

Following growing instructions specific to your zone/area/region, providing them ample sunlight, trying to give them only the required water - not too much and not too little, giving them natural disease fighting mechanisms such as inviting birds that can eat bugs, adding ladybugs that help with aphids, mulching them correctly and thoroughly can all help them grow at a vigorous pace.

If you are so inclined, fertilizers that are certified organic are available.

You could use those.

And/or use good quality compost, either of your own making, or bought from good sources.

If you have to use pesticides or herbicides at all, if you choose organic ones and apply them judiciously, you can avoid toxins in your produce, and prevent plants from getting injured.

So, doing all that, is better than fussing around with hormones.

There is an ancient Indian saying that roughly translates to , "the gardener can choose to haul a 100 pails of water, the fruit arrives when the season does".

So, take it easy, relax and give the plants the time they need.

Yes.

You need to find out that specific plants preferred pH level and the amount of sunlight it ideally needs throughout the day and try and give it the exact amounts it requires.

Also, aeration of the soil and the exact amount of water is very important.

DO NOT overwater.

I've found a drip-watering system to be the most effective for some heavy drinker types (tomatos, peaches, cucumber, etc.)

You can adjust the pH if you get a pH meter and use, for example crushed bone, Dolomite or hydrated lime, and a whole host of other materials.

It really depends drastically from plant to plant what their ideal environment is though...

Look up aeroponics (growing the roots in total darkness, and fed/watered by a microspray instead of soil), it will grow normally and faster than usual.

It might not be possible for it to be "certified organic", but I suggest growing the "outside" in a clear plastic bag and manually pollinating with a toothbrush or something, to keep both pests and pesticides off of it.

I don't have an answer that's not purely anecdotal, but last year I created a metal

a sub-irrigated planter(google it), and I experienced incredible results.

First off, a sub-irrigated planter is a planter in which the water is forced up from the bottom.

The main advantage of this is the oxygenation of the soil as the water level goes up and down around the roots.

That's a basic sub-irrigated planter, and I got great results doing just that.

I got kind of crazy with it though and installed temperature-controlled heaters on the bottom of the metal planter.

When I install the heaters on the bottom, the plants started standing more erect than any I had ever seen and starting growing at an unprecedented pace.

I had peppers within a few weeks.

One of the big advantages of the way I did it was that I pumped water up from a bucket underneath the planter whenever level got low, and I just added plant food to the bucket that it pumped from so it went straight to the roots.

Question: Is there a way to grow plants super fast while it still being organic (i.e. healthy)?  Wheat / vegetables / fruits / etc...

Is there a way to grow plants super fast while it still being organic (i.e. healthy)?

You can provide optimum growing conditions so they grow as fast as possible. You could also try aeroponics for faster growth.

There isn't a way to force plant growth either organically or inorganically but what you can do is provide optimum growing conditions which will give the healthiest plants with the best growth rate possible. Plants are best grown at their own pace. Specific plants have preferred pH levesl and amount of sunlight and you can ensure this.

Aeroponics is the skill of growing the roots in total darkness, and fed/watered by a microspray instead of soil, which will result in faster than usual growth.


There may be some difference between a fast windbreak and an ideal windbreak.

Since many fast growing deciduous trees provide little wind breakage in the winter months, my go-to choice for screening/windbreaks is Thuja (standishii x plicata) 'Green Giant' .

I am in USDA

hardiness zone 6 and they thrive here in Pennsylvania.

Here are some reasons why I prefer this tree over some others (such as leyland cypress).

The plant can easily put on 3 feet a year or more Adaptable to all soil types (sand, clay, shale, low nitrogen, dry, etc) except for saturated.

Very uniform grower in a group planting such as a windbreak Flexible branches can easily withstand 2' of snow

Bright green year round Deer resistant (as compared with emerald arborvitae)

Very disease/pest resistant - generally carefree Thrives in dappled to full sunlight

The downside is the cost, which is high if you are getting large trees to start with, like most people prefer to do.

But if you start with 3' trees, you have a 20' windbreak in less than 10 years, and 30' ten years after (with proper spacing).

That is fast for a conifer.

If you need a deciduous tree for some reason, i would choose the 'Hybrid Willow' , for fast growth.

They advertise 12-20' of growth a year, but when I've planted them, they pushed 6-10' a year for the first few years.

Still pretty fast though.

Because this isn't a long lived tree, and won't look so great after 30 years, I'd plant a second row of trees (something slower and more substantial) in the back.

When they reach the height you need, you could cut back the willows (In that case prepare for insane regrowth).

Here's a list of good windbreaks that take longer to grow (only species which I've used for this in zone 6 where I live): Blue Spruce , Very dense, generally carefree, not uniform if grown from seed Eastern White Pine , faster growing, less dense.

Can be picky with soil Dawn Redwood , good apical dominance, grows in damp or dry soils.

Less dense, deciduous.

Fast growing Bald Cypress , similar to Dawn Redwood, slower growing, can grow in wet soil/standing water Norway Spruce , one of the best adapted conifers to this climate.

Dense with sufficient moisture (dry soil causes shedding of branchlets)' Street Keeper® Honeylocust .

Very happy with the growth rate, density, structural integrity and pest/disease resistant.

Adaptable with an aggressive root system.

And some which I did not prefer (ended up being high maintenance or needing replacement with a different species) Lombardy Poplar , short lived, disease prone, prone to storm damage (also cottonwood) Douglas Fir , not well adapted to this climate.

Needs yearly spraying for needle cast and other diseases Siberian Elm , not very dense, prone to storm damage Black Locust , low foliage, disease prone

Depends what you want in the way of thickness of foliage blocking the wind or whether the barrier should be effective against other things such as deer.

I have light sandy type soil and wanted to plant white pine as a windbreak and later for lumber.

But the deer ate all the seedlings except one.

Then I planted white spruce which the deer left alone; they produced a nice thick barrier which is very good against wind and somewhat effective against deer.

An alternative that gorws fast, makes a less thick barrier but is vulnerable to beaver damage here is white poplar.

(Zone 3)

My favorite is Blue Arctic Willow, Salix purpurea 'nana'.

Not 'nana' at all.

Full of foliage, flexible fine branches, grows quickly...looks spectacular summer and winter (glossy copper fine branches that don't break).

Easy and fun to prune, heck, I made hedges out of them...

if one doesn't hedge, they grow to 30 feet by 30 feet.

Blue green foliage, tiny leaves, forget about cleaning leaves off lawns, etc.

Terribly hardy down to zone 1B!!

Not enough woody trunk or stems for beaver to care about.

They might want to use stems for weaving...

dunno.

Deer?

Dunno, lots of branches and foliage

but I've never seen any deer damage.

That copper shines in the winter.

So easy and actually fun to prune.

Moves in the wind.

Check out this wonderful shrub!!

I can send pics if you'd like!

I can recommend Colorado Spruce - Picea pungens.

It is grown in our gardens as an ornamental tree in 99% of cases.

However, it is less known that it is one of the best windbreak trees ever.

It will calm down the strongest winds, almost unbelievable effect.

Plus, there are numerous cultivars for every taste.

It does grow a bit slower than average, but if you are patient, give her a chance!

It would be very helpful to know several more factors about Alina's field site. "

USDA Zone 6" refers only to average minimum and maximum temperatures.

I didn't see any mention of state and region--but I am very new to this blog.

The woody plants that contributors have mentioned will not grow equally in all climates and soils in Zone 6.

We readers need to know: Amount of precipitation, by season.

The West, for instance, has very little rainfall in summer, which often severely limits which species will thrive.

The very fertile Palouse region (Zone 6) of northwestern Idaho and neighboring parts of Washington have historically used Black Locust on ridgetops.

This has been successful, though this species is now succumbing to an exotic borer insect.

Colorado Spruce, as VividD noted, is dense--and it is also somewhat drought-tolerant as well as disease and pest resistant in the West.

If the windbreak will be on a ridge.

If so, adequate moisture becomes even more essential.

Will the windbreak be some distance from the field?

If not, rhizomatous trees (e.g. certain poplars) may invade the field, sometimes during a single fallow season.

However, with luck, the rhizomatous feature could serve to increase the density of the windbreak.

