With $5k in income, you'd probably get all $400 in federal tax back, since the standard deduction would reduce your taxable income to $0.

You might qualify for refundable tax credits, too, which is basically free money, if you file and take the standard deduction.

It's up to you whether $400+ is worth it to you to file; that amount is equivalent to about 55+ hours of minimum-wage work or one day of $100k+/yr work.

This answer ignores the question of whether you are required to file; for that, see the instructions.

You are officially NOT required to file taxes for 2018, in other words the government doesn't care if you file a tax return or not.

That being said, it would be foolish of you not to file- because you've paid $414 into the system which WILL be returned to you if ask for it back.

With the elimination of the personal exemption in 2018, the standard deduction applies to all of your income (see the 2018 form 1040 Instructions, page 38: "Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents" ), so your taxable income is $0 with $0 tax owed.

With the simplification of the filing process, a $414 refund is the obvious choice.

Most online tax preparers will do your taxes for free, so you don't even need to worry about the paperwork or making a mistake (online tax filers act as an intermediary, and they will "handle problems with the IRS" for you).

Here's the thing.

Paycheck withholding does not settle your taxes.

Tax is paid on April 15 when you actually file.

Until then, withholding is your money and this is a textbook example of that .

What's the point of withholding, then?

Without it, the less financially educated/responsible taxpayers would simply spend their whole paycheck, and when quarterly* tax payment time comes around, they'd go " wow

, I forgot to save any, sorry IRS ", and IRS would have to sue them and garnish their wages etc.

Much simpler to "force"** everyone to do withholding every paycheck to put the money on deposit to settle their taxes later.

All that money withheld - paychecks, quarterlies, etc.

-- Is Your Money Still .

It is simply on deposit with IRS to assure you pay your taxes.

Then between sometime in January and April 15 the next year, you file your taxes.

Now the piper gets paid.

You figure your actual tax (in your case $0.00), look at how much you've deposited so far ($414), and you either have to pay the difference or get a refund .

In your case you get a refund.

Now if you want to leave that money on the table, IRS will be happy to keep it .

If you change your mind later, you can file your taxes up to 3 years after the April 15 due date.

There is no penalty for filing late if you are owed a refund .

You'll even get interest on the money.

* People must make their own deposits quarterly if they don't get paychecks because they are self employed or business owners.

They use Form ES.

But the deal is, they must pre-pay at least 90% of their final tax bill, or they face penalties.

it's actually possible to specify any number of exemptions, but they will start noticing if you go higher than 71.

Seriously, I've done it.

Also they will notice when you violate the 90% rule and slap you with penalties, so you better know what you're doing!

money.stackexchange.com/users/44366/Harper - Reinstate Monica

For most people, the minimum amount of earned income to require filing a return is $12,000.

There are, however, different rules for a dependent which you almost certainly are (of your parents).

In this case (see same link), the question is whether your total income is more than $350 above the W-2 income you mentioned in your question.

(That $350 might come from bank accounts or investments in your name.)

Is it worth it?

Well, that depends on what you think is worthwhile.

You are most likely claimed as a dependent on your parents' income-tax return, which will affect how much tax you have to pay as opposed to how much tax your employer withheld from your salary/wages and sent to the government on your behalf.

Most likely , too much will have been withheld from your salary and you will get a refund of the excess but only if you file a tax return and request that the excess be refunded to you.

If you choose to not file a tax return, you won't get the refund.

So, it is up to you to decide whether you want to request a refund or not.

Note, by the way, that Social Security and Medicare taxes are not refundable; only the income tax.

Not only should you get back the $414.28 in federal income taxes withheld, you should also get back the $312.48 and $73.08 of Social Security and Medicare tax withheld in the form of the Earned Income Tax Credit .

For someone with no children, the rate of the EITC up to $6780 of income is 7.65%, which is the same as your share of Social Security and Medicare.

You should do your taxes to get the exact amount, but my guess is that you'd get a refund of almost $800.

I'm guessing that your taxes will be pretty simple,

so $800 says that you should file for a refund.

You may be required to file state and local taxes even if you do not have to file a federal tax return.

Question: This past summer I interned at a company and just got my W-2 Form. I am a 17 year old high school student which qualified for 2 Federal exemptions, 0 State exemptions, and 0 Local exemptions. I made $5,040 in "Wages, tips, and other compensation". For taxes, I had $414.28 in Federal income tax withheld, $312.48 of Social security tax withheld, and $73.08 of Medicare tax withheld.  Is it worth it to file a tax return?

Is it worth filing taxes if I only worked an internship?

You are not required to file taxes. Tou might qualify for refundable tax credits so the tax you've paid will be returned to you.

It would be foolish of you not to file, because you've paid into the system and it will be returned to you if ask for it back. For most people, the  minimum amount  of earned income to require filing a return is $12,000, but you may be required to file state and local taxes even if you do not have to file a federal tax return. If you choose to  not  file a tax return, you won't get the refund.


Nobody polices this until audit time, at which point you will need to justify your valuation to the IRS.

A single error among many good valuations is unlikely to result in action, but a pattern of donating items and overstating their value will.

Go to eBay.

Search for items like yours.

On the left edge, will be a number of filters.

You want "Completed auctions".

You will get a mix of prices in red (did not sell) and prices in green (did sell).

The red ones are useless.

Check out green ones until you find ones comparable to the condition of yours.

Hit "Print... make PDF..."

And save the PDF in your tax records.

Do this for 2-3 comparables.

Do this when you file your taxes, or better, when you donate the unit, since prices on rapidly-losing-value items like iPhone 6's will change much between donation and audit time.

This will show the due diligence that the IRS is looking for.

money.stackexchange.com/users/44366/Harper - Reinstate Monica

One method you can use to find the value of some items is to look for similar items on eBay.

When doing this, there are a few important things to remember: The comparison item should be in the same condition as yours.

Don’t use the price of a new item if you did not donate a new item.

If you are looking at an auction that has not closed and has no bids, you aren’t seeing a true value of the item, but only the asking price from the seller, which might be too high (the item might not sell).

You want to look at closed auctions that resulted in a sale.

If the final sales price looks abnormally high, don’t use it.

There might be some sort of problem/fraud going on with that auction that made the price higher than it should have been.

money.stackexchange.com/users/10997/Ben Miller - Remember Monica

The rule of thumb is that you can deduct the property’s fair market value at the time of the donation.

Fair value is what a willing buyer would pay for and what a willing seller would accept for the property.

Some charities provide a guide for this.

For example, on their web site, the Salvation Army offers a "Donation Value Guide" which provides a range of value for commonly donated items (high and low estimates).

Donations worth $5,000 or more require a formal appraisal from a qualified appraiser.

This does not apply to marketable securities since their value is known.

If the place you donated the item to has an online presence (and yes goodwill does) you might be able to see what they are selling a similar item for.

If you use this method then make a screen capture and save it with your other tax records.

The idea is to come up with a reasonable value using a reasonable method.

You are supposed to find the "fair market value".

Ways to find a fair market value for used merchandise include: Get a list from a charity.

Many charities publish lists of estimates of fair market value for a variety of items.

It doesn't have to be the charity you actually donated to.

If you gave to Goodwill and they don't list a value for this item, see if you can get a value from the Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity or whomever.

As others have noted, find a similar item on eBay or in classified ads.

Failing that, see what percent of their original value used items have in general.

If items of similar durability and similar age tend to be worth, say, 30% of the original price, then use that percentage.

Unless the items are extremely valuable, the IRS isn't going to quibble if your numbers are reasonable.

If you claim that a back brace that you bought new for $200 five years ago is now worth $10,000, yeah, I think the IRS may question that.

But if you claim it's worth $50 and you have some plausible basis for that number, the IRS isn't going to say it's only worth $45 and charge you with fraud.

Frankly, I'd say when in doubt, guess low.

I'd rather miss out on $20 worth of a deduction than risk trouble in an audit.

I suppose that depends on how much these items are worth and how rich you are.

Question: I made a donation to Goodwill that included 2 back braces and a foam wedge used for exercising. How can I estimate a value?   Most of the valuation guides cover clothes / appliances / furniture / housewares just fine, but I have no idea how to find a valuation for medical-related items that I no longer need.

charitable donation values for medical devices/gear

Nobody will check this valuation unless you are audited, so you just need to be able to justify the amount. You can look for similar items for sale on eBay. The IRS isn't going to quibble if your numbers are reasonable.

The rule of thumb is that you can deduct  the property’s fair market value at the time of the donation. To find the value of some items, you can look for similar items on eBay. But donations worth $5,000 or more will require a formal appraisal from a qualified appraiser. Unless the items are extremely valuable, the IRS will not be interested as long as your numbers are reasonable.

Nobody will police this until audit time, at which point you will need to justify your valuation to the IRS.


If the seller only accepts a payment method that doesn't allow you to get your money back, then there is a reason for that.

There is a much higher likelihood that something happens where you'd want a refund, and you won't get one.

So I would stay well away from this.

The Zelle FAQ article "I’m unsure about using Zelle® to pay someone I don’t know.

What should I do?" can be sumarized in three words: "Use something else" .

Zelle is a great way to send money to friends, family or others you trust such as your personal trainer, babysitter, or a neighbor.

If you don’t know the person, or aren’t sure you will get what you paid for (for example, items bought from an on-line bidding or sales site), we recommend you do not use Zelle for these types of transactions, which are potentially high risk.

Zelle does not offer a protection program for any authorized payments made with Zelle - for example, if you make a purchase using Zelle, but you do not receive the item or the item is not as described or as you expected.

If you get scammed, they won't help you in any way to get a refund.

Reclaiming the money would be your own responsibility.

Zelle/Venmo do not protect you in this situation, so you'd likely have to resort to the courts to compel re-payment from the seller.

Small-claims court can be fairly reasonable, but is not always an option if the seller is in a different state.

