I LOVE these little "risque'" people !! I did a Google image search to see if we could buy some here in the USA and found this article. It also showed a risque gnome in the article: Police warn over naughty gnomes A "mooning" male gnome and his bikini-clad female companion have sparked uproar in South Yorkshire. The police have warned gnome owner and former army sergeant Tony Watson, 41, of Doncaster Road, Barnsley, he could face arrest. South Yorkshire Police said complaints from passers-by had to be taken seriously, particularly as there was a primary school nearby. But Mr Watson says those who are offended should not look at his garden. His collection of gnomes included a male flasher, one peeing in a bucket, another mooning, a fully exposed woman and another revealing her breasts. However, to avoid arrest he has painted knickers and a bra on one of the female gnomes and underpants on a male gnome. Divorced father-of-two Mr Watson, who served in the Duke of Wellington's Regiment for 22 years, said: "The policeman said they would arrest me unless they were moved and I would have to explain to a court why I have these gnomes in my front garden. "I was told the gnomes would be taken away there and then. He even turned up with a van to take them away. "The officer said they had received a complaint under the Public Order Act which basically accused me of indecency. I bought the gnomes because they reflect my character and personality Gnome owner Tony Watson "Rather than lose them I put the gnomes round the back and got a paintbrush out, touched them up and put them back on display in the front garden. "I can't believe it. I have had buses pull up in front of the house and everybody who sees the gnomes creases up laughing. "I bought the gnomes because they reflect my character and personality. I just saw them and wanted them for a laugh." A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said they had received a number of complaints about the gnomes. "Officers visited the man several weeks ago and warned him that we had received complaints," he said. "However he did not take any action and officers revisited him on Sunday following a further complaint. " Mr Watson was told to remove the gnomes or he would be arrested under Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 which states that it is an offence to display something that is insulting or likely to cause distress, harassment or alarm. He was not arrested because he took appropriate action, police added. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/3674987.stm Published: 2004/04/30 18:31:02 GMT

I would suggest getting a mow lawn. Did you look at all the pictures for the no-mow lawn? The only reason they call it that is because it happens to flop over and becomes unmowable when it is too tall. Furthermore, I would suggest getting a mix of Kentucky bluegrass (for full sun) and fescue (for shady areas). Of if you don't really have shady areas, then just go with KBG. KBG has the advantage of never needing to be reseeded (like fescue does), but it comes with the disadvantage of turning brown in the winter. Having said that, Marathon III is a very compact (dwarf) variety of fescue. That might work for you. Never till to prepare for a lawn. There, I saved you a couple hundred. If you want to soften your soil, try spraying it with shampoo. First test the hardness using a screwdriver. From what you say it won't even penetrate 1/8 inch. You'll need a hose end sprayer (Ortho red and yellow model is about $10). For 13,000 square feet you'll need about 40 ounces of shampoo. The hose end sprayer holds 32 ounces, so fill it up, take the screen off the end of the down tube, and start spraying. The setting doesn't really matter. You will need to spray as evenly as you can until you have used 40 (or more) ounces of shampoo. I suggest generic baby shampoo from Walmart. It has to be clear like baby shampoo. Spray that and then come back and apply a full inch of water with your sprinkler. Measure 1 inch using small cat food or tuna cans. Time how long it takes to fill the cans so you'll remember. Then wait a week to water again. Water again the following week. The second week after, repeat the shampoo and water. That should do it. If you get runoff before you can apply a full inch of water, then stop watering for 15 to 30 minutes and resume after the water has soaked in. If you get runoff again, stop and wait again. Repeat until you get a full inch into the soil. Since your soil is acting like clay (there are may reasons why a soil might act like clay), it might take more than 2 applications of shampoo to soften it and get it to accept moisture. A week after the second application of shampoo, water an inch again and test the penetration with a screwdriver. What the shampoo does is allow the water to penetrate much deeper into the soil. When that happens the beneficial microbes in the soil will come back and soften the soil for you. You can help them along by adding organic fertilizer periodically. My favorite is alfalfa pellets. At a rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet you would need 6 bags of rabbit chow type alfalfa pellets. That size will go through a broadcast type fertilizer spreader. Then stop using whatever other fertilizers you were using because that's all you'll need. I use alfalfa on the federal holiday schedule. They are easy to remember and I am home those days. More specifically, for you in KY, first app would be on Memorial Day, then 4th of July, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. Living in the south I also apply on Washington's Birthday. You were correct in saying why your soil is "compacted", but you were incorrect about it being compacted. It is simply hard for the reason you said. Compacted soil requires mechanical means such as cattle plunging through soggy soil near the edge of a pond or playing football on saturated soil. The soil has to be saturated first or you cannot compact it. Oh and do all this seeding in early September when the summer heat is beginning to back off.

Nothing but algae, a mosquito, and some sort of tiny crawly bug in mine. I did note spider webs inside the opening of one container, so I'm not too eager to put my eye up to it and peek in. I'm amazed that the slugs haven't found any of my containers yet... knock of wood. I'm terrified of spiders! I don't shout or anything, but they definitely make my skin crawl and leave me startled for a while. I go out of my way to squish every last threatening-looking one of them or spray them with the jet setting on the hose, especially if they surprise me. Hey, they lay 1000000 babies in those gross sacs and I'm not having primal fear of them for nothing! Last year I got bitten by a recluse type while clearing out bushes (tons of those spiders!)... so a dead spider is one less that can bite me! But, every once in a while I might let one live if it stays peacefully in its spot, eating all the bugs... but I'll keep a constant eye on it to make sure it's still there and not anywhere near me. Knocking down or squishing barn spiders is an absolute must. I HATE walking into their webs when I get the morning paper, and they look scary. Sorry for the rant! I hate spiders!

I have a copy of Cubed Foot Gardening and I like it very much. Actually, I like it much better than Square Foot Gardening, which I think uses glossy production to make up for a lack of information. It also doesn't have the annoying tone of Mel Bartholomew's book. It's conversational, straightforward and supplies a lot of good information on the plants you're most likely to grow, germination time, average first and last frosts, etc. With regards to pesticides, the general philosophy is that you may or may not use pesticides according to your preference. The reviewer above likes to imply that this is unconscionable, but offers no proof to support his/her allegations about pesticides. It should be noted that some organic pesticides, like Rotenone are just as nasty as some synthetics. Likewise with the pressure treated wood. As a point of fact, the author does *not* use pressure treated wood, stating that regular wood is cheaper, lighter and pressure treated doesn't offer any significant advantages. This is mostly a moot point, since CCA wood is no longer widely available. To sum up, I'm not sure why the first reviewer hates this book so much. It's got a lot of valuable information and it's concise. Is it the greatest gardening book ever? No, but it's a solid introductory book. Do I like it better than Square Foot Gardening? Very much. Do I know why the first reviewer feels so wounded by Christopher Bird? No idea.