Question: I'm searching for species that would grow fast to become field windbreaks and I have found a lot of articles on the web about this.  However, I'm more interested in knowing if any of you have had or have actually grown them (in USDA hardiness zone 6). What species would you recommend based on such expertise?

What are the best fast growing field windbreaks?

A hybrid willow is a fast growing, deciduous tree. For Evergreen, try Thuja, Bald Cypress, Norway spruce, white spruce or Colorado spruce.

A fast windbreak is not necessarily an ideal windbreak as many fast growing deciduous trees provide little wind breakage in the winter  months. The  'Hybrid Willow' is a good decidous tree for fast growth. Other suitable options areThuja, bald Cypress , Norway Spruce , Honeylocust, blue arctic willow, Colorado spruce, white poplar and white spruce, which is very good against wind and somewhat effective against deer.


It reminds me of a Night Blooming Cereus.

I've never grown one, so can't comment on their need.

My folks have theirs growing in normal household conditions, getting western light.

They are amazing plants - sending up fragrant blooms that last a single night.

This page seems to offer a decent overview.

On first sight i also thought it was sone kind of fern but the zoom shows definitely a cactus.

What you were zooming in at is a new leaf , not a blossom.

In my opinion it is species out of genus Epiphyllum.

From your photos it is hard to determine which species exactly so i would suggest to google "epiphyllum" and look for photos.

Edit: maybe epiphyllum oxypetalum, due to the thin, fernlike leaves, but this is mere speculation.

Edit 2:

Night-blooming cereus (selenicereus grandiflorus) is definitely wrong.

Those have angular stems and nothing that resembles leaves.

Final edit:I am quite sure now that itis epiphyllum oxipetalum.

I found a video on youtube featuring the plant:

I'm pretty sure it is a "Queen of the Night".

They only bloom at night and have an intoxicating fragrance.

Occasional watering.

One of the most beautiful flowers we have ever raised.

This one of the 'Bird's Nest Ferns'...a very sick one at that.

These plants need an awful lot of humidity, perfect fluffy soil (potting soil), acidic soil, no tap water, water that is pure pure pure.

Very sensitive.

The perfect combination of chemicals (fertilizer), lots and lots of micro/macro organisms.

You'll find these in stores sold as house plants.

Very few ever make it for long unless its owner understands a fern's needs.

Certainly not a succulent which is a desert plant.

This is a rain forest plant.

You should see how beautiful these are when healthy.

You'd have to go to a production greenhouse dedicated to growing ferns.

They last long enough to make the owner feel as if they've done something wrong.

They either quit purchasing plants and call themselves a black thumb, OR they'll try again buy purchasing even more 'stuff' to baby their plant.

Ferns do not produce flowers nor seed.

They produce spores for reproduction.

Here's a photo and information on Kangaroo Fern ( Microsorum diversifolium - not entirely sure it is that, but it might be.

Obviously, the one in your pictures isn't in great condition.

I'm not sure it's exactly the right one, but I can't think of any other that I know that it might be.

No flowers, bit of a sprawler and its an epiphytic fern.

I don't think it's attractive in any way, but each to his own, we're all different and have different tastes.

Question: I recently saw this plant in a shop. It looks like an amazingly big succulent.  What kind is it? I wonder if it needs much light and if it produces flowers?     Edit  Zoom to the area where flowers emerge(I suspect):

What is this huge succulent plant?

It looks like a Night Blooming Cereus, a Queen of the Night or Bird's Nest Fern.

It could be a Night Blooming Cereus or a cactus. It may also be "Queen of the Night" or a 'Bird's Nest Ferns' or one of the genus Epiphyllum.


This question and its answer Are blossom end rot tomatoes edible? is relevant to your question.

If you correct your watering regime, the remaining, unaffected tomatoes on the plants should be fine.

Occasionally, there is an actual shortage of calcium in the soil,so if this happens every year, even though you water correctly, get a soil test done to check the calcium levels.

You could remove the green tomatoes, but they won't be as sweet as the ones that ripen naturally on the plant, and depending how advanced they are, may not ripen at all - a sunny windowsill should help with ripening.

You can do that.

Placing your tomatoes near some bananas and/or apples can help them ripen faster because they release a lot of etylene gas, which prompts other fruit to ripen.

An alternative would be making some pickled green tomatoes!

I love pickled green tomatoes.

Sweet, tangy and a nice refreshing crunch on sandwiches the rest of the year!

Once they start to "blush" or turn color from solid green to orange/red they should redden fully with time.

So yes, you can, and you can also eat them green (much like eating green bell peppers instead of letting them turn red/yellow/orange).

As others have said, it's probably not too late to try and remedy your blossom end rot issue and may be worth a try.

Good luck!

You can cut the good healthy parts off the tomato and use that section.

We grow tons of tomatoes and we cut out the bad spots.

I've never seen a tomato get

blossom end rot after being harvested whether or not it's left to ripen indoors, and I've had a fair number of harvested, unripe tomatoes ripen indoors.

I'm not about to say it's impossible (although maybe it is), but I've definitely never seen it happen.

It may be past the time of year where blossom end rot is much of a problem, though, depending on where you live.

In my area, it's mostly much of a problem during the hottest parts of the season, and we've recently went beyond those.

Any green tomato picked unripe will eventually ripen indoors given the right conditions-

some like to hasten the process with other over ripe fruit placed nearby-

just inspect them every day although generally the smaller the fruit the more difficult to ripen - think smaller than a marble-

and it becomes a pointless task, anything above that and depending on how early you pick will add extra time on how long it will take.

you always get a few every year like this.

Question: All my tomato plants have blossom rot.  As the fruit begins to ripen, they are rotted at the bottom.  Can I pick the healthy green tomatoes and let them ripen without them getting the rotted bottom?

Can I pick healthy unripe green tomatoes from a plant that has blossom end rot?

You could remove the green tomatoes and leave them to ripen, though they won't be as sweet as those that ripen on the plant. Place them near bananas or apples so they will ripen quicker. You could also try pickling them.

Yes you can eat them green. The green tomatoes won't be as sweet as the ones that ripen naturally on the plant. A sunny windowsill should help with ripening. Or you can place near some bananas or apples to ripen faster. Yes you can eat them green.

An alternative would be making some pickled green tomatoes.


It is Plectranthus scutellarioides or coleus .

I don't have one, myself, so I cannot give any info about how to keep them.

Checking Google, like you suggest seems a very good option!

I've just realised where you are....

this plant is a tender annual, usually grown in the summer outdoors as bedding in the UK.

It can be kept as a houseplant, but needs pinching out regularly to keep it bushy.

Yours needs some attention; first, has the pot it's in got a drainage hole?

If not, it needs to be in something with a hole in the bottom to allow water to drain way.

Second, I recommend you cut it back by two thirds/three quarters, down to about 6 inches or where there are side shoots.

This is best done in a month or two, as spring begins/approaches, but can be done now.

Give it something like Baby Bio houseplant food about once every two weeks after you've cut it back.

This should encourage new shoots from the roots - if you see little flowers forming, pinch those out between your thumb and finger.

The flowers are relatively insignificant and this plant is grown for its highly decorative leaves, so removing the flowers encourages more leaves.

Likes some sunlight, otherwise very bright daylight, and the usual rules re watering apply - water when the surface of the potting soil is just dry to the touch, water thoroughly and tip away any excess in an outer pot or tray after 30 minutes.

It grows very well in moist, shaded areas in the outdoors in Indiana during the summer months.

My mother left a pot of it on the brick paved patio and it quickly spread by seed over a large area.

I've tried growing it indoors but didn't provide enough sun.

The colors other than green didn't show as well.

Bamboo's right -- pinch back a lot to get the leaves to show.

consider buying several kinds and putting them together in a window box-shaped place; they can take a bit of shade and I used them as houseplants for years till i discovered that where summers are warm they do well outside as annuals.

(They're houseplants in Seattle, which has the same climate as much of Britain, and outdoor plants in Iowa, which has the same climate as hell.)

They look especially fine with sweet potato vines and lime green foliage of various kinds.

They like water fairly regularly, though they're not swamp plants.

Yours is far too leggy; I didn't recognize it at first.

Cut 2/3 off, then cut each of the long pieces into 4" pieces.

Take off the bottom-

most pairs of leaves (about 1/2" worth) and stick in a glass full of water which covers the denuded parts.