Costs can quickly add up to more than it's worth, though if successful you might also recoup legal costs from the seller.

If you don't trust the seller stick with payment methods that offer protection, if they are hesitant due to the extra fees associated with other methods then perhaps you would offer to pay a little extra.

Small claims court.

Which will probably cost you more than the cost of the item, and definitely will take long enough for the fraudster to disappear with your money.

You would have no basis to request a reversal of a Zelle transfer, because when you make a Zelle transfer you have to agree to treat the payment as a gift not as a payment for goods.

Failure to deliver the goods is not any concern of Zelle or the banks participating in using Zelle for transfers.

"Gifts" as a payment method is typically used in case of dubious transactions.

Either the seller tries to avoid paying duties and taxes, or they are trying to avoid providing you with something they are obliged to provide (like mandatory warranty), or perhaps they are selling you an item which cannot be sold legally.

That is, assuming that they don't plan to simply disappear as soon as they get your money.

A wise piece of advice would be to stay away.

For online purchases, I find it is best to have more than one guarantee of refund for goods not received.

(1) Ebay and Paypal both have separate policies with different deadlines.

The bankcard you use can also have a policy for disputing charges for goods not received, but some banks make this too complicated by putting responsibility on the buyer to prove they negotiated with the merchant first and documented the process.

Only if packages are actually mailed using insurance, and later lost, the carrier service has another system of claims against insurance, which also involve deadlines and documentation.

If someone is a legitimate seller in good faith, they will agree to insurance and other systems that protect the buyer and back the purchase; but if it costs extra for these services, they want the buyer to pay the difference.

Thus, you could also offer to pay this seller more to cover added costs for using a different system that allows safer guarantees.

Both ebay and paypal add costs and time, so you might have to add a lot more to the payment as "incentive" to make it worth the seller's trouble to use those.

(NOTE: If you cannot use this seller, try searching online for the same or similar item elsewhere. )

Question: I am wanting to purchase an item and the seller only accepts  Zelle .  If I send a payment and do not get my item, is there a way to get my money back?

How can I get a refund from a seller who only accepts Zelle?

Zelle does not offer payment protection in case you don't receive the item. When you make a transfer, you agree to treat it as a gift and not a payment. Your bank card might offer some protection in this case.

Zelle does not offer a protection programme for any authorised payments made even if you do not receive the item or the item is not as described or as you expected.   When you make a Zelle transfer you have to agree to treat the payment as a gift not as a payment for goods. You would have to resort to the courts to get a refund from the seller. The bankcard you used might have a policy for disputing charges for goods not received.A legitimate seller might agree to insurance at extra for these services.


The salesman is lying to you.

His goal is to prevent you from walking away.

No lie and trick are too grave if they help him achieve that, as far as he is concerned.

He does not care the least bit about your credit score.

He cares a lot about wasting as much of your time as possible, so that it becomes more difficult for you to walk away.

The power to walk away (and shop elsewhere, or come back later) is the biggest trump card you have in this process.

To trick you not to use it is the salesman's motive.

It really is as simple as that.

If you are in the US, you're correct that most FICO scoring models will collapse multiple car loan inquiries into a single one (and I believe it's within 45 days for newer models and between 14-30 days for older models).

But now that you know your scores and have a copy of your credit report (because the dealer should have given it to you, and if not you have the right to go back and ask them to print it out for you), you could bring that to other dealers and most should be able to price out loans for you before actually checking your credit.

You'll only need to actually pull it again when you decide to buy.

But again, even if you let multiple dealers pull it, it shouldn't negatively affect your score beyond the initial hit.

The salesperson said what he did because he thought it would increase the chances that you would buy from him instead of someone else.

He's trying to scare you into thinking doing another search will negatively impact your loan rates / credit score.

If you believe that then you are more likely to buy from the place that has already retrieved your credit worthiness.

He's just trying to scare into buying from that dealer.

In my opinion that's a good enough to NOT buy from that dealer.

If he's willing to try and scare you into buying like this, good luck trying to get any defects sorted after purchase.

I see a number of people stating that it absolutely will not show up as separate inquiries on your credit report if the hard inquiries are within a certain time period.

I have had a much different experience when having a credit check done for a used car dealership.

I went to a single dealership and applied for credit.

That dealership worked with a network of banks to finance their car loans (I'm assuming they each had different standards for disbursing loans).

The following month after my loan application, I saw 7 hard inquiries within a week on my credit report (all related to the banking network working with the dealership).

These inquiries were not reduced down to a single inquiry and my credit was impacted by the number of inquiries in such a short time.

There may be a chance that the dealer you went to uses a similar system for financing loans and knew that it would show up as multiple inquiries on your credit report.

I recommend doing as another user stated and use the credit report done by the initial dealer to at least get rough pricing estimates from other dealers.

You can always do a soft credit check.

Credit Karma, for instance, will monitor 3 credit scores for you and you can check it daily.

It is not a hard hit and does not affect your score.

It also shows you events that impact the score, allowing you to monitor and possibly correct the score.

This could save you a lot of money down the road.

If there is a 'hard check' for a loan (of any kind), I would refuse to allow the hard check unless a copy is given to you.

I did this when purchasing a house.

The first finance officer that wanted to pull the credit - I required to give me a copy.

Then I provided that report to another finance officer to get a competitive bid and make sure nobody was taking advantage of me.

Yes a hard check will impact your score -

but it isn't necessarily a significant impact, and any finance company knows why that check is being made.

This is much different than delinquent bills, carrying too high of a credit balance, or having no credit history.

I honestly wouldn't even worry about it.

You will lose more money making a bad deal than you will by having your credit checked a few times.

Question: I went to a dealership today and they pulled my credit after a test drive. I've heard that as long as you get your credit pulled for an auto loan within a few days, multiple pulls will only count as one. Well the salesman really wanted to keep me from leaving and when they finally realized that I still wanted to shop around, he told me he doesn't recommend me letting anyone else pull my credit.  Is his advice valid? Should I worry about having my credit pulled multiple times?

Should I worry about having my credit pulled multiple times while car shopping?

These will most likely be pulled into a single one if you purchase within a certain time frame. Now you have your credit score, you can take it with you to other dealers.

In the US, most FICO scoring models will collapse multiple car loan inquiries into a single one. Once you know your scores and have a copy of your credit report, because the dealer should give this to, you could bring that to other dealers and ask them to roughly price out loans for you before actually checking your credit.


Yes.

Any contributions you make to your own 401(k) are yours - irrespective of when the contributions were made.

Contributions made to your 401(k) by your employer might be subject to a vesting schedule, in which case you may own all, some or none of them - depending on the vesting schedule and period of time since the contributions were made.

As others have noted, you are always immediately vested in your own contributions.

For employer contributions, it is not legal to be totally unvested after 4 years of full-time service.

If they have cliff (all or nothing) vesting, it must vested by 3 years.

If they use graded vesting, it must be at least 60% vested by 4 years.

The cliff vs graded requirements are described here: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-vesting

Just because you are fired/quit/retire you don't lose access to logging into the 401(k) website.

As has been said already you own 100% of your contributions, but you own someplace between 0 and 100% of the companies contributions.

There are two places to look: on the website, and on any documentation you have from the company.

In places where I worked where there was a vesting schedule the account balance page could be configured to show the vested and unvested parts of the account.

It can also be seen on a quarterly statement.

That would tell you how much is vested, but it might not tell you when you will reach 100% vesting.

Counting years can be tricky.

I have known companies to award a year as soon as you reach 850 hours in the calendar year.

If you started in the middle of a calendar year you could hit "5 years" by your 4th anniversary.

It's your account.

Your contribs are your money.

You will note that if you were given "online" (app or website) access to your 401K account, this is a completely different credential at a completely different internet domain.

For instance my employer conducted business at www.example.com

but my 401(k) portal was at www.etrade.com .

The company instantly disabled your company logins, however your 401(k) login still works and the money shows as still there.

A 401(k) is akin to a "group-plan IRA", and it grants higher contribution limits.

It is still your money .

You must still manage it, e.g. pick appropriate mutual funds etc.

Except...

Some companies will often do a company "match" - you put in $400, they put in an additional $100.

They sometimes have "vesting rules" for this, which cancels the match if you quit too soon afterwards.

That may be what you're talking about, but separate to that is stock option vesting.

If you took a loan from your 401(k) , when you leave the company it must immediately be paid back, or the loan is paid using 401K funds.

That might seem like a vesting issue.

When you leave, you become a target

Every broker on earth would love to "help you" move the money out of the 401K, and into their "tender care".

This is a ripoff.

Their goal is to put you into their high-cost investments which pay them big sales commissions.

For instance if you are in a Vanguard 401(k) with $100,000 in fund VFINX , which costs you $140/year in fund expenses.

A broker will want to put you into AMRMX , with a $5750 "entry fee" and $570/year fund expenses.

That's super bad for you

- given how compounding works, that'll be $40,000 less in 40 years.

AMRMX gets $570/year and your broker gets $5750 commission!!!

The company currently offering your 401(k) will also be naughty.

They will send you letters rigged to sound like you're obliged to move the money.

Read closer, it's not true.

Again, they're hoping to move you into other investments that are more lucrative for them.

Because of these constant sales-jobs, people often become misled into thinking a 401(k) isn't their money (it is) or that they must move funds out of the 401(k)

(they needn't).

Suggestions

I would suggest either Keeping it exactly where it is. Rolling it to your next company's 401(k), unless the current one is a good one.

Or you could roll it to a traditional IRA, and that would later allow you to "convert to Roth".

Roths are better than Traditional for non-math reasons ( and for math reasons if tactically done in a "gap year").

However, they also have Roth 401Ks .

And money in an IRA is not as well protected as 401(k) money .

