Dottato should ripen in your coastal climate? Where did you hear that they wouldn't? I know of some that ripen in areas that get the same heat mainly as you do during the summer, but get wreched winters. 80's is prime temps for most figs to ripen, when you start getting into the mid 90's they will go to sleep, almost a dormant rest, they won't loose leaves, but they will stop growing alot of times. so if you get 80's you should be fine with them. Where did your grandmother have her tree? If you feel you can't ripen these figs in your climate, try making a small greenhouse just enough to house this particular tree. You can easily make one with heavy plastic and set it up where it will get warmer for just this tree, but don't make it too hot or you will get bad result. Also, check out your sun issue. Do you get alot of sun? Ciao

I'm not sure the answer to a lot of those questions. I've got bermuda grass and have been following the bermuda bible for a few months now. I've been poking around in a few different forums, and I read this thread: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/orglawn/msg0622250314674.html?2 The poster at the end of the thread recommended CGM among other grains for bermuda due to the higher protein content. The soil I've got is a fairly dense clay. I had to rent a jackhammer to dig some postholes a while back!! I've been applying BL lawn conditioner to soften up the lawn, and its been working fairly well. Spots that were previously fairly sparse are starting to get grass filled in. I haven't done a soil test yet, so I don't know how much organic matter, or what deficiencies it has. Since its so late in the season I was going to wait until the start of the next growing season to get a soil test done. However, I can say its a white, chalky soil when its dry, so I'm not expecting large amounts of organic matter in the soil. I was hoping the by spraying hummates and kelp help I would get enough microbes started to begin breaking down organic fertilizers. Is that a wrong assumption? Also, the FAQ stated $3-$5 for 50 pound bags of various feed grains. Is that not true anymore? What is a good ballpark to expect to pay for different types of fertilizer?

I'd say these are probably the most frequently asked questions in the entire SFG forum. "I can't find vermiculite! What else should I use?" First, almost everyone thinks they can't find vermiculite, but eventually, they do. I had to try 5 or 6 garden centers, and eventually found it myself, just before I posted my own "But it's just not available" post. It's there, you just have to dig harder (or find it online, like lissa has suggested) That being said, vermiculite is just the best option Mel has discovered - not using it doesn't mean you won't get veggies. Perlite can be used, or that portion of the mix can be omitted, and you'll still have viable soil, just less optimal - requiring you to water more and it will compact on you. "I can't find 5 types of compost!" 5 isn't a magic number. It's just the lowest number Mel came up with that will have a broad enough spectrum of nutrients and organisms to support the average garden. If you have one good source of compost (like the stuff you make yourself, from kitchen waste and random 'stuff') then you only need one type of compost. It's about providing your plants with enough variety of organic material to provide all of the nutrients it needs. Personally, I used a seaweed and shrimp compost, a forest compost, horse manure compost and my own worm castings. Anyway, don't get hung up on the number 5, just try to get as much variety as you can. SFG is a different way of gardening than most people are used to. Because it uses intensive planting and low beds, it's geared towards using a very high-capacity soil with great drainage and water retention. Mel traded some of the old wisdom with higher technology (trellises, vermiculite, no soil, blended compost) and tuned the result. If you need (or want to) to tune your own for your own reasons, go ahead - the plants won't care. They may do better or worse than my beds, but most likely, you'll get veggies no matter what.

We're actually getting the Flipside handheld but I know what you mean about size ... I actually thought they were all a bit big for handhelds. So, I was