Every couple days, check on the water to be sure it's still covering that part; if it starts getting yucky looking, replace with fresh water.

After a bit (weeks, not months)

roots should be growing on each of those parts.

You will end up with a TON of coleus plants to do whatever you wish with -- build a forest of houseplants or a garden of bedding in the sun.

I have one, although didn't know the name.

Can provide a little of my experience with it.

Apologies that i'm no expert.

It likes a bit of water ever now and again, it can cope with being quite neglected and water will bring it back again.

It is incredibly easy to take cuttings from - literally cut a piece off and put it in another pot with some water and it will probably take.

Every time i've tried to plant one outside (UK)

it has quickly died, I have a feeling its maybe fussy about PH levels.

Question: What is this plant that I was given, please?  If anyone could provide a particularly good guide to caring for it, that would also be great, but I'm expecting to just Google its name once I know what it is :)

What is this purple-leafed (potted) plant?

It is a Plectranthus scutellarioides. It is an annual usually grown outdoors.

It is  Plectranthus scutellarioides  or  coleus.This is a tender annual, usually grown in the summer outdoors as bedding in the UK.

It is  Plectranthus scutellarioides  or  coleus .


Tomato plants need some kind of support (as you see, they are a sort of vine).

Especially when they are fruiting, the stem cannot support the weight of the tomatoes.

It is normal to have the stem curved (and down to the soil).

In professional greenhouses, the tomatoes are supported by a cord, and the cord will be lowered (or elongated)

in order to have the tomatoes at the right height (and so inevitably the stem will bend).

So it is not a big problem.

But, as I said, tomatoes need some support (usually a post, if you are not a professional in a greenhouse), and the leaves should not touch the soil (remove all leaves below the lower tomatoes, when you have tomatoes and sufficient higher leaves).

The stem is resilient to bending.

Tomato plants can certainly break under weight.

Some varieties are more prone to breaking than others (e.g. Early Girl F1); I'm not sure about San Marzano, although I've grown it without issues.

However, you don't necessarily need to support tomatoes to prevent them from breaking.

The plants just need enough potassium.

Sufficient potassium makes tomato vines, leaves, and roots very strong and tough.

Plants don't need as much potassium as I'm talking about to do well, but if you have weak plants, adding extra is one way to strengthen them (don't add extra nitrogen with it, however, unless you need it).

Extra potassium may affect the flavor and texture (for better or worse), however.

This is my experience.

Plants toughen up within a few days of a good dose of potassium sulfate (even old growth).

I almost exclusively grow my tomatoes without support, and those I've given extra potassium have hardly ever broken.

These days I usually use wood ash for potassium instead of potassium sulfate (since wood ash is fairly sustainable and has a wide array of nutrients, and tomatoes seem to benefit more all-around from it), but I believe potassium sulfate has a more potent effect in strengthening the branches and such.

When vines do break, if they're still attached at all, often they'll keep growing like nothing happened, as long as they're still somewhat attached.

It's kind of surprising.

I'm not necessarily recommending that you go the extra-potassium route, since it changes the way plants behave considerably, but I wanted to point out that it seems to work as an alternative option.

The parts of the plant where the fruit clusters form can break under the weight, but the more common problem is usually that the whole plant will bend over and the leaves and/or fruit will touch the ground if the plant does not have proper support.

For more information on why that's bad, see the question Do tomatoes really need support to grow? .

Yes a tomato plant can break with the weight, since the tomato plant is also very fragile.

Basically any plant that bears many fruits can break, and the tomato plant does not break the rule and breaks a lot and sometimes spoils many tomatoes because of that.

This is why farmers are always careful to catch the tomato as it matures.

well tomatoes reaches it's age and weight that become a reason of breaking the stems on which it grow.....

Impossible it attains such value only when it is planted wisely with all supports and gardening/farming tools and knowledge.

Question: I have a garden with San Marzano tomato plants which began budding, but recently there was heavy rain which tilted some plants at large angles. Some are using the ground as support. My question is, will this be a threat to the plant once it starts fruiting? Is there a chance that it will just snap off due to weight?  The plants are about one and a half feet tall, one month old.

Can a tomato plant break by its own weight?

Tomatoes need some support. Some varieties are more prone to breaking than others. The parts of the plant where the fruit clusters can break under the weight.

es a tomato plant can break with the weight as the tomato plant is very fragile. Especially when they are fruiting, the stem cannot support the weight of the tomatoes.  The parts of the plant where the fruit clusters form can break under the weight. Some varieties of tomato are more prone to breaking than others. Some varieties of tomato are more prone to breaking than others.

Tomatoes need some support and the leaves should not touch the soil.


Moss is due to lack of proper sunlight.

You need to adjust your yard for that to fix the source of the issue.

Other than that, you should get the soil analyzed, it'll help you figure out what you need to amend in your soil to make it more fertile.

You may collect soil samples from various places around your yard and send it to your county's co-op extension (Penn State might have it).

Once they analyze your soil, it'll give you measurement of your soil's pH level as well as Sulfur, Phosphorous, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, and etc.

Once you know this, you can figure out what you need to add (e.g. lime, proper fertilizer(s), gypsum, and etc).

Best of luck

For the past twenty years I have lived under a grove of huge white oaks in North Carolina.

Its very shady.

The original builders of the home planted a very fine thin blade (almost hair like and now an heirloom) variety of red rye grass.

In places the yard is also moss covered.

The oaks really do soak up the nutrients and water.

I like way the the moss feels under my bare feet...

the rye grass like to be kept cut short 2" vs the fescue stays

tall 4"

This thread reminds me of the song by Rush " The Trees "

Have you tried raising the height of cut?

Imagine you're a grass plant growing in shade.

You need sunlight for photosynthesis, but there isn't much available due to the shade.

On top of that, though, someone is coming along regularly and cutting off your precious photosynthesising leaves.

Not a happy situation.

Maybe rake off as much moss as possible then raise the height of cut to two inches and see how that goes.

You could try creeping red fescue .

It does well in the shade.

Grass, any grass, does not like to grow in shady places, it really only does well in an open situation with plenty of sunlight, so I'm afraid whatever you do, short of cutting down or removing trees, grass is not an option in such a situation.

Depending on how much light reaches the floor of the woods during the year, and whether the trees are deciduous or not, you might have some success with ground cover plants such as Pachysandra, but it does depend on the environment.

If you want green without mowing (or easy walking), you could plant Carex pennsylvanica.

This will spread under the trees and form a green carpet.

Question: I live in NW Pennsylvania and in the woods. I've tried everything to get grass to grow under the trees. I've put down peat moss and fertilizer and seed for shade but it won't take, I get just moss. Any suggestions?

How to grow grass in the shade?

Grass will never grow well in shady places. You should get your soil analyzed to help you figure out how to amend your soil. Try creeping red fescue or carex pennsylvanica.

Grass does not like to grow in shady places, it really only does well in an open situation with plenty of sunlight. You should get the soil analyzed, it'll help you figure out what you need to amend in your soil to make it more fertile.   Rake off as much moss as possible then raise the height of cut to two inches and see how that goes.   If you want green without mowing, you could plant Carex pennsylvanica. You could also try  creeping red fescue .


It depends on the particular target you are going for.

For a Heavy, often times you need to charge up, even if you are going for a head-shot.

If, however, you are going for a faster enemy (e.g. a scout or medic), your best bet is to go for one uncharged headshot, or two quick body shots.

And finally, charging up when you don't have an enemy in sight is usually a good strategy, because you can usually one-shot any non-uber'd enemy with a full-charged head-shot.

This info from the TF2 Wiki seems pretty relevant to your question.

The only classes that you can't kill with a zero charged headshot with the sniper rife are Solider, Pyro, Demoman and Heavy, with each of these requiring 17%, 9%, 9%, and 50% charge for a one shot (headshot) kill.

Also worth noting that you can oneshot kill (bodyshot) a Scout, Engineer, Medic, Sniper and Spy with a 100% charge if you think it's a better bet than the head.

All of this goes out the window if a medic is charging, but the above link has info on that too.

Personally I no-scope when they are really close or it's a scout.

Otherwise I try to scope them with a headshot.

I'd say I get fairly decent results, but not great.