401(k) money is immune to outside attack - it cannot be lost in bankruptcy (say, a medical bankruptcy), and cannot be taken by lien or lawsuit, and that is decided at the Federal level.

IRAs may or may not have that protection; that's decided by individual states.

Move, and you could lose protection.

Roth 401(k)s are a thing ...

but only if your plan offers that.

money.stackexchange.com/users/44366/Harper - Reinstate Monica

In addition to other answers: even though one have access to the former employer's 401(k), it might make sense to roll it over to an IRA or 401(k) provided by the current employer.

Things to consider are the fees (which could suddenly get higher when one leaves the company), and quality/variety of investment options the plan offers.

Also, I find it convenient to keep the number of my retirement accounts low, and keep all of them in one place.

Question: A friend was released from their job after 4 years, not vested. I understand 5 years are required to be vested.   Are they entitled  to the contributions they made to the 401(k)?

401(k) investment after being fired. Do I own it?

Any contributions you make to your 401k are yours. They may be entitled to the employer's contributions depending on the vesting schedule.

Any contributions you make to your own 401(k) are yours, irrespective of when the contributions were made. Contributions made to your 401(k) by your employer might be subject to a vesting schedule. This means that you may own all, some or none of them. Once you leave your job you don't lose access to logging into the 401(k) website.


Carcassonne:

Traders & Builders The chance with the builder to draw two tiles can make a huge impact on the game so it adds a dimension all on

it's own.

I however personally prefer not playing with the Traders part (the cloth, wine and grain tokens) just the builder and the tiles.

Carcassonne: Bridges, Castles, and Bazaars Bridges makes for some interesting escapes and castles is a new fun thing to do with those small cities.

As above I preferably skip parts of this expansion which is Bazaars (tile auction).

Carcassonne:

Inns & Cathedrals Pretty straight forward expansion that adds Inns (a road with an inn somewhere along it's path is worth 2 points when complete (0 if left unfinished) per tile.

Cathedrals are in cities and makes the city tiles worth 3 points if completed (0 if not completed) per tile.

Great ways to remove others points if drawn late in the game.

Also the big meeple/guy is in here iirc.

Carcassonne:

The River II

This one, unlike first expansion can split and create two streams.

Finally I just recently started added Carcassonne: The Cult to my bag.

Works just like cloisters but if you put it next to a cloister only the one scoring first gets any points.

So far it's fun

but it's only some 5 tiles or so.

The only expansion I have besides the original River is Inns & Cathedrals, but I'd say it's a necessity.

In addition to ramping up the stakes and adding some interesting tiles, it adds the big meeple, with adds a lot of fun to hostile takeovers.

My wife and I regularly play with Inns & Cathedrals and Traders & Builders.

We're mostly interested in having more tiles for a longer game, but the extra rules do add some variety.

We sometimes ignore the expansion rules and just use the tiles, especially if we're feeling lazy or playing with less experienced players.

Inns & Cathedrals

We use this one primarily for the extra tiles and the big Meeple.

A lakeside inn has little effect in 2p unless one player finds a way to hog them and complete those roads.

We score more total points, but they're usually split evenly.

A cathedral becomes a late game screw-you tile in 2p (our games get kinda cutthroat).

Play it on a big city to make it unfinishable and thus worth 0 points.

Traders & Builders

The builder meeple is critical in 2p.

You have to make good use of him or else the other player is going to run away with the extra turns.

As for trade goods, I usually see them as an equalizer against bad tile draws.

You can finish your opponent's city in exchange for a chance at +10 or even +20 points at endgame.

That's not always a good play in 3+ player games, but it can help a lot in 2p.

Assuming one of every trade good ends up in a completed city, somebody is going to at least get a 10 point advantage.

That's a big deal in 2p games.

Carcassonne is one of the most expanded board games around.

Last time I checked there were 8 full expansions, and 10 mini-expansions.

The River is an example of a mini-expansion, and Inns and Cathedrals an example of a full expansion.

I have only played a few of these expansions, so cannot offer my view of them all, but when choosing an expansion, I went for Traders and Builders .

It adds a little more dynamism to the game by encouraging cities to be completed sooner, and makes farming more beneficial.

This generally suits my preferred style of game, which is why we bought it.

The other expansion bring different dynamics to the game.

I would encourage you to check out the link below, and see which one sounds good to you, and hopefully others who have used other expansions can tell you their findings as well.

A full list can be found here .

I would highly recommend the Inns and Cathedrals for a reason no one has listed that I've seen.

If you play with Inns and Cathedrals, it allows you to play with 6 players.

I often like to invite a couple of couples over to play board games with us, and 5 players is a rather odd number to be playing with...

I would take the recommendations of getting at least the first two expansions (Inns and Cathedrals and Traders & Builders), any of the other ones are just icing on the cake;-)

Inns & Cathedrals is essential.

It's a great expansion containing meeples for a 6th player, the big meeple, and some nice extra tiles.

Traders and builders is also good.

It contains the builder and trade goods.

Both these expansions are really good and are sensible to get as your first expansions.

Next could be Abbey & Mayor, which contains the mayor, the barn, the abbey and the cart.

Well, when You have couple of expansions (four or more) they could destabilize the entire game.

Since only one exp add features to roads (and road sucks with official exp's), You could print some exp from carcassonne central .

Roads to Victory, Seasons, or By the Order od King, they adds very much to game.

I add something from my own experience: Abbey and Mayor

It adds a lot of variety in my opinion.

It introduces a "super cloister", a "super knight" and the "wagon" that is very interesting.

Needs experienced player in my opinion

The Ferries

Some road fun finally.

I agree on the above answer with River ( combine 1 and 2) and Bridges, inn and cathedrals, builders and Traders, castles are a must have.

With all above you have already a lot of tiles, fun rules, and no nonsenses.

Expansion that i have

and i do not

recommend:-Princess and dragon-Tower

Basically those are based on meeple removal that is a feature

id do not like.

Also keeping track of the fairy is so annoying.

Interesting point from princess and dragon is that it adds 30 tiles to game, so maybe it can be bought for this.

Other mini expansion ( 1 - 2 and 4 and 6 ) looks like useless.

Bazars

Question: I've been playing a fair amount of  Carcassonne  with the basic tiles and the original River expansion. What other expansion packs will add a bit of variety to the game but without changing the character too much? I've heard  Inns and Cathedrals  is pretty good but don't know about any of the others. I'm especially interested in any that work well with 2 players.

What expansions for Carcassonne add variety without changing the character too much?

Bridges, Castles and Bazaars make for interesting escapes. Try to get at least the first 2 expansions. Inns&Cathedrals are a pretty straightforward expansion. The River is an example of a mini expansion.

There are two types of expansions. The River is an example of a mini-expansion, and Inns and Cathedrals an example of a full expansion.  The first two expansions: Inns and Cathedrals and Traders & Builders are the best to start with. Any others are just icing on the cake. These include Bazaars and River. In Inns & Cathedrals, a road with an inn along it is worth 2 points if complete.


Pick up the On the Brink BGG expansion.

The forums at Boardgamegeek state that it definitely eases up the difficulty of the 4 and 5 player versions as well as providing more options.

You could for example always play with the same amount of pawns.

If you have 3 players everyone gets a pawn for themself and you have to discuss what happens with the 4th.

Considering there's already a lot of discussion on what to do with your own pawns it's not going to be much of a problem...

Allowing players to choose their roles, rather than having them assigned randomly, is one way to lower the difficulty.

The players can choose roles that they prefer to work with and that have better synergy.

Consider making the epidemic cards predictable.

Space them out as stated in the rules, but always put them at the bottom of each pile.

This keeps the fun of dealing with the challenge, while enhancing the requirement that players work together to handle what they know is coming.

It does make it easier though, in general, due to this predictability.

I found that a nice touch is to not shuffle the top stack of cards when mixing in the epidemic cards.

In the first stack, place the epidemic card at the bottom and shuffle the rest normally.

This just lets you get a leg up on the game at the beginning while leaving the rest of the game unchanged.

A big part of the variation in difficulty is the fixed number of event cards.

In the base game, you play with 5 event cards in the deck regardless of the number of players.

If you pick up "On the Brink" there are more event cards, so you play with 2 event cards in the deck per player.

This seems subtle

but I've found that it smooths most of the effect of different numbers of players (assuming you are good at coordinating).

2 things to make the game a bit easier.

once a cure is found any player can cure a city of all diseases for only 1 action 2)

shuffle all the infection cards back into the deck when an Pandemic occurs (may be to big of a change)

My group feels that Pandemic is easier with fewer players , so as player count goes down we increase the epidemic count to maintain the challenge level.

Other adjustments will depend on how you think the difficulty changes.

In player counts that you consider harder, try dealing out multiple roles and letting players choose, or try choosing play order only after seeing roles and starting cards.

For player counts that you consider easier, reverse these decisions.

On the Brink adds some variability and complexity.

I'm not sure

if (after you get past the learning curve of any new variant) it adds difficulty , but it might.

Normaly, you can trade city card on the city of that card.

So, I suggest that you can trade city black card on a black city, blue one on a blue city, yellow on yellow and red on red.

That way, you still restricted but it'll be easyer.

It'll make a donw grade for the Researcher but...

your choice.

In a 4 player game, you can make sure the researcher is in play for one of the players, and deal the other 3 roles from the deck.

I have played with almost every combination of roles (with 2 and 4 players) and the researcher has significant advantage and is very difficult to win with 4 player without her.

If you're playing with 2p, use the next difficulty level in terms of # of Epidemics.

For example, if you play 4p on "Easy" (4 Epidemic cards), then with 2p, play on "normal" (5 Epidemics) to get the same effect of difficulty.

If you have On The Brink expansion, rather than adding another Epidemic, consider adding in the Virulent Strain.

The rules for that is only 1 page long, so you should be able to learn it in no time.

