Good advice. But now I have question: As with any tulips - make sure you give them a good soak after you plant them. In water? Why would you do that? They are not a "bulb" like anemones that need to soak and swell. Tulips are already hydrated. Too much water for sleeping bulbs could be disastrous if there are lesions, bruises or other damage to the bulb, where diseases could infect. Sleeping bulbs are not awake to fight infections. In my opinion, better to wake them gradually first with moderate watering planted, and in the soil. In addition, a soaked bulb will be easier to damage while planting too. The wet bulb skins will not afford the protection that they do when dry, since then become soft. And is the bulb itself somewhat softer too? In my opinion and at the very least, if you soak a tulip, let the surface become completely dry before planting. I have no doubt that soaking a tulip will wake it up faster, and get it growing quicker, I just question the need and the reasoning. I would be very interested in what anyone has to say about this. Rick

My clay soil is so bad and so hard that roots of most plants can't grow in it. When I pull my tomato plants up at the end of the season I see they are hardly any longer than they were when they were in the four inch square pots I use for my seedlings. I have a rototiller that is supposed to till to eight inches deep, but my soil is so hard that it can only till to 4 inches, and that only after we get a rare rain during the winter. And that is after I put a more powerful 8 horsepower engine on it and carbide tipped tiller blades. I am not kidding, I bought a Bosch Brute 66 pound electric jackhammer (the big powerful one that costs $1300.00) and a clay spade to use for planting my fruit trees and tomatoes. It had a blade about eight inches long and half an inch thick made out of tool grade forged steel, and over the course of the years I have worn two inches of the metal away digging holes. What makes matters worse is my garden area in on a steep hill and water just runs off it so the only way I can keep water near my plants is to make circular dikes around them to keep the water next to the plant until it can sink in. I get very little help from mother nature as the previous three years were all drought years averaging about a total of seven inches of rain per year. I put seventy cubic yards of compost on my garden over the years but it hardly made a dent in the soil structure. During the winter rains it turns into sticky mud, and during the rest of the year it turns hard as a rock and cracks and crevices develop in it, some seem to go all the way to China.

Hi, Asparagus are very deep rooting. In new field plantings the roots are usually placed 8" to 12" minimum depth. Also -aren't you worried about what the plants might take up from the drainfield? ( It's amazing how many chemicals end up going down the drain)

My 18 x 36 rectangle is 3ft -6 ft, which is great for adults. In fact, because I don't have kids, if I did it over again I'd seriously consider a 4.5ft end-to-end since I mainly like to swim laps and float. I think these shallow pools are sometimes called sport pools. I had no desire for a diving board (noise+danger). But my friends' children always say they wish it was deeper so they could dive. Honestly, even if I had kids I'd prefer it shallowish bc. I can ban diving (which also discourages running) and if a rescue is needed it's much easier to haul out someone quickly. I don't care for pools that have a steep and sudden slope into the deep end...but your pool sounds large enough to avoid that. Kids would call me a party-pooper I suppose, but the safety of my guests definitely factored into my planning. good luck!