I'd love to see some other sniper responses here, as I'm not totally confident that's the best method.

It is for this reason that I personally prefer to use the Huntsman.

It has a faster charge up, but smaller zoom.

I would say do a quick scope uncharged headshot if the scout is going to get close to you, I would go for that than regular body shot.

An acceptable strategy: Don't scope until you see a target.

If it's a Heavy, scope and fully charge a shot (being careful not to let him see you or your dot).

They're not likely to reach you in the time it takes to fully charge.

If it's a Soldier, Demoman or Pyro, charge about halfway before taking the shot.

If it's anything else, an unscoped headshot will do.

Don't even bother with a Scout unless you're very sure of your aim.

If you're not sure, charge up and go for a bodyshot.

This keeps you out of scope most of the time, allowing you better situational awareness and target-picking.

This also depends on what KIND of sniper rifle/bow you have, whether or not they know you're sniping, whether or not they're being overhealed/ubered, the skill of the player you're sniping at, and whether or not the Soldier/Demomen know how to rocket/grenade jump.

If you're using a bow, you don't need to worry as much about when to charge.

The bow charges pretty quickly, and is better suited for mid-range fire anyway.

If the target knows there are snipers, be prepared to take a less-than-ideal shot as they weave and dodge your fire.

Any damage is better than no damage.

If they know where YOU are specifically, move somewhere else.

There's a high chance they will focus you down and make your sniping position undesireable.

If they're overhealed, be prepared to charge a bigger shot for them.

If they are ACTIVELY being overhealed, try to aim for the Medic first.

Even if you don't kill him, making him flee for health is a victory in itself, and will make future targets softer.

If there is an uber, don't waste a bullet.

If they know how to rocket jump/grenade jump, aim for the spot where they intend to land, or at the peak of their jump, where their horizontal mobility is at its lowest.

Be prepared to no-charge this shot, or charge it just long enough for them to reach their peak/bottom.

If you're lucky, they'll kill themselves with their own jump.

Question: Is it prudent to fully charge my sniper rifle in most cases?  If an enemy gets up close, am I better off trying to scope-n-shoot, no-scope, or try some other weapon?

Should I fully charge my sniper shot?

Do a quick uncharged headshot with a faster enemy or charge up and go for a body shot.

You can carry out a quick scope uncharged headshot if the scout is going to get close to you, but for a Heavy, often times you need to charge up, even if you are going for a head-shot.  On the other hand, if you are going for a faster enemy your best bet is to go for one uncharged headshot, or two quick body shots.  The only classes that you can't kill with a zero charged headshot with the sniper rife are Solider, Pyro, Demoman and Heavy. You can also oneshot kill a Scout, Engineer, Medic, Sniper and Spy with a 100% charge if you think it's a better bet than the head.  If it's a Soldier, Demoman or Pyro, charge about halfway before taking the shot.    If you're using a bow, you don't need to worry as much about when to charge.  Basically, if you're not sure, charge up and go for a bodyshot.


Professional gamers will bring their own mice as well as mice pads to events.

The reality is no surface is frictionless, nor does any surface have consistent friction throughout it.

As a result there are parts of the surface in question which the mouse will move on at different speeds.

A good mouse pad will have even friction throughout it.

How much friction you want on your mouse pad is usually a matter of personal preference (like tuning your mouse response settings).

I usually advocate low friction mouse pads for laser mice, but I know a number of competitive gamers who prefer high friction mouse pads for higher precision (as the mass of a mouse is usually so small that the force difference between high acceleration and low acceleration is small).

I have personally used a gaming mouse pad since I started competing at Counter Strike.

I quite enjoy it, but I recommend you try before you buy.

Go to a store that has games on computers and play them for 10 minute stretches.

Its also worth noting that a high quality mousepad may require a different cleaning regimen than you are use to.

Make sure you find this out first.

It depends on the mouse.

One of my favorite mice is a Laser mouse made by Razer, but the mouse really sucks unless you've got a good mousing surface to go with it.

I personally use good mousing surfaces for all of my computers (even when I'm just at work programming, without a gaming mouse), because I like the extra precision.

Some mousepads offer support besides the actual pad for the mouse, such as a wrist support.

These can help whether or not your mouse is optical, if it's comfortable for you, a fact which has actually helped a number of gamers I've known.

In my opinion, the biggest advantage of a gaming mousepad is size.

I use to run my mouse off the edge of the pad all the time until I got the giant mousepad by Razor.

I also think the small pads with different "surfaces" are mostly just hype.

I prefer my desk as mousepad, I do ALL the view just by my mouse

so it often happens that I reach the end of a mousepad.

Advantage of desk: nearly endless room to play, no annoying rearranging of mouse and mousepad.

Disadvantage: if you are eating on your desk you will often have to clean it, otherwise you will find sticky stuff on your desk's surface which obviously get in the way of the mouse.

Different mice may track better on specific surfaces, but with most high-quality gaming mice operating at non-extreme DPI settings, you should be able to use any non-exotic (e.g. not glass or polished) surface.

However, more important are the physical characteristics of your mousing surface.

The tactile "feel" you get when you move your mouse on a surface can have a significant impact on your aiming accuracy and speed.

There's a lot of different gaming mousepads out there.

Some are designed to be silky smooth, while others have a rougher feel.

A smooth surface allows fast motion, while a rougher surface allows higher precision.

Most manufacturers of gaming peripherals produce a variety of mousepads.

While this is ultimately a matter of personal preference, it is important that you select a mousepad that is comfortable and lets you aim quickly and precisely.

Question: There seem to be a lot of "Gaming" mousepads on the market - some very expensive.  Do these make any real impact with today's optical mice over an old mousepad or desk?

Do "Gaming" mousepads make a difference with today's optical mice?

Professional gamers have their own mice and pads. Th emouse will move at different speeds over different surfaces. Thie biggest advantage would be size and the tactile feel you get.

Professional gamers bring their own mice and pads to events.  Different mice may track better on specific surfaces. The reality is no surface is frictionless, as there are parts of the surface in question which the mouse will move on at different speeds.  Some mousepads also offer support besides the actual pad for the mouse, such as a wrist support, but possibly the biggest advantage of a gaming mousepad is size.  The tactile 'feel' you get when you move your mouse on a surface can have a significant impact on your aiming accuracy and speed.

Some mousepads also offer support besides the actual pad for the mouse, such as a wrist support.

Possibly the biggest advantage of a gaming mousepad is size.


As Gnoupi said, it's possible to report any game you want to play as a non-Steam game.

In this case, it's a joke reference to the episode

"Make Love, Not Warcraft" of South Park, in which Butters prefers Hello Kitty Island Adventure over World of Warcraft.

As far as I know no such game exists.

By the way, there's a similar exploit where it is possible to show yourself playing a game which you have pre-loaded, but is not yet released, by using a utility that reports the AppID to Steam.

This means you can't even trust the regular in-game titles either.

I've been known to "play" Left 4 Dead 2 and Portal 2 prior to its release.

You can make Steam say you're playing anything .

All you have to do is add a non-Steam game shortcut and rename it.

I heard about a fantastic April Fool's prank where someone did this and named the shortcut "Half-Life 2:

Episode Three."

All of his friends freaked out!

Pretty classic.

To add a non-Steam game to your games library, select Add Game at the bottom left of Steam and select the corresponding menu item:

Steam is not lying on such reporting, for games in their library.

It is possible to be shown as playing just about anything, since you can add a third party game to your game list, and give it the name you want.

It will be written as "In a non-steam game" under, though.

Since there is no "hello kitty" game in the Steam store, I assume that this is what is done there.

You can hook up games (or really anything) in your Steam UI.

In fact, as a joke, I made it so that when I am programming it will say "Melanie Shebel is now playing Vim."

As others have said, it is possible to add any game to steam and rename it to whatever you want.

It is also possible to fake that you are playing games that aren't yet released by changing the App id in the config files.

So, if you see that your friend is playing example brink before it's released, it is faked.

This method also counts time towards the game.

Question: I frequently see that my friends on Steam are playing  Hello Kitty: Island Adventure . I know that this is not accurate. Why is Steam reporting that they're playing a game that isn't on Steam? Is Steam lying?