Mutation Challenge is more involving even if it's still only 1 page as well.

Question: Pandemic varies vastly in difficulty depending on the number of players. Does anyone know of any custom rules that make it more even?

Do you know any rules that make Pandemic's difficulty more even?

Try playing with the same amount of pawns and allow players to choose their roles. Shuffle all the Infection cards back into the deck when a pandemic occurs. You can also try not shuffling the top deck of cards when mixing in the epidemic cards.

Allowing players to choose their roles, rather than having them assigned randomly, is one way to lower the difficulty or you could for example always play with the same amount of pawns. In addition, you could consider making the epidemic cards predictable.  Another nice touch is to not shuffle the top stack of cards when mixing in the epidemic cards and you can also shuffle all the infection cards back into the deck when an Pandemic occurs and once a cure is found any player can cure a city of all diseases for only 1 action. Pandemic is  easier with fewer players. You could consider dealing out multiple roles and letting players choose or choose play order only after seeing roles and starting cards.   In a 4 player game, you can make sure the researcher is in play for one of the players, and deal the other 3 roles from the deck. Another suggestion is to trade city black card on a black city, blue one on a blue city, yellow on yellow and red on red. If you're playing with 2p, use the next difficulty level in terms of the number of Epidemics.

Another nice touch is to not shuffle the top stack of cards when mixing in the epidemic cards.

You can also shuffle all the infection cards back into the deck when an Pandemic occurs and once a cure is found any player can cure a city of all diseases for only 1 action.


I'm having good results with Bt ( Bacillus thuringiensis ), but I don't think aphids are listed on the label as being controlled by it.

The main problem I'm solving with Bt is cabbage loopers.

Wikipedia says: Cry toxins have specific activities against insect species of the orders Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies), Diptera (flies and mosquitoes), Coleoptera (beetles), hymenoptera (wasps, bees, ants and sawflies) and nematodes.

Aphids are order Hemiptera, so it doesn't look like Bt will work on them.

I have heard of using tomato leaf or garlic oil spray to control aphids, but haven't had to try either.

See this page for recipes , or google around.

I have found that a soap solution works really well - and it is safe!

If used promptly, it is also effective in ridding broad beans of blackfly.

I've used neem tree oil mixed with organic dish soap on edible container grown fruits and veggies and have always had good luck.

Neem oil is edible but you'd probably want to wash your fruits/vegetables before eating because the oil is quite bitter.

I use pyretheum.

Is it organic enough for your needs?

Depends.

Back in the UK "pyretheum" is the 'natural' variant made from chrysanthenums (and the one I used to go for); and "pyrethins" are the synthetic equivalent.

But here in the US there does not appear to be any distinction and everything is labeled "pyrethin" plus various claims to being a natural pesticide.

Pyretheums are particularly good for delicate plants (I've used them on carnivorous plants - don't laugh!, but hear they're also good for orchids) and veg/fruit.

Even though they break down quickly, you would still wash the fruit of course.

My wife (an ecology Univ.

Prof.) usually swears by soap solution for aphids, although I haven't seen her use it.

My housemate suggests using black tea (cooled!) and spraying it on the leaves that have aphids on.

I cannot find a cite for this!

However, I did find an Aphid repellent tea which looks interesting.

Also, there's some interesting information on companion plants that will help against aphids, here .

While not the pesticide you asked for, you might consider a pest management plan that entices ladybugs to settle in and combat your aphids.

Even "organic" pesticides can be high profile pesticides and kill many beneficial organisms.

I use neem seed oil effectively.

From the wikipedia article (emphasis not in original): Formulations made of neem oil also find wide usage as a bio-pesticide for organic farming, as it repels a wide variety of pests including the mealy bug, beet armyworm, aphids , the cabbage worm , thrips, whiteflies, mites, fungus gnats, beetles, moth larvae, mushroom flies, leafminers, caterpillars, locust, nematodes and the Japanese beetle.

Neem oil is not known to be harmful to mammals, birds, earthworms or some beneficial insects such as butterflies, honeybees and ladybugs if it is not concentrated directly into their area of habitat or on their food source.

In Indonesia we use the product "Samro biocide", which is a multipurpose, organic pesticide for nematodes, fungi, bacteria and insects, with special funcion as growth recovery.

This product is basically made from a herb extract and is modified from herbal medicine with growth recovery, because it contains antibacterial and antimicrobial substances including antibiotics and immunomodulators.

The materials are more than 20 original secret Java herbs extracts (from nimbi, java turmeric, small gooseberry, ginger, black turmeric, bitter grape etc.) obtained by taking liquid secondary metabolites of certain parts.

You can also plant garlic/onion in your pots or in proximity of your plants in case of garden and see aphids disappear in some time...

this has worked for me for over a year now, I plant garlic with every flowering plant and aphids have kept away....

washing your plant regularly in jet stream also helps them keep away.

If you are into biological control look at some parasitic wasps, or if you can access, we use an "organic" chemical named Endeavor.

It works phenomenally against aphids!

Usually with one app, but you can double app after 3 days if needed.

Question: I have a vegetable garden that bugs just love. Since my family is going to eat these vegetables (and I'd prefer that the bugs do not), what organic pesticide is most effective? The main culprits are aphids and cabbage loopers (or inch worms) though any pesticide that targets critters that eat leafy vegetables would be helpful.

What is an effective organic pesticide to use against aphids or cabbage loopers?

You can try a soap solution, possibly mixed with neem oil. Try planting onion or garlic in your pots to get rid of aphids.

Soap solution works really well and it is safe. Neem tree oil is effective, especially if mixed with organic dish soap.  You can use tomato leaf or garlic oil spray to control aphids or you can also plant garlic or onion in your pots or near your plants. Pyretheums are particularly good for delicate plants.
Back tea, cooled and sprayed on the leaves that have aphids on is another suggestion.   You could also consider a pest management plan that entices ladybugs to settle in and combat your aphids.

Soap solution works really well and it is safe!

S0: In Indonesia we use the product "Samro biocide", which is a multipurpose, organic pesticide for nematodes, fungi, bacteria and insects, with special funcion as growth recovery.


In my areas of knowledge (Seattle and London), the ants don't make a real difference one way or the other.

They won't damage your plants, nor will they give them much help.

Of course, I can only speak to the small black ants, but as far as I know even the larger, more aggressive ants are more of a threat to the gardener to the garden.

My sister lives in North Carolina and has to deal with fire ants, but she has to attack them because of the danger they pose from biting humans, so they're dealt with long before they could do anything to her garden.

I generally would take a live and let live approach.

As long as they're not overrunning your garden or biting you when you're gardening, they aren't going to be a serious issue, and there will likely be much more damaging bugs to focus your time an energy upon.

When I put in artichokes, the little black ants decided to 'farm' aphids on them, which really did a number on the young plants.

If they aren't doing that, then maybe you don't have to worry about them.

The ants will feed aphids!

When you see aphids it would be too late to save your plants, especially herbs.

My suggestion is to use ant bait to kill them.

Just place the toxic bait in their daily path.

A few years ago, my home had ants appearing from time to time

and they were so annoying.

I used an ant bait, mixed with bread and sugar, to attract them.

After a few months, they just disappeared.

Ants do spread aphids around.

Small black ants was seen around/in my pots starting spring.

By July potted plants, even geranium, was affected - ants brought aphids, mildew spots appeared, plants was stressed and not healthy.

Ants was noticed during watering - they was running from under the pots,

closer look revealed ants in almost every pot.

Insect killers did not really help, aphids damage was already done (to annuals), small bushes in the pots showed yellow leaves, black spots and all other pleasures.

To the end of summer almost all annuals was destroyed.

Next spring all pot`s soil was replaced, ants seen around.

Sprayed top/sides + around pots with ants killer (safe for pets), used ants protector (spray) every month around the house and pots.

No aphids, no ants, no problems.

Whoa!

You guys obviously haven't watched 'Ants'...that animated movie with Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Stallone...grin!

I've never had problems with ants.

This new garden I've got is riddled with ants, all types of ants.

I know they domesticate aphids (isn't that cool?)

but whenever I see aphids a spray of soap or neem takes care of them.

It takes awhile for aphids to damage a plant.

As soon as I see them I think huh!

I'll wait until evening

then I grab a pre-made sprayer with organic dishsoap or neem and spray.

I don't like accidently spraying bees or beneficials.

I've heard that both are safe for bees, but I haven't been convinced.

And I don't have to worry about sun/water/chemical burns spraying in the sunlight either.

I've got all kinds of plants in my greenhouses, all kinds of ants and no aphids, so far.

I'm glad we don't have fire ants!

I like rsgoheen's live and let live attitude.

Those ants are so amazing, they work so hard, never think about themselves

and I admire them...

like bees and other hive insects.

When you put ant bait down, the ants carry it back to the hive and it kills the entire hive.

I need to look it up to see if it would kill the sparrow that ate the ant.

I again side with rsgoheen...

there are worse problems in the garden than ants.

Maybe my opinion will change as my gardens are going to be seriously ant-challenged here in central Oregon.

But so far...

no problems.

Use of pesticides is like putting a bandaid on a preventable problem.

They should be used only as a last-resort.

Gardening is a process where humans are the weak link.

Nature is teaching us how silly we are to think we can control everything when we know so little.

We gotta relax to be good gardeners.

I have ants in my allotment.

They've lived in the compost heap a couple of times and did a brilliant job of turning it into lovely compost.

In my organic system I use the compost heap area to grow vegetables the following year, and start a new heap (covered with carpet) in another spot.

When I take off the carpet in spring and start digging it over they move on.

Today I discovered them in a plastic

compost bin

I also have, which is a new departure.

I agree with people who say we should learn to live with them.

They're fascinating little creatures and part of the eco-system for a reason.

We've messed up our beautiful planet enough.

When my little robin comes looking for bugs

I'm so happy there are no toxic chemicals in my plot to harm him.

It's a mixed bag, ants carry around and up to a point protect aphids which makes it more difficult for ladybugs to eat the aphids, on the other hand they keep clear a bunch of other pests too, it's hard to say.

Question: While weeding my garden I found a bunch of ant nests (red ants and small black ants).  My first inclination was to destroy the nest and send them packing, but I didn't know if they might aerate the soil, or keep worse pests at bay. Are they of any benefit to the garden?

Ants in my garden: good or bad?

They won't have much of an effect on your plants however they do feed aphids.

They will neither damage nor help your plants. As long as they're not overrunning your garden or biting you they will not be a serious issue. However, ants spread aphids around. They're fascinating little creatures and part of the eco-system for a reason and we should learn to live with them. There are pros and cons. Ants carry around and protect aphids which makes it more difficult for ladybugs to eat the aphids, on the other hand they keep away many other pests.

They will neither damage nor help your plants. S5: As long as they're not overrunning your garden or biting you they will not be a serious issue.


@Baka is along the right lines but @Jonh is right to note different contexts.

I come from a geological background, so to me a mineral is basically the different crystalline components of a rock.

Rocks are made of multiple minerals.

if you break a mineral down, you end up with atoms.

Eg.

Quartz is a mineral, it can be found in granite (a rock), but if you break it down further you get silicon and oxygen atoms.

In my experience when gardeners talk about minerals, they are talking about the ions produced by the breakdown of minerals.

So for example, feldspar (another common granite mineral) will eventually break down (via various clay minerals) to release Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, and Aluminium (not all of these are present in all feldspars).

This list of elements in ion form, are what the gardeners are talking about as minerals.

Perhaps a proper chemical definition might be "ionic nutrients"?

This would include the above cations (essentially metal ions), mineral-derived anions (eg.

some phosphate), and the soil/manure derived anions (eg.

phosphates from guano; nitrates from nitrogen fixing and manures).

(Ions are charged atoms that result when a salt dissolves.

eg.

Potassium Nitrate would give you Potassium ions and nitrate ions)

When talking about plants / gardens in general minerals are just a composition of nutrients that plants get from the soil they are placed into.

So yes in this case they are the same thing.

In a different context they may mean something different but in this case they represent the same thing.

Some minerals are nutrients.

Nutrients are not necessarily minerals.

There are amino acids that are also nutrients (think vitamins and minerals in your diet).

From what I have seen, minerals more typically fall under the "micronutrient" group of nutrients (Zinc, Copper, Manganese, etc .)

From wiktionary, a mineral (#3) is: Any inorganic element that is essential to nutrition; a dietary mineral.

By that definition, all "minerals" are nutrients; that's probably the most relevant for a gardening context.

By a broader definition (look at their #1), a mineral is any natural inorganic material.

A nutrient is: A source of nourishment, such as food, that can be metabolized by an organism to give energy and build tissue.

Clearly there are nutrients that are organic, thus disqualifying them as minerals.

So when I want to talk about all the stuff that plants need to consume, I usually say "nutrients".

I would only say "minerals" when I am talking about a specific mineral plant requirement.

My understanding (quick-validated via this Wikpedia article on Plant Nutrition ) is that plants do not themselves feed on organic compounds (i.e. proteins, carbohydrates); they MAKE such compounds from scratch by combining the minerals that they pull either from air (i.e. Carbon from C02) via photosynthesis, or else from soil (long list in that article), where microorganisms and/or fungi (who don't photosynthesize) make these minerals nutritionally available, as solutes in H2O solution.

So: unless you consider as nutrients either Sunlight, or else these other living Organisms that play a mutualistic role in plants mineral uptake, then it is only minerals that can be called nutrients, strictly speaking.

NB: when we "feed" our plants compost, containing essential organicMatter and Microorganisms -along with Minerals, the 3M's of plant nutrition- we're really just feeding these other organisms that in turn feed our plants the minerals that they need.

There may be exceptions (e.g. carnivorous plants -e.g.

Venus flytrap?- i don't know about these), but this is the essence of Plant Nutrition as i understand it; if i have this wrong, would appreciate clarification, with reference(s).

Question: Some good answers on this question:  Is it worth spreading ash on the vegetable plot? .   But one answer says:   I can't think of any minerals that would be present   and the other upvoted answer says:   It has (varying depending on the woods that were burned) quite a few nutrients   I'm trying to work out which answer is correct, or whether they can both be right.  From a gardener's perspective, when we talk about nutrients, do we mean minerals?

Are "minerals" and "nutrients" the same thing?

Minerals are a composition of nutrients that plants get from the soil. Some minerals fall under the micro-nutrient group like zinc and magnesium.

Some minerals are nutrients i.e. a source of nourishment, but nutrients are not necessarily minerals, which include such as zinc, copper, manganese etc.

In a gardening context, minerals are just a composition of nutrients that plants get from the soil they are in. In a gardening context, minerals are just a composition of nutrients that plants get from the soil they are in.


Saving seeds for many vegetables is not hard.

You need to start with open pollinated varieties and not hybrid varieties.

"Heirloom" varieties are a good way to start.

I've done ok with beans, peas, and oats as well as different kinds of flowers.

Doing it well so that you can have a never-ending supply of your own seeds is harder.

The main issue is purity -- keeping your desired varieties from crossing with other varieties (except where you want to breed your own, but that's a whole separate discussion).

Different plants are pollinated in different ways (wind, insects, etc) and have different tendencies to cross-pollinate with other plants.

Some vegetables need hardly any isolation -- as @winwaed says in his answer, beans can often be kept pure without making any attempt at isolating them from another variety (as long as you don't grow two varieties side by side).

On the other hand, corn and tomatoes (for example) are very likely to cross.

If you wanted to save seed from these, and wanted to maintain a pure variety (without random crossing), you'd need to isolate the plants (or at least the blossoms)

so they aren't crossed by an insect.

Some people will put bags on corn, for example, and manually pollinate the corn then keep the bag on to keep it from getting wind pollinated by another plant.

I've intended to use the bagging technique in the past for both tomatoes and squash but end up getting caught up in the madness of harvesting and weeding and forgetting to do it.

Some vegetables are difficult to save seed from, especially if you live in a cold climate.

Biennials don't set seed until their second year of growth, and most vegetables will winter-kill if left in the garden over a cold winter.

Carrots, for example, are a biennial, and will usually rot (at least here in Zone 5b) before they can regrow and send up a seed stalk.

For some vegetables, there are special techniques to harvesting seed.

With tomatoes, for example, you have to put them in a cup and let them ferment for a bit .

The go-to guide for collecting vegetable seed is "Seed to Seed" by Suzanne Ashworth.

It has some general / introductory seed saving info in the beginning, and then a species-by-species reference that makes up the bulk of the book.

It has considerations for the minimum population size needed to ensure genetic diversity (ie avoiding too much inbreeding), isolation distances, growing, and cleaning techniques for almost any vegetable you might find in a U.S. garden.

An additional book of interest is "Gardening When It Counts" by Steve Solomon .

It is a general gardening book, but includes a section near the back of the book with information on a limited number of common garden vegetables and some practical advice on saving seed from each of them.

He also debunks the pair of ideas that you can't start seed-saving with hybrid varieties and that "heirloom" varieties are a good choice for the novice seed-saver.

(He's the original founder of Territorial Seed Company, so I'm willing to listen to his advice on this topic.)

In theory yes.

In practice, often no.

A lot of annual vegetable seed that you get are hybrids, which means that they are not genetically stable.

Next years plants will not be as productive as this years, if they are productive at all.

This is especially true of conventional seed, which the seed companies intentionally breed to under perform in future years so you have to keep buying seed.

It is less true of heirloom plants.

So if you have heirlooms you're more likely to have success with seed saving.

Yes you can!

I haven't tried storing tomato seeds myself, but I have tried to store pepper seeds (and they are closely related).

This hasn't worked for me, but I suspect in most cases, the seed was immature.

I do, however get "volunteer" (i.e. accidental) tomatoes and peppers.

These are typically fruit which have come off and left on the bed (or lightly buried) or they've survived in the compost heap.

Tomato seems to do better from the compost heap, whilst I've found peppers seem to do better just being left or lightly buried.

This year I've had over half a dozen paprika peppers grow like this

- I assume that is the variety, I haven't got any fruit yet.

If they are paprikas, they are second generation from a volunteer paprika pepper grown last year!

I've also had store bought Fresno peppers grown in the compost.

Not sure why those particularly - a lot of pepper seed goes in the compost, both store bought and home grown.

(store-bought pumpkins also produce seeds which survive the compost heap)

The one vegetable where I've had a lot of success with storage, are black beans.

I just put the end of the crop in a paper envelope (as beans without husks), and hang them on the noticeboard.

They dry out naturally.

One year I mistakenly put them in a sealable plastic bag and they just went moldy.

Unlike peppers and tomatoes, I usually get very good germination rates with stored black beans.

I consider seed collecting to be a part of the whole experience of gardening.

Experiment a bit.

If something works, keep collecting those seeds, if another one doesn't, go on and try harvesting from a different plant.

I think it's just more rewarding when you get a plant from seeds you harvested and sowed yourself, the same way it's more rewarding to pick that first tomato plant from the vine rather than from the produce aisle.

Also, it give you something to do as your garden is winding down for the year.

I think it is still feasible to store seeds until the next year.

This is provided that you have the correct storage measures taken.

They must be stored away properly in the right container like an airtight and moisture-free jar and away from damp/humid areas in the house.

Avoid putting them in the fridge as the temperature in there might spoil or lower the quality of the seeds.

Question: This discussion of seed storage  got me wondering if it is feasible to harvest seeds from vegetables (I'm partial to tomatoes) as I cut them up for consumption.   Generally, I buy seeds each year. But if I have a steady supply, and it's not ill-advised, could I not save seeds for the next year? If so, what steps should I take? Is there a reason  not  to save vegetable seeds?

Can I harvest vegetable seeds and store for the next year?

Saving seeds for next year is not difficult as long as you aren't using hybrid varieties. Some plants are hard to get seeds from if you live in a cold climate or require special techniques.

Seed collecting is part of the whole experience of gardening.  It is so much more rewarding when you get a plant from seeds you harvested and sowed yourself. I think it is still feasible to store seeds until the next year. Saving seeds for many vegetables is not difficult, but you need to start with open pollinated varieties and not hybrid varieties. They must be stored away properly in the right container like an airtight and moisture-free jar and away from damp/humid areas in the house. Some vegetables are difficult to save seed from, especially if you live in a cold climate and for some vegetables, there are special techniques to harvesting seed. For some vegetables, there are special techniques to harvesting seed. A lot of annual vegetable seed that you get are hybrids, which means that they are not genetically stable.

Saving seeds for many vegetables is not difficult.

Some vegetables are difficult to save seed from, especially if you live in a cold climate and for some vegetables, there are special techniques to harvesting seed. S16: For some vegetables, there are special techniques to harvesting seed. A lot of annual vegetable seed that you get are hybrids, which means that they are not genetically stable.


My amaryllis bulb is about 26 years old and blooms twice every year without fail.

I have it in an east facing window, and I water it as and when I remember!

I feed it with Gro-more twice a year as the main stalk starts to show (only adding to one watering each blossoming time).

I honestly do not pamper this bulb, never take it out of the window (even in winter but central heating usually keeps house at about 20 degrees), forget to water regularly (sometimes the leaves start to droop a little) and yet it still gives me 2 beautiful displays every year.

The bulb has almost filled the pot for the last 6 years, so I took it from the pot 6 weeks ago, cut back the roots

(there was very little soil left anymore) and put some new soil in.

I thought I had killed it

but it is proudly showing 4 deep red blooms on the stalk.

I do strip off the dead 'skins' on the bulb when it gets very flaky - a gentle pull brings most of it off.

Hope this helps.

I would re-pot it and fertilize it and keep it moist for a while, and if nothing happened in a couple of months, I would get rid of it.

my amaryllis bulb is now 21 years old

I leave it in a pot year round in the house some years it blooms twice

My Grandpa has one in his living room that belonged to his mother.

She has been gone for 38 years, so we figure at the minimum

it is 40 years old.

He said it had 9 different blossoms this year but only blooms once per year.

My mother started her Amaryllis in 1942.

My sister and I divided the bulbs maybe 15 years ago.

They didn't bloom for a few years.

Now mine blooms every year and my sister's has only bloomed a few times.

No explanation...

I remember it blooming as a child

and I'm 63.

So given its history it's 75 years old this year.

I have an Amaryllis plant.

It is planted in the ground in the back yard and has been there for over 50 years.

No special care, just watering.

I'm going to guess it's a Hippeastrum as you're keeping it in a pot - Amaryllis is often planted outside, whereas Hippeastrum are not.

They can live for decades (my mum has one that is at least 50 years old).

They will go dormant for part of the year.

The main thing is not to overwater them or bury them too deep - my mum's has been half out of the soil.

If they sit in cold, damp soil they will rot.

Do not water them when they are dormant.

Six months sounds like a long time to be dormant.

Try shifting it to a warmer, brighter spot.

If nothing happens, try lifting the bulbs and have a look - are they firm and plump (like a fresh onion) - if so, plant them again and be patient.

If they're rotten or hollow, then I'm afraid you're out of luck.

gardening.stackexchange.com/users/16580/George of all trades

Question: I've had an  amaryllis  bulb in a pot for about 5 years now and the bulb hasn't been doing much for, I reckon, over 6 months. When should I consider getting rid of it? Could it have run its course?

How long do amaryllis bulbs live?

Amaryllis can live for decades up to at least 75 years old and be passed on through generations.

Amaryllis bulbs can be over 20 years old and bloom twice every year without fail.

S1: They can live for decades up to at least 75 years old and be passed on through generations.


Many people plant marigolds (Calendula officinalis, not the French marigold, Tagetes) as a 'trap' crop, but the 'trap' attracts aphids, particularly blackfly.

The theory is, if the blackfly inhabit the marigolds, they won't inhabit your roses or whatever it is you're trying to protect.

In my experience, blackfly do love marigolds - not quite as much as they love nasturtiums, possibly - but there are so many of them, not only are the marigolds covered in blackfly, but

so are any surrounding plants they particularly like.

Doesn't stop me growing calendula anyway

- I love their cheerful colour and their repeat flowering habit (if you deadhead, that is).

As for Tagetes, the French marigold, this one is said to be a companion plant underneath tomatoes to keep whitefly away.

In general, there's very little scientific evidence for the idea of companion planting, but that doesn't mean some of the ideas don't work -

there just hasn't been much scientific testing going on.

Here's a link for more information https://www.sarahraven.com/articles/companion_planting_-_protect_with_plants.htm

I haven't done specific research, but am happy to provide you with my personal experience.

Every year I grow many varieties of marigolds and they're always among the least bothered in my garden.

Animals who eat annuals and perennials planted alongside my marigolds almost always completely ignore them.

Those include chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels, and larger things like raccoons and opossums.

However, if I don't have any other flowers at all, the marigolds are somewhat vulnerable, but not in a fatal way.

Very rarely, if there's nothing else at all, one of my outdoor friends will bite the stem, leave the flower on the ground and not bother the root system.

The marigold basically looks like I've dead-headed it, and pretty soon it produces more flowers.

I've never found bugs of any kind on either the flowers or the leaves, even when they've decimated related species, such as dahlias, in the same garden.

I don't use pesticides, and am frequently willing to give up a plant if something living out there wants it that badly.

One of the reasons I grow so many marigolds is that I know I'll have a very long season and a lot of happy plants!

Here's a baby bunny resting under my marigold.

The hole to the left of its head is from a young snapdragon plant which had been uprooted by a chipmunk.

I know it was a chipmunk because I saw him do it!

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

Marigolds will keep some animals away - works best on insects.

Some people say marigolds will keep cats out of a bed, but I have had some feral cats that hadn't read this

and they went in the beds and did their thing where the marigolds were.

Marigolds will keep nematodes away from the members of the Solanacea family - tomatoes, peppers, petunias, tobacco, potatoes.. (For anyone who wants to get uppity about tobacco - I'm a Traditional Indn; we grow tobacco because it is Holy so you need not offend us by patronizing us about our use of it.

Thank you.)

Cheers!

Oh cute...

Marigold plants are said to help keep predators/insects away

but I've never seen anything that would verify this

...grow marigolds for their beauty...

they are STINKY

so maybe that helps.

Grins, I've never seen that marigolds helps with; cutworms, aphids, slugs, earwigs, powdery mildew, or any regular problem for other ornamentals.

Vigilance, going out at night for instance to see what is going on...is the bestest pesticide ever.

Some very simple concoctions are worth their weight in gold.

Such as high pressure water stream.

Making

sure you keep the humidity down especially at night.

Milk (1:9 ratio) is incredible with powdery mildew, cats for mice (do not use poison), and I use Neem when truly challenged.

Great stuff.

But read the dang information closely!

Best to use preventative measures not the bandaids of pesticides.

Companion planting is cool but in all my years of education and experience never have I seen a difference.

Takes a broader and more educated understanding to make a difference.

Ventilation...lots of moving air, not so much moisture...takes pruning and adding more ventilation...going out at night to chop cutworms in half...

there would be only a few, slugs same thing only get them on the lawn, poor things, earwigs; get rid of their 'condominiums' and favored habitat...do not rely on Marigolds for any kind of protection.

I seem to have fewer aphids on my runner beans when I plant marigolds nearby.

I try to plant the marigolds at the same time as the beans.

Planting marigolds after aphids appear does not get rid of them, in my experience.

I have not taken any 'scientific' measurements, this is just a subjective observation.

In about 30 years of growing beans, the 4 (approximately) with marigolds suffered less from blackfly.

Question: Can this wonderful flower, when planted mature, keep away animals and bugs? I have read this on a few sites and want to know if it works. Is it true or even partly true? Has anybody done this themselves?

Can Marigold flowers keep animals away?

Marigolds are supposed to keep insects away. The will keep nematodes away from the solanacea family. They work as a "trap" crop for aphids.

Marigolds will keep  some  animals away and they work best on insects. Calendula officinalis attracts aphids, particularly blackfly, the theory being, if the blackfly inhabit the marigolds, they won't inhabit your roses or whatever it is you're trying to protect.  Marigolds are said to keep nematodes away from the members of the Solanacea family. Tagetes, the French marigold,  is said to be a good companion plant underneath tomatoes to keep whitefly away. Some people even say marigolds will keep cats out of a bed.


It's not dead at all -

but there are some dead areas at the tips of the leaves, and what looks like one completely dead leaf.

Trim off the dead areas and the dead leaf,but don't prune.

These plants grow from the centre, and if you're in the northern hemisphere, it will now rest and not do very much.

Even indoors, though, it needs as much as sun as it can get, but should not be anywhere near a heat source like a radiator or fire.

As far as watering goes, only water when the surface of the potting soil feels dry to the touch, and water well, emptying away any excess water in an outer tray or pot after 30 minutes, never leave it sitting in water.

Further information here, https://www.todayshomeowner.com/how-to-grow-pineapples-as-houseplants/ - the bit you're interested in is towards the end.

You'll note the size of pot required, and the fact that these plants benefit from being outdoors during summer.

I'm rather curious as to the cause of the white lines or what look like scratch marks on some of the central leaves...

I by far am not an expert, this is more of an opinion than advice.

I would prune it back, chop off all the dead.

My Aunt says dead leaves sucke the life out of a healthy plant.

Maybe do a quick Google search of what type of fertilizer would be good for it, to give it a boost.

Good luck.

Update.

Here is what it looks like now.

It helps that I now keep it outside in a warmer climate.

The pineapple has recently started growing!

The yellowing is from over watering or pests.

I cut my plant back because it got severely over water from the hurricane rains we got here in Va.

I'm going to check the roots for rot and depot mine.

Finger crossed!!!

Question: I planted a pineapple plant. Some leaves died. Tips of others died too. But, as you can see in the picture, most of it is green. It has been this way for months, and no new leaves grow. Is it dead? If not, what should I do to encourage growth?

Is this pineapple plant dead?

It is not dead. The yellowing could be from overwatering or pests.

No it is not dead at all. Dead leaves suck the life out of a healthy plant. The yellowing is from over watering or pests.


You don't want water-retaining soil sitting against the building because this causes damp problems.

Creating a porous soakaway like this will mean any water sinks to a lower level than would cause any harm to the building.

Perhaps I missed something in the other answers.

The one and only reason is because of SPLASHING.

Rain over the gutter, a hard sideways rain will splash mud/soil onto the siding.

Not good for siding as the mud tends to hold moisture too long and can cause rot as well as a dirty 'skirt' on your siding.

The gravel, drain rock, cobble or even the lava rock as pictured in the first picture however needs to be below the siding

at least 4" otherwise the rock becomes a moisture problem.

That first picture with the lava rock and the trap?

That lava rock is touching the siding.

The siding appears to be concrete.

Concrete foundations need to be coated with asphalt for protection.

Concrete is very much harmed by moisture.

The picture with the 4X6 holding in cobble?

If that rock is as close as I think it is to the siding, that will rot the siding if it is not at least 4" below the siding.

Before the cobble or gravel gets installed this is when landscape fabric is necessary.

Not to prevent weeds but to prevent the cobble sinking down into the soil and the soil replacing the cobble.

The following is off topic but hopefully helpful...

I wish I could find a more common mulch people could use instead of chunky bark.

This is not for weed suppression it is to unify a landscape by covering the soil with a regular texture.

Chunky doesn't work.

Fine works far better for aesthetics and for decomposition sometime in the near future.

The only mulch I will ever use in the landscape is human poo mixed with sawdust and completely decomposed professionally. Grins.

That 4"X6" (not pressure treated)? is a great condominium for insects and other animals; slugs, snails, earwigs, pillbugs...and many more.

Not at all necessary or even beneficial.

I lived and breathed construction in all forms for half a century.

The only reason

and it works well, for using cobble at the base of an outside wall, is for splash.

If this is your lawn here is the best way to fix those edges.

Also look up how to produce and maintain a cool season lawn crop!

On our site, not on Scott's or Ortho...

Use a hose or string, a center to make a set radius to change when changing point of radius to the outside of the lawn.

Keep radius curves consistent for each curve.

They can change radii every curve but not during each curve.

lawn edging the right way

My guesses are that it just looks a lot neater and also prevents weeds from growing near the foundation.

If weeds and their roots are allowed to grow there you would have to be constantly digging them out, and roots are already hard enough to get out of the ground without having to dig near or under that area.

Another reason, I think, would be because it is a more permanent solution to weed prevention instead of mulching.

Mulching has to be (or should be) removed and/or replenished yearly to maintain an attractive appearance.

Lots more work to do that way.

Yet another reason may be to keep water draining away from the foundation.

And as you say, reduce the likelihood of pest/vermin infestation, since animals and insects have an easier access to the house through soil and grass.

Possibly a combination of all of the above(?)

Some jurisdictions require non combustible mulch i.e. gravel next to the structures.

Several buildings have had fires started from discarded smoking materials in combustible mulch.

It’s mainly so termites don't get in to your walls as they require moist ground cover to travel and mulch against your home would provide that to them.

Question: Where I live, I've noticed many buildings have a stone/gravel barrier between the building foundation and the lawn or flower bed. Why is this? Does it prevent insect or pest infiltration of the structure?

Why do many landscapers put gravel around the base of buildings?

It prevents rain splashing over the gutter. It also looks neater and prevents weeds from growing up along the building. It limits pest access like termites.

A porous soakaway like this will mean any water sinks to a lower level than would cause any harm to the building and it also prevents splashing from the gutter. It looks a lot neater and prevents weeds from growing near the foundation. In addition it looks a lot neater and prevents weeds from growing near the foundation and reduces the likelihood of pest/vermin infestation. Finally, some jurisdictions require non combustible mulch i.e. gravel next to the structures.

A porous soakaway like this will mean any water sinks to a lower level than would cause any harm to the building.

It reduces the likelihood of pest/vermin infestation.

Some jurisdictions require non combustible mulch i.e. gravel next to the structures.


It's much easier with a co-op partner.

When I did it, we split the targets between us in a predefined fashion so we had the whole run choreographed.

I think aiming is necessary but only for a split second i.e. aim-shoot all at once.

Use the pistol you start with and the Deagle.

Line up your shots so one bullet takes out two targets (possible 3 or so times).

Switch to the other pistol instead of reloading.

The key to completing The Pit in under 30 seconds is accuracy.

The more accurate you are, the higher your bonus and the more seconds that are knocked off your actual time to give your final "score" time.

If you hit any civilians, forget it - start again.

Also, try and make use of the "snap" auto-targeting feature if you have the opportunity.

Other than that, it's just practice.

It can be done solo - I did it a few weeks ago myself.

I did it solo, after a gazillion tries, found out that lining up targets is the key, and reloading as rarely as possible.

Use the MP5, its aim-down-sight (ADS) and reload time is shorter than others.

Run between targets, ADS, fire single shots, AIS, repeat.

Melee the target at the top of the stairs, reload before jumping down.

Choose your guns: I recommend ACR and M9 Tactical.

Switch weapons: In the house, as soon Shepard says MELEE Switch to your pistol, continue like that.

Practise:

Don't just think it'll be a one time miracle, practise.

Don't hit civilians.

Keep moving....

the game itself gives you hints: if you listen to the voices talking as you negotiate the course you hear something about using the Desert Eagle.

I personally used the M9 and the .45, but the Eagle is good.

Pistols are faster to change to, and you also seem to move quicker.

You can still auto aim as you move, it will slow you down a bit but not too much.

You can move and shoot at the same time in other words.

Hitting two targets is key, you have the possibility of doing it five times (I think).

At the third set of targets inside the house, change weapons at the top of the stairs as the dude yells "melee".

Once outside, If you've got double targets straight in front of you nail them, otherwise turn to your right and nail them (if you don't get the sync for hitting double targets here, I found shooting right to left is the fastest).

Reload before you jump and take out the two targets on the left simultaneously, then move right.

Nail these guys here, the hit your two final targets.

Remember, move at all times.

Its the only way I found to beat the obstacle.

There are some perfectly workable solutions here already, here's another.

I often run through the pit before a play session in order to warm up and "calibrate" my thumbs.

If I'm not hitting stationary targets without any lag, I'm not going to hit moving ones in an actual game.

My goal is to get through in under 30 seconds twice in a row.

With the M4.

Since I'm warming up for actual play, I use a real weapon like I'd use in the game.

You could use one of the other weapons beside the M4 if that's more your style, such as the SCAR or the MP5.

You should be able to get all the way through the course without reloading, so don't worry about your secondary weapon.

You can get through without reloading by firing single bullets, rather than bursts.

You can get away with firing a few 2-3 shot bursts, but too many of those

and you'll have to reload, ruining everything.

It's also very helpful to line up targets and hit two at a time.

This also helps conserve ammo.

Double opportunities:

Before you enter the first room, you can line up one of the targets at the sandbags with the one moving back and forth in the lower room windows.

Depending on your timing, you might be able to line up some of the targets at the top of the stairs, after using your knife.

After jumping down you can line up almost every target with another one.

The one on the far left lines up with one deep.

You can aim at the deep one as you're falling, and once the close one is in the way, shoot.

At the very end, don't even aim at the targets in front of the exit tunnel.

You can hip fire right through the one in front and hit the back, consuming whatever bullets you have left.

Sprint to the end with your empty gun.

Question: I've completed the campaign mode of  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2  and I want to complete Special Ops. I'm stuck on "The Pit". We have to complete the level in 35 seconds to get three stars. I was only able to get two stars no matter how many times or how hard I tried. Can you give me some suggestions (e.g., shoot from the hip, or shoot while running rather than aiming down)?

How do I get three stars on "The Pit" in Special Ops?

Choose your guns carefully: ACR and M9 Tactical or the pistol and the Deagle. The key is accuracy and reloading as little as possible.

The key to completing The Pit in under 30 seconds is accuracy. Also, try and make use of the "snap" auto-targeting feature if you have the opportunity.  Choose your guns, e.g.ACR and M9 Tactical are good and then use the pistol you start with and the Deagle. Switch weapons. In the house, as soon Shepard says  MELEE  switch to your pistol, continue like that.  Lining up targets is the key, and reloading as rarely as possible.  Hitting two targets is also key, you have the possibility of doing it five times. Having a warm up by running through the pit before a play session helps.

Hitting two targets is key, you have the possibility of doing it five times.


This policy has just changed.

Now it's possible to ask for a refund within 14 days of purchase, provided you have played it for less than two hours.

You can request a refund for nearly any purchase on Steam—for any reason.

Maybe your PC doesn't meet the hardware requirements; maybe you bought a game by mistake; maybe you played the title for an hour and just didn't like it.

It doesn't matter.

Valve will, upon request via help.steampowered.com, issue a refund for any reason, if the request is made within fourteen days of purchase, and the title has been played for less than two hours.

There are more details below, but even if you fall outside of the refund rules we’ve described, you can ask for a refund anyway and we’ll take a look.

You will be issued a full refund of your purchase within a week of approval.

You will receive the refund in Steam Wallet funds or through the same payment method you used to make the purchase.

If, for any reason, Steam is unable to issue a refund via your initial payment method, your Steam Wallet will be credited the full amount.

(Some payment methods available through Steam in your country may not support refunding a purchase back to the original payment method.

Click here for a full list.) source

Edit:

Note that Steam's policy has changed on this, please see other answers.

Not generally, per their agreement : "ALL STEAM FEES ARE PAYABLE IN ADVANCE AND ARE NOT REFUNDABLE IN WHOLE OR IN PART."

However, it is possible in special circumstances to cancel an order.

I managed to undo a preorder of a game that went on sale the day after I preordered it.

I contacted customer support, and since I didn't actually get the game yet

(it wasn't out), they allowed me to cancel my preorder and reorder with the sale price.

I don't recall whether my credit card had been charged for the initial order, however.

Doesn't look like it.

From the Steam wiki : As with most software products, we will not offer refunds for purchases made online as outlined in the software license - please review Section 4 of the Steam Subscriber Agreement for more information.

We can make an exception for pre-ordered games if the request is received prior to the release date.

Steam is described as a "Service" in thier licence agreement etc.

They hope this will allow them to avoid most online consumer laws in many countries that categorically state that you are allowed a refund in the case that a game does not work.

If you have a technical problem with a game, you can try to get a refund, but I have never tried it.

Steam may refund an entire order if you file a ticket on their tech support site.

Note, however, they may require you to have a good reason.

The one time I wanted to cancel an order (when I purchased all 3 Borderlands expansions and then found out two of them include SecuROM), I opted not to cancel mine, because tech support informed me they would have to refund the entire order, and I had purchased some one day sale items on the same order.

Question: Is it possible?  If it is, do I have to have had some sort of technical problem or can I get a refund just because I didn't like it?

Is there any way to get a refund for a game bought from Steam?

You can get a refund within 14 days for any reason if you file a ticket on their tech site.

Steam wiki states that they do not offer refunds for purchases made online. But it would seem that it is now possible to ask for a refund within 14 days of purchase, provided you have played it for less than two hours.   You can file a ticket on their tech support site.

It is now possible to ask for a refund within 14 days of purchase, provided you have played it for less than two hours.   You can file a ticket on their tech support site.


No, but it is possible the Big Daddy wasn't protecting any Little Sister.

Big Daddies roam Rapture and get Little Sisters from the vents, but you can kill them before they are protecting any of them.

If he was protecting one, she should stay near the deceased Big Daddy, they cannot die nor be taken by any other character.

Try following the big daddy around for a bit before attacking him.

In the first BioShock, he'll eventually go up to a vent and pound on the wall.

If a Little Sister climbs out, you're in luck!

If not, then don't bother killing him: Not all Big Daddies escort Little Sisters

(These are the ones you should hypnotize to help you!).

However, if you kill a Big Daddy before he helps his Little Sister out of the vent, then as far as I can tell, there's no way to get her to come out, save from leaving the area, and returning.

Also, I'm not sure about BioShock 2 , but in the first game, if you pause, some icons appear at the bottom of the screen indicating how many total Little Sisters are in that area.

They also indicate whether or not they've been rescued/harvested, or are still with a Big Daddy.

In general, Little Sisters cannot be taken by anyone other than you.

However, If you do kill a Big Daddy and the Little Sister is nowhere to be seen, chances are good that she was recently helped into a vent by the Big Daddy you just killed.

If you wait around for a while, another Big Daddy will come and get her.

Big Daddy's will only respawn if you failed to aquire the Little Sister he was partnered with.

On a side note, In the part where you're roaming around the Upper Wharf early on after talking to the crazy fisherman guy, all three Big Daddies will show up in the same room if you wait around enough.

And, it's near enough to a Vita Chamber that you can keep wearing them down until all three are dead.

Alright, so I'm playing the game literally as I type this, and I know for an absolute fact that there are rogue Big Daddies.

I'm watching a fourth Big Daddy walk past the dead body of a fifth and pound on a vent right now after I (saved) all three Little Sisters on the level.

He never found a little sister, so I just took control of him and brought him back to the room where the three I had killed previously and saw yet a sixth Big Daddy!

I've chased after Little Sisters after killing their Big Daddy, and watched them climb into one of those holes in the walls.

After this happens, you have to leave the area and come back after a new Big Daddy shows up.

Kill the new Big Daddy, and nab the Little Sister before she runs away.

@Keaanu is wrong in his answer.

In Bioshock 2, if you have a little sister that you have already adopted.

You can't harvest/adopt another one.

I accidentally killed a big daddy with a little sister, and I can't pick her up.

So, eventually I left to gather enough adam for her.

After that I chased another one to get the last little sister, I saw him banging on the hole.

No little sister. :(

Then I remembered that I left one of them behind.

So, I went back to that area.

To hear a little sister crying.

And I adopted her.

The end.

Hope this helps someone.

Check the options screen to make sure there are still Little Sisters in the area.

If you are close to a vent, a Little Sister may crawl back in before/after you battle the Big Daddy.

You will often hear her say "I'm tired.

Time for beddy bye".

If so, move between the Little Sister and the vent before you take on the Big Daddy.

I found the best time is when the Big Daddy is either fighting another foe, or the Little Sister is retrieving Adam from a body.

If you use "hypnotize Big Daddy" on a Big Daddy guarding a Little Sister, she will return to the nearest vent.

Rather than kill the Big Daddy, just let it go to retrieve the Little Sister again.

Question: In Bioshock after killing Big Daddy I can't find the Little Sister he was protecting. Is it possible she was killed, or one of the NPC got her?

I can't find Little Sister after killing Big Daddy

It is possible Big Daddy wasn't protecting a Big Sister. If the Big Daddy is killed before he helps Big Sister out, then there is no way to get her out. Little Sisters cannot be taken by anyone other than you.

It is possible the Big Daddy wasn't protecting any Little Sister, because if he was protecting one, she should stay near the deceased Big Daddy, they cannot die nor be taken by any other character. If you kill a Big Daddy before he helps his Little Sister out of the vent, then as far as I can tell, there's no way to get her to come out, save from leaving the area, and returning. If you wait around for a while, another Big Daddy will come and get her. In general, Little Sisters cannot be taken by anyone other than you.

Check the options screen to make sure there are still Little Sisters in the area. If you are close to a vent, a Little Sister may crawl back in before/after you battle the Big Daddy.


The cartridges fail to fit smoothly in the slot.

You are getting a non-official box.

The manual is usually home-printed (as well as the sticker on the cartridge).

They sometimes fail to work on new versions of the console (DSi).

(I used to buy a lot on second hand, and unfortunately I got 2-3 fake games like that)

More than one game in a cartridge is a dead give away.

Some games have identifying features.

E.g. Pokemon games for GBA are transparent and coloured, while the DS games HeartGold/SoulSilver are black instead of grey, to allow for the Pokewalker's IR receiver.

Ways are: There are far more games contained in that cartridge.

(1 game vs. 25-in-one cartridge)

The cartridge back-side screw is not the same as the original screw

There is another splash screen that loads prior to the official Nintendo screen.

There is no official box, or the box received is different than the official box.

The cartridge is bigger than normal, or odd-sized, or is different grey colour than normal cartridges.

The seal 'Nintendo seal of quality' is faded or not present.

The game responds more sluggish than normal.

Cartridge Examples are: You buy a 2nd hand game, the cartridge received looks bigger or different shade of grey than the normal grey colour.

Gameplay Examples are: The gameplay responds much slower than a normal game would.

Playing Super Mario Boss GB, you keep falling down instead of jumping.

The game keeps saying 'Battery or CMOS corrupt'.

Your Zelda save-game keeps getting reset, or corrupted.

There is a loader (e.g., Hacked by XXXX team) that occurs before the official Nintendo screen.

If you are buying used GBA or DS cartridges, safe and advisable way is to: 1) Ask the person to take a high-resolution screenshot of the cartridge against a background you specify, example, 'YourName', 'YourAddress', so that you know what you are buying is what you are getting.

2) You might want to ask him to take a video of: putting the game in and out of the box

take a 360 degrees pan and zoom on the box, take a pan and zoom the cartridge, take a pan and zoom near the screws, move the camera around the seal of quality, take the into his/her GameBoy and the first 30 seconds of himself playing the game.

Pay careful attention to the box, the cartridge size, the unique background you have pre-agreed to and action putting in and out of the GB device.

On the Nintendo DS carts, I believe there's a series of numbers and letters printed on the green part of the contacts.

Also, the Nintendo logo is on the back (you can only view it at certain angles), and something like a serial number is stamped on the back.

For official GBA carts, the Game Boy Advance logo is faintly visible above the sticker, and the Nintendo logo and model number are on the back.

I can't confirm that pirated games won't have these features, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't.

Another way to tell is that they do not in fact contain the full game.

Question: How can I tell if used GBA/DS games are pirated?

How can I determine if a used game is pirated?

The cartridges don't fit smoothly into the slot and the box is not official. They also might not work on newer versions of the console. The cartridge could also be bigger or a different shade of grey.

They sometimes fail to work on new versions of the console, fail to fit smoothly in the slot, come with a non-official box, home printed manual and cartridge sticker. The cartridge may be a slightly different size or colour. More than one game in a cartridge is a dead give away and often it is not the full game. Some games have identifying features. On the Nintendo DS carts, there are a series of numbers and letters printed on the green part of the contacts. Also, the Nintendo logo is on the back and something like a serial number is stamped on the back.  For official GBA carts, the Game Boy Advance logo is faintly visible above the sticker, and the Nintendo logo and model number are on the back.

More than one game in a cartridge is a dead give away.

Another way to tell is that they do not in fact contain the full game.