Somewhere above there was a mention of bean transplants and while it is possible to carefully do that it doesn't really work well... rhizobia aren't usually in the potting media and adding too much N to the biosphere will prevent them from colonizing and nodulating the roots. You will get foliage but no flower or fruit with all that excess N. The do sell soil innoculant, which i recommend adding to any new bed if you haven't got a compost bin to add your own microbes. It's not just the nutrients you need to worry about, it's the microbiome. Soil bacteria break down sulfur to lower the ph and allow micronutrients to be absorbed by root hairs. Others break down phosphorus and make it soluble for plants. Some fix N. Some just secrete enzymes that degrade oomycete pathogens like phytopthera. Some produce plant growth regulators and help with root hair growth and stomatal conductance. Others prime plant immune systems so they are able to defend themselves rapidly when pathogens attack.

I moved into my house last year. So have making a pile of boxes, as we slowly unpack and get settled. The recycle bin is always full so I couldn't figure out how to get rid of them. In addition we have 6 people, 4 dogs, and 2 cats living here so the waste bin is also always full, and with a ever growing pile next to it. This year the spring rain hit, and within 2 days we had weeds up to our knees. To say the least the green waste bin couldn't handle the load, so last week we started our first compost heap. Until yesterday it was only a pile of green weeds and roots, and I turned it every time I added more. I didn't know about the brown waste, and thought I still had to put the cardboard in the recycle. :) Well now that I know its 2 brown : 1 green, I'm glad I have so much card board, and junk mail. ;) Yesterday I didn't know about layering, so I turned the brown with the green. I don't have a shredder so this was difficult. In 24 hours I've learned so much about it. Now I have a 3'x3'x2' heap with the original green waste on the bottom, and lots of brown on top, I also just been throwing my kitchen waste in it, no meat or bones, but just about everything else. I also found a bag of rotting chicken feed, a stack of soaked egg crates and a bin of mealworms and beetles from a failed project to raise mealworms and crickets from last year. lol. In storage I had an old thick and really heavy area rug that my mother once loved, but is now so stained that I had no trepidations on using it to cover my pile. We still have 2/3 of the weeds to go, and at least 2x that mass of boxes from the move. So by the end of this week my heap will probably be about 4'x4'x'4, if not larger, luckily the area I have for it is 7'x7'. The funny thing is our yard is very small, so I only have room for the one pile, and I'm planning on going hot, mostly because I understand and trust the bacterial process better for it than the cold. So I mostly expect to turn it whenever it gets cold. Even better though and maybe even a little saddening is that I'm actually excited to have a way to dispose of all of our waste, that the city's bins just couldn't handle. Ok done with my book.

I had an acre cleared for my veggie garden but made them keep a little island of natives about in the middle. They thought I was nuts- tree roots and all that interfering with veggie roots, sucking irrigation water, honeysuckle would take over, there might be more poison ivy lurking, etc. Well, that little island, with its two small maples and a tiny oak, some scrubby weedy things too, have, over 5 yrs., sprouted a lovely sassafras, a clump of maple leaf viburnum, and a hickory. The edges have been planted with hosta and ferns, those viburnums that prefer some shade, a place for a sweet autumn clematis to climb unabated, daylilies and glads that are protected from critters (because the veggie garden is fenced 8' high). I put my ancient metal A frame swing there and it is where I escape. In the winter, all bundled up with blankies, I watch the stars. In spring I watch the birds building nests above me and Blue Mason Bees running back and forth. In the summer I escape from the heat of the day, but not the humidity which is cured with a tall glass of sweet tea. In the fall I watch the leaves turn colors overhead and fall down on me willy-nilly. Now that I have inherited cat and resulting kittens, they join me there on the swing. My DH wanders out there too to rest, just to have some peace and utter quiet before he jumps back on the tractor to plow or disc. If I sit there too long I am looking for a piece of paper to write down what needs to be done in the garden. That's when I know I have tarried enough. Nancy the nancedar

I shop at multiple stores. Pay day is every other Friday so I that is when I go to Wal-Mart or Smith's (Kroger owned). Every 2 weeks we also get coffee beans at the little mom and pop shop. We go to Sprouts every 2 weeks as their ads overlap on Wednesdays. This is actually getting less frequent as they have not put the bulk things on sale that I want the most as frequently (steel cut oats and short grain brown rice). The bread outlet is a once a month trip. Other stores such as Keller's (for meat), Trader Joe's, the international markets, Vitamin Cottage (for other bulk items), I alternate months. Some things I get through Amazon's subscribe and save and that can vary in frequency. Eggs are mostly from my hens and many of our vegetables come from our garden. Some of the variety in shopping is about the money savings but it is more along the lines of trying to match the quality to a certain price point and meeting my needs of acquiring a diversity of ingredients. Arborio rice at TJ's, quality meat at Keller's, red lentils in bulk at Vitamin Cottage, etc. Part of it is me trying to maintain a well stocked pantry because my moods are fickle and if the pantry has a variety of things, I can cook according to my mood. Pre-planned menus never, ever work for me.