Why is Steam saying my friends are playing Hello Kitty: Island Adventure when I know they aren't?

You can make steam say you're playing anything. You can even change the App id to say you're playing a game that isn't released yet.

You can make Steam say you're playing  anything. All you have to do is add a non-Steam game shortcut and rename it.  It is also possible to fake that you are playing games that aren't yet released by changing the App id in the config files.


Here's what you can do.

I had a machine where I needed to install my games on a separate drive

so I symlinked the steamapps directory.

You can do the same with the directories inside of steamapps.

I've gotten it working in Vista and Windows 7 using mklink .

EDIT:

Install Steam on the SSD and then symlink the games you aren't using as much with their data on the slower drive.

As of the latest Steam version for Windows, it is possible to install games to arbitrary locations.

To do so, click "Install" in your library or the store and choose "Create new Steam library" in the "Choose drive to install to" dropdown menu.

This option will only be available for games using the new content system, you may need to use the tricks from the other answers if you want to move the ones that don't use it.

Note that the Install dialogue will not offer the option to create a separate library on a drive that already has one, to do that you need to go to

Steam -> Settings ->

Downloads + Cloud -> Steam Library Folders and click on "Add library folder".

There are now a couple tools that help with this process: http://stefanjones.ca/steam/ and http://www.traynier.com/software/steammover

There is now native support for this feature on Windows.

You'll see the option at install time.

Something like this is completely possible -- one way is to simply install two separate copies of Steam, one on each drive.

Just make sure to close out of the one instance before changing to a game installed under the other (Steam won't let more than one of itself run at any time)

As Alastair Pitts said, you can't have dual-located /steamapps folders.

However, if you're worried about space, you can collect the GCFs from the steam apps folder, and store these on a separate drive, then re-locate them when you want to play these infrequently played games.

Further, you could 'uninstall' them from your steam games, but bring them back with the gcf's when you need them; but this may involve more bandwidth consumption that indented (if steam wants to check for updates, etc)

(Windows OS solution) Symbolic links are an excellent solution to hosting games in a location that isn't the actual install location, or on a hard drive that is not your primary drive.

They are similar to creating shortcuts, but the difference is that Windows will see them as actual paths, not shortcuts.

For example: C:\ is my primary drive.

Windows is installed on this drive.

I create a symbolic link (very similar to a shortcut) at 'C:\Battlefield' which points to 'E:\Battlefield'.

Now, I can install Battlefield to 'C:\Battlefield', and as far as Windows is concerned, that is where it is installed.

But, the files are actually kept on 'E:\Battlefield'

since that is where the symbolic link points to!

The command for this would be: mklink /D "C:\Battlefield" "E:\Battlefield"

For this command to work, the target ("E:\Battlefield") must exist, and the link ("C:\Battlefield") must not exist before the command is executed.

If you already have your application installed at the C:\ directory, you could copy it over to the E:\ directory (while it isn't running), and then delete the empty C:\ folder before executing the command.

You can execute this from windows command line.

In Windows 7, just type ' cmd ' into the search bar within the Start menu and press Enter to open the command line.

In Windows XP, go through Start menu, click ' Run ' and then enter ' cmd ' for the parameter and press Enter!

I only used the name 'E:\Battlefield'

as an example, you could name this whatever you want. '

E:\games\bf3' would work as well, or whatever other path/name

you wish to give it.

This method is extremely effective when your primary hard drive is a solid state drive without much space, but you want your installed applications to be seen on the primary drive.

Especially nice for the Steamapps folder, or specific games within it.

If you know the location where the game will be installed before installing it, I don't see anything stopping you from making a symlink to a particular game and then installing.

I'll have to give this a try to see if it works.

No, this is not possible unfortunately.

Steam stores all* of it's games in the /steamapps subfolder in the installation directory.

There are some games that, for whatever reason, install themselves outside of this folder, but it's not something that you can control/decide.

You can set up multiple steam library folders in settings (even on separate drives), then go to the game(s)

that you want on the new drive, right click in steam - settings - local files - move folder - select new library folder wait for files to transfer and ur good!

Question: I want to build a new PC with a smallish SSD.  I'd like to be able to install some of my games onto the drive (those I care about loading quickly or I play frequently), but have the rest of them on a larger, slower drive.  Anybody know if this is possible?  I'm kind of guessing it's not, but figured I'd ask anyway.

Is it possible to install Steam games to two different locations?

You can install Steam on the SSD and symlink the games you aren't using much on the slower drive. With the latest version of Steam, you can store games in different locations. You could also download two versions of Steam, one on each drive.

You can install Steam on the SSD and then symlink the games you aren't using as much with their data on the slower drive.  As of the latest Steam version for Windows, it is possible to install games to arbitrary locations by clicking "Install" in your library or the store and choose "Create new Steam library" in the "Choose drive to install to" dropdown menu. There are now also a couple of tools that help with this process: http://stefanjones.ca/steam/  and http://www.traynier.com/software/steammover. There are now also a couple of tools that help with this process: http://stefanjones.ca/steam/  and http://www.traynier.com/software/steammover. There is also native support for this feature  on Windows.

There is now native support for this feature  on Windows.

One way is to simply install two separate copies of Steam, one on each drive.

If you know the location where the game will be installed before installing it, I don't see anything stopping you from making a symlink to a particular game and then installing.  You can set up multiple steam library folders in settings (even on separate drives), then go to the game(s)


You know how some people can type 100 words per minute?

That's more than 300 actions per minute.

The pro SC players have just wired their brains differently than your traditional secretary.

It's a combination of the keyboard and mouse.

I'm sure we've all used shortcuts on our keyboards and that's most likely what the gamers do - use shortcuts.

If you think about the beginning stages of the game: you click on your hatchery or whatever, build a drone, you can use a keyboard shortcut to build the drone for you.

Then you click on a drone, tell them all to go collect minerals

and then you click on one drone and tell it to build a spawning pool (also a shortcut).

We probably all use ctrl+c , ctrl+v pretty quickly - the gamers have just, like McKay said, tuned their brains to all the shortcuts for Starcraft.

Practice.

Lots and lots of practice.

And the implant of course. :-)

APM is primarily limited by what you can remember to do, not what you are physically able to do.

McKay's secretary example is also correct, when typing you generally know which key you are going to press next.

If you always know what you are going to do next in Starcraft 2 your APM will skyrocket.

If you look at the rest of the documentary ( http://vimeo.com/12730027 ) you will notice how much of their life they pour into this game.

It's not only that they spend their entire life doing it, but only select few get that high that it appears to be a combination of practice and natural skill.

It is not much unlike other sports where people spend a long time training and still only some excel.

Question: I was watching this video ' 300 actions a minute? Truly mastering StarCraft '  And I'm bewildered at how fast they are playing.  How is this possible?  I can't even think about my next move so fast, let alone be typing shortcut keys that fast.

How is 300 actions a minute possible?

It's a combination of keyboard and mouse. Gamers most likely use shortcuts. They also spend a long time in training.

It is not much unlike other sports where people spend a long time training and still only some excel. Only a select few get that high that it appears to be a combination of practice and natural skill.  And achieved by a combination of the keyboard and mouse and using shortcuts

It's a combination of the keyboard and mouse and using shortcuts


I like this set of tutorials .

It's based on the old version but it goes through the steps of building a fortress pretty well.

Captain Duck has a great series of video tutorials ( http://www.youtube.com/user/captnduck ).

Most of them are for pre-2010 versions, but they still give a great intro to the game, and he has started to make a couple of videos for the 2010 version.

He starts the tutorials at the absolute beginning, and walks you through everything.

If you have any specific questions, the dwarf fortress wiki is a great place to look ( http://df.magmawiki.com/ ).

Different styles work better for different people, but I learned the fun way: Begin Lose Figure out what happened Repeat

If you're stuck on something specific, there's nothing wrong with looking at a tutorial or checking the wiki , but try not to over-research before you really get your feet wet.

One of the coolest things about learning to play DF is discovering all of the neat/interesting/

strange/complex things that the world does and researching too much before hand will diminish the sense of discovery.

Learn how to feed and hydrate your dwarfs.

Specifically, learn how to farm : mill plants into flour with a quern and cook that flour into meals at a kitchen , and brew alcohol at a still .

There's a Quickstart guide at

The Dwarf Fortress Wiki , which is an invaluble reference site.

I didn't have any issues applying the previous version's tutorial(v0.28.181.40d) to the current version(v0.31.10).

Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress is a book that's been recently released and is a great way to learn to play.

It's by Peter Tyson, the same guy who wrote the The Complete and Utter Newbie Tutorial for Dwarf Fortress .

I would also recommend the #DwarfFortress channel on quakenet.

If you do not know how to use IRC you can plug that channel into http://webchat.quakenet.org and get on.

There is usually tons of people around, just be patient as they might not instantly answer

Question: I am interested in learning how to play Dwarf Fortress. Where should I start, as an absolute beginner?

How should I learn to play Dwarf Fortress?

Try Getting Started with Dwarf's Fortress or the channel or quakenet.

There is a book that was recently released, which helps with learning the basics. Getting help from people on quakenet is also a good idea.

Some sources are recommended, from which the interested person can begin their search.


2.5D usually refers to "gameplay in an otherwise three-dimensional video game that is restricted to a two-dimensional plane."

It can also refer to the viewpoint the player has.

Such as an isometric-type view on a 3D world.

Wiki - 2.5D

The original 2.5D game was DOOM .

They called it 2.5D because it did feature all three dimensions (length, width, and height), and allowed map makers to create maps that made prominent use of the third dimension, but it still wasn't true 3D in two important senses.

First, sectors (i.e., rooms) could not be placed on top of other sectors, so the overall layout remained a strictly 2D diagram that allowed different sector heights.

And second, the DOOM renderer was not a true 3D renderer; it was highly optimized for 2D plus heights but could not have rendered true, arbitrary, 3D geometry unlike Quake .

Orthogonal-view games like Diablo are "2.5D":

2.5D can refer to a few things: A game which has fundamentally two-dimensional gameplay but features a 3D presentation (see Shadow Complex).

A game which has fundamentally three-dimensional gameplay but features a 2D or partially 2D presentation (see Duke Nukem 3D).

There's also a very uncommon, loose definition: A game which has not-quite two-dimensional or three-dimensional gameplay and/or presentation.

For example, I believe Starcraft has an internal concept of "high ground" even though it has a 2D presentation.

Or, something like Little Big Planet which is really just three 2D planes stacked together.

2.5D refers to any time that there's really only 2D stuff going on, but they "fake" a third dimension.

Orthogonal view games like Diablo fake it because they don't have to do full 3D rendering, but they can give the appearance of 3D.

Question: I've noticed some games be described as 2.5D. How can a game be 2.5D? Dimensions are discrete entities, aren't they?

How can a game be 2.5D?

2.5D can refer to gameplay that is two dimensional in an otherwise three-dimensional video game. It can also be a game that has not-quite-two-dimensional gameplay.

It seems that users refer to 2.5D when a 3D video game is restricted to a 2D plane.

The definition is geared towards the gameplay


Camping, in a first person shooter (or any other pvp genre, really) is the act of waiting in a particular area to take advantage of the same players repeatedly.

Spawn Camping means lying in wait just outside the area where players respawn, killing them as soon as they are alive again.

Camping might have some overlap with holding a position, but most places considered "camping" aren't areas that would necessarily benefit from being held in the first place.

It is, however, a pretty subjective definition that multiple players will disagree over.

You've pretty much answered yourself.

Technically, camping is staying in one particular (and usually advantageous) position for prolonged periods of time.

This can sometime be legitimate (snipers are prone to camping, once they find a good position from which they can pick off enemies and not be too exposed to retaliation) and sometimes illegitimate (spawn camping, for instance, which is the act of laying siege on an enemy spawn point to pick off newly spawned enemies which are usually disoriented by your unexpected presence there).

Of course, the legitimacy of the above examples is ultimately subjective.

And finally, as always, there's wikipedia .

I'd say camping is exactly how you'd use the word in ordinary context, when you go some place with a tent and a campfire: Staying at the same place for a long period of time.

Of course, this is subjective in a FPS, but it's primarily used when that given player simply stay that without moving much (like a roof or a building, or a ledge above an entry point).

A camper is a person that sits in a corner or place where it is easy to frag people, but being fragged is difficult.

For example, in Chemical Reaction for Quake 3/Quake Live, a decent camping spot is the alcove in the shotgun teleport room -- I'm not talking about the easter egg "door".

People coming from the nearby passage will turn left and turn you the back, at which point they will become easy targets.

A camper is a person that stays in the same place for a long period of time, fragging people or shooting people that come in to your "tent"

TL;DR: if it is an advantage to be there - it is camping, if it is (at least temporal) disadvantage it is holding.

I've read all answers but havent seen an direct comparison between these two (camping and holding).

How do you define camping in a first person shooter?

Camping is an process of passive occupying one single retaliation-safe point (really small area) with no intention to go anywhere else.

Is it a different than holding a position for a time?

Holding position is a process of defending one or more points with disadvantage with clear intention to leave it ASAP to closest cover or continue attack.

Except little bit subjective "intention part" main difference is "occupying" vs "defending" and advantage.

I would call occupying if you can safely take your left hand off keyboard and only use mouse.

You do not expect something to happen to you, only shooting ducks when they enter crosshair.

Defending requires local position change (at least strafing etc) Retaliation-safe zones usually are covered from 5 sides, and only one for shooting left open.

Depending on weapon they can be outside of enemy retaliation (at least accurate) range, or to close to them to react.

Hold positions are most likely goal zones - flag room, checkpoint, other objectives, so you are in disadvantage by default (everyone on server knows this areas before even starting the map) and expects you to be there.

Question: How do you define camping in a first person shooter? Is it a different than holding a position for a time? Or, is it only a matter of degree?

What is camping in a first person shooter?

Camping is the act of waiting in a particular area to take advantage of the same players. It might overlap with holding position.

For players it seems camping is any kind of passive occupation of a small safe space, that one would not generally consider advantageous, that however is excessively advantegeous in the context of the game. It also includes the notion of repeatedly taking advantage of the same players.

Users provide round about the same definition of the term.


You can always play in offline mode and hone your melee skills vs. the computer players there.

While they wont mimic the true skills of people you meet online, it's better than nothing at all.

Additionally, learn the different speeds, ranges and hit timing of each weapon.

You can swing the scout bat much faster than the heavy can punch, for example.

The demoman's "Eyelander" sword has a much larger range than most weapons and can hit from what feels like a non-melee distance, compared to most other classes melee that requires you to be much closer.

Also, each weapon has a slightly different "delay" between when you click and when the swing actually has the window to connect.

It's minor, but worth getting a feel for.

Lastly, learn your limits.

It's not wise to melee certain classes if avoidable.

Pyros and heavies are dangerous targets to melee, and scouts tend to be too fast to hit reliably in melee range.

I agree with the other answers here: That practice is the best way to improve your melee skills.

As part of the 2010 Christmas update , a new game mode was released: Medieval Mode .

This is a melee only mode, with the exception that the Sniper can use the Huntman and the Medic can use the Crusader's Crossbow because these are considered to be Medieval weapons.

I have found this a great way to practice my (admittedly poor) melee skills.

Currently this game mode is only available on the DeGroot Keep map, which makes it really easy to find a medieval game to practice on: From the title screen, click Start Playing Ensure that the Simplified List option is unticked Enter cp_degrootkeep into the Map textbox

This will filter the server list to only show active games that are currently playing Medieval Mode.

Note: For the full range of allowable weapons in Medieval Mode, I recommend checking the Team Fortress wiki .

One useful tactic I've found is to keep your distance.

You don't have to be "hugging" your enemy to hit them, and if you do it will make it harder for you to turn and smack them when they move around.

Melee range might be short but it's not zero, and it's much easier to hit them when you have a bit of distance.

I have to confess I have trouble keeping the distance myself.

I'd recommend practicing a bit offline - even by doing something as silly as hitting the wall - just to see how far you can be from the contact point.

Also, whenever I melee someone I tend to move backward a bit

and then forward again in-between weapon swings, for the same reason - to be able to track them easier.

I'd find a friend and an empty server and practice melee fighting with each other.

One of my old clans used to have boxing matches once the heavy got the KGB every once in a while.

Things like that help out a lot.

It's all about choosing the best time to break out the Melee weapon.

There are times you want to use it, and times it would be wise to avoid it.

Good Times

To Use Melee Weapons When you've flanked your opponent and want to take them by surprise (Melee is initially quieter than bullets)

When they're on the run (A single melee hit does consistent damage, and can finish off low-health classes) When you can outrun them (trying to run down someone who is faster than you will never work.

You need a class with some speed to attempt melee combat (unless...))

When the target is stationary (A stationary target, like a scoped-in sniper, is perfect for a melee assault.

You're practically guaranteed to hit them several times.

Bad Times

To Use Melee Weapons In a head-on assault (Unless your target is very bad at aiming, you're likely to die before you get close enough for a head-on melee assault) Against a Pyro (Pyros will wreck you in melee.

Do not attempt melee against a pyro) Against an overheal target (

Any class that is overhealed or very healthy will notice your assualt well before it will do any good (Unless you're a Demoman with a shield, or get lucky with a crit).

Instead, GO FOR THE MEDIC!

Melee works great against an unaware Medic)

You can find melee only maps.

And/or use a bigger weapon like the eyelander to get some fun practice.

It's just a practice thing, challenge yourself.

Currently i am one pf the best asian melee user compared to the Bx,and i really love to use persian persuader,the trick on using it is : it dont swing from top to bottom,it swing from right to left,making u can have some "tricks" to hit the opponent,such as hitting them after you dodge their hits,might be quite tricky

but u can easily do it if u concentrate and train harder,also if u are 1 on 1 or chased by multiple enemies,wait until they uses all their charge,then charge-hit them back (WARNING :

u must know how far will they charge,then counter AFTER they've charged)

well that is from me (

the account i use to reply this comment is my friend's)

Question: I have real trouble trying to use the melee weapons in Team Fortress 2.  I always seem to miss.  Are there any tips for making good use of the melee weapons, or what can I do to train this skill?

How can I improve my melee skills in TF2?

Practise in offline mode to hone your melee skills.

It is for sure down to practice, which can be done in offline mode. However it is important to keep in mind that melee range is not zero, therefore keeping a small distance may help with getting hits.

Users suggest more practice, in offline mode.

Another tip is that melee range is not zero, therefore keeping a small distance may help with getting hits


StarCraft is partially a game of processing information.

Multitasking is one of the main skills you improve while playing.

First, you need to use hotkeys .

Use them to quickly get information on production status and jump to different groups.

With SC2, hotkeys can bind to multiple buildings or groups and you can use the Tab key to tab between them.

Personally, for Terran, 1 is for command centers, 2 is used for my initial initial scouting SCV and then for general unit usage, 3 is always barracks, 4 is always starports and factories.

5 through 8 become groups of units in the mid- and late-game.

The above scheme lets you tap 3 and 4 to see production status of the army.

Do this and, if you don't see white dots underneath the green building icon in the bottom console, start building something.

( What to build is another discussion.)

Cycle between your hotkeys to move units and check on production status.

Don't forget that double-tapping hotkeys takes you to the group, Ctrl and a number assigns the group, and Shift and a number adds units or buildings to the group.

Next, you really, really need to pay attention to audio cues in the game.

Make sure to turn the music off so you can hear them more clearly.

Finally, note that Space takes you to where the action is .

Did you year

"Our units are under attack?"

Hit space, and you'll be taken to the action.

Or maybe you'll remember which hotkey you assigned that group and you can double-tap it.

Hope that helps :)

There isn't a good answer for this

but I'll give you some of what I've found helps Don't focus on your army so much, when you send it out stay focused on your base When you're just about to make a push is a good time to expand (your opponent will be pushed back)

While you're in the middle of a battle build a couple workers.

New units usually won't get there in time (or you'll be capped on unit production), so its a good time to add in workers to rebuild after an assault (or defense).

Hot key your buildings, with Multiple Building Selection its really easy to have your production running from a distance

Make your pushes right after upgrades finish Always set your rally points, even if its just to the nearest choke.

I hope these help.

In addition to most everything a paid nerd said, I would add a couple things.

Playing StarCraft well is similar to driving a car well.

You need to pay attention and check your mirrors a lot to ensure you're fully aware of everything that's going on.

With practice, you can get into a nice rhythm of checking on the fight, checking your building production, glancing at your base, and throwing up new buildings.

Specific things to watch out for: Are your workers idle?

There is an icon in the bottom left that pops up whenever that happens.

To help avoid them going idle, use Shift to queue up actions such as "Build a Factory, then go back to the minerals."

Are your buildings building units?

Do you have too many resources in the bank?

If you start to get high, you likely need to produce more, which may mean more production buildings.

Are you running low on supply?

Did you accidentally leave a bunch of units sitting next to your buildings?

Have you tried getting gold medals in the single-player challenges?

They are designed to help you become a better starcraft player, and especially the last 3 challenges might be just the sort of practice you're looking for.

Unfortunately, the truth is that the only thing you can do to improve your macro (building economy + units is known as macro) is to KEEP PRACTICING! :)

Just to add a little to a paid nerds' excellent answer: learning all the hotkeys, for building various units is also very important.

So you can be in the middle of a fight, quickly tap you

barracks shortcut key, crank out a few more units by bashing A (marine) and D (marauder), then tap your units short cut key

and you're back in the fight!

In all, even without practice, that's ultra fast.

Getting the hang of this was a bit of an eureka moment for me.

If you want to improve your multitasking, the best way, is practice.

For good practice, I recommend giving the "multitasking trainer" map a try.

There is the grid option in hotkeys which helps a lot (especially on my ergonomic keyboard)

What does Grid do

When you select Grid every button in the Bottom Right is assigned to match the following layout q w e r ta s d f gz

x c v b

For example: if you're in your hq press q to build scv or if you have units selected use t for attack-walk (don't remember the correct name)

Question: I feel like my main deficiency is that I have a hard time with the multitasking required.  Specifically, when I have troops in the field, especially more than one group of units, I tend to not keep up with building (structures and units) and my resources just sit there, wasted.  What strategies can I use to keep up with building structures and units while I'm coordinating my troops across the map?

How do I build and fight simultaneously?

Use hotkeys and multiple building selection to have your production running from a distance. You should also be paying attention to audio cues.

While practice does play an important role in this, there are some things you can do to get better at this. Chief among these is to set and learn some hotkeys. Paying attention to audio cues, and idle workers is important, as is timing things correctly.

Setting and learning hotkeys is important.

Users also warn to pay attention to the audio cues.


2 Ways: Alt+G, then click (can be changed to a different key in the keybindings) Ctrl+Alt+Click (can be changed to a different key in the keybindings)

Click on the ping icon next to the minimap, then click.

The clicking can be done either in the game window, or on the minimap.

The Keybindings can be found under: Menu->Options->HotKeys->Global->Unit Management

And either: Ping Minimap Quick Ping Choose Ping Target

Also, you can click directly at the game window, no need to go to the minimap (even though the keybinding says "Ping Minimap"

Two ways: Click the Ping icon (looks like radio waves, sorta like ((•)) ), then click anywhere in the minimap.

Press Alt+G on the keyboard, then click anywhere in the minimap.

1) You can hold alt and click on the minimap. 2)

Hold alt + g and click on the map.

alt + Click or ⌥ + g + click for Mac

You can modify the keybindings in the menu - for example, I changed my ping back to ALT

Left-Click.

Patch 1.5 also modified the behavior so that you could ping your minimap by ping-clicking on the actual playfield you're looking at.

Thus you no longer have to mouse down to the minimap, find your current view location, and then ping

- you can simply ping-click the main playfield in front of you and the ping appears on their minimap at the correct location.

In patch 1.5 Blizzard changed the default keyboard mapping such that holding alt and clicking on the map or minimap no longer worked.

To revert this change, load up the hotkeys dialogue and look for Quick Ping in Global - Unit Management and simply change this back to alt.

Question: Nothing to add to the title of the question.

How to signal on the minimap in Starcraft 2?

Alt+G then click, or click the Ping icon and click anywhere in the map.

There are two key combinations you can use,  Ctrl+Alt+Click and Alt-G, however you can also use the Ping icon and then click.

There are two keyboard shortcuts suggested, Alt+G and Ctrl+Alt+Click, as well as the ping icon and then click.


It depends on what you're looking to do.

If you're looking for min-maxing your stats, you'll want to ditch either Skinning or Herbalism entirely from that list.

The passive bonuses from those professions are far below what the other professions offer.

If you plan on tanking, Mining is the only gathering profession worth anything.

Still a bit below what you can get out of the other professions, but 60 stamina from max level Mining is a very good passive bonus while being able to retain a gathering profession.

However, if you don't plan on tanking, Mining is not ideal, and unlike the other professions, you can't "switch" the bonuses per spec (like using different Dragon's Eye cuts as Jewelcrafting, for example).

In terms of Alchemy vs. Leatherworking, both offer their own unique benefits.

Alchemy will provide you with increased flask duration and effect (2x duration, and 1.5x the bonus effect).

Alchemy also provides you with the means to create said flasks (and potions that you'll inevitably use).

Even if you're forced to buy the materials raw, you'll end up saving by making them yourself rather than buying the finished product on the AH.

Additionally, as alchemy, you have the ability to learn how to transmute epic gems on a 20 hour cooldown (basically 1 a day).

Leatherworking will provide you with a unique-to-leatherworking wrist enchant, either attack power, spell power, or stamina (DPS, caster/healer, and tanking choices, respectively).

Additionally, you can make extremely cheap leg enchants for yourself only.

While they are no different than the ones that you can make for others in terms of stats, the material cost to enchant your own legs is very low comparatively.

Lastly, you can learn/make the epic leatherworking pieces in the end game which are expensive to craft but also very useful pieces to multiple class / spec combos.

In terms of money making, your best bet is going to be Jewelcrafting, Alchemy, or Inscription.

They have the items that people always come back for and need on repeated and frequent basis.

Note that Inscription will likely not be in this category in the upcoming Cataclysm expansion, as recent news has indicated that Glyphs made by Inscription will not be constantly replaced, but rather a 1-time-learned-forever-retained thing.

In terms of min-maxing stats, it's slightly dependant on your class/spec, but your best bets are Jewelcrafting, Blacksmithing (combined with Jewelcrafting), Tailoring (for casters/healers), and Engineering (for DPS classes, though the utility gain through Engineering is useful for everyone).

Both could make you money on the AH with the right strategies.

I imagine alchemy would be easier, though, since consumables by their nature are always in demand.

That said, I don't think this question has a single right answer -- your outcome would depend on your ability to turn stuff into gold and your server's economy.

I'd make this post a community wiki.

I have an 80 resto druid and personally I'd choose Alchemy.

It would be more useful for yourself, friends, and guild because you could provide battle elixirs and pots for the group.

It also can make you plenty of money and is relatively easy/painless to level.

Especially once you get flight form because you can pick herbs while flying!

Also, herbs are everywhere, whereas skinning can only be done on certain mobs.

I've found that Alchemy has been a great bonus for both of my druids (one Feral, one Resto/Boom).

The longer duration flasks is fantastic for raiding, but you also get a bottomless flask for use in Heroics, questing, light PvP, etc.

Flask of the North isn't as good for Feral (+40 STR) as it is for casters (+47 Spell Power), but it is still a nice bonus, and it can be used over and over.

Money is also nice from both Flasks and Transmutes.

I have one spec'ed into each.

For me, the +40 Crit from skinning would be nice on Boomkin, but I don't need it as much on Feral or Resto.

For Feral DPS (off-spec to tank), I sit at about 56% crit, and +50 Crit is ~2% additional crit.

A nice bonus, for me the extra time and contribution of Flasks is more important.

As for Herbalism, druids do have an advantage over other classes.

You don't need to change out of flight form to gather herbs, so you are able to save time mounting and dismounting at each point.

It is only a minor bonus, but I find it nice.

I think skinning and leatherworking are a better combination if you are playing DPS as a Druid.

Skinning increases your crit chance, and with leatherworking you can make something for you or just sell it if you need money.

Armor kits that you can make through leatherworking are very beneficial as well for all specs.

Question: I'm looking for the profession that will be the best for me to have once it's developed pretty high.  As a druid will it be more beneficial to use the alchemy approach, as consumables will likely cost a lot at the AH?  Or will leatherworking make me so much money that it won't make a difference?  Alchemy seems the most useful now and in the long run, but is leatherworking a better route for the money?

Which druid profession is best in the long run: Skinning/Leatherworking or Herbalism/Alchemy?

Alchemy would be easier, skinning and leatherworking are a better combination if playing as a druid.

One user believes alchemy to be easier, whereas another user believes that skinning and leatherworking are a better combination.

Another user believes that skinning and leatherworking are a better combination.


An easy way, which you may consider cheating, is using a map viewer .

Without doing that, there are at least two ways: Find mossy cobblestone, which is guaranteed to be beside a dungeon (see the first paragraph of the Minecraft Wiki article on dungeons ): Listen for a mass of zombie or spider sounds underground.

They love to make noise and you can hear them through walls, making them easy to find.

There's a chance that you'll find an underground cave or a dungeon near them.

Creepers do not make noise but there are no such creeper dungeons.

Some guesses:

Levels have relatively little pattern between components like caves and veins so dungeons might be completely randomly placed, even near the top of the levels: I'd guess that deeper down

you have a better chance, but without diving into the code there's no way to confirm this.

Out of interest: If your goal is to generate a map with lots of dungeons then Minecraft Seeds provides random seeds that do exactly that.

Here are three examples: Two nearby dungeons after climbing a mountain.

Three dungeons at spawn if you're too lazy to climb.

Inside a dungeon if you're too lazy to walk.

Note that an update to map generation could change what a seed produces.

You can load an "Xray" texture pack that lets you look through most of the most common blocks, like dirt, gravel, and stone.

Dungeon rooms will standout when you look through the world as a rectangular room.

These are easy to find.

They may need to be repackaged as a .zip file.

However, this is out-and-out cheating by most accounts.

But this lets you see all sorts of amazing things...

and it's even compatible with SMP modes.

I was walking around and I started hearing zombie sounds, so I quick started running and turned around, but I didn't see anything.

So I went closer, and I heard it again.

I was wondering if there was a dungeon

so I did this: If you press F on the keyboard, it changes the fog distance.

For a short time period, while it's changing, everything disappears except fire.

So if you press F rapidly, all you see is fire.

If there is a dungeon, the fire from a mob spawner looks different than torches and other kinds of fire, and it's cube-shaped, so it should be pretty obvious.

I tried this looking down, and sure enough, there was a dungeon right under me about 3 blocks down, near a beach.

It was a little ways from my spawn point, like maybe 100 blocks, but it suprized me because of how close to the surface it was.

I didn't dig into it at that time, because it was approaching nighttime, but I put a bunch of torches down, marking the spot.

That's one good way to spot dungeons.

I found a dungeon about 50 blocks from my spawn point and about 15 blocks below the surface.

I've also heard of them appearing one or two blocks below the surface

so I don't think you need to dig deep.

I killed all the monsters and quickly planted one torch on the block next to each face of the spawn block and that stops anything from spawning.

(died a couple times)

I gathered all the mossy cobblestone since currently this is the only way to get it.

To find more of these my plan is to pick a direction and dig a main hallway with perpendicular branches going off on each side for at least 30 blocks.

My thinking is that this pattern will give me the best chance of finding anything in that general area as well as iron ore.

A good way to tell there is a dungeon nearby is if you're wandering the map and find tunnels that are mostly flat and are fairly wide open.

(Maybe 3x3, 3x4, 4x4, 4x5 wide)

In version 1.8, you can use customized world type to spawn more or less dungeons.

Question: In Minecraft survival mode, there are dungeon rooms with mob spawning machines, mossy cobblestones and special treasures.  What's the best way to find those?  I found one the other day and have been looking for more because it was great fun to beat, might be fun to farm, and had awesome special prizes.

How do I find Dungeons in Minecraft?

Look for tunnels that are mostly flat and wide open. You can also look for mossy cobblestones which are guaranteed to be beside a dungeon.

Users are torn between loading external software in order to locate dungeons or spotting them in the game. Ways to spot them include looking out for flat tunnels, mossy cobblestone or listening for mass zombie sounds.

Users suggest loading external software.

Users suggest ways to spot dungeons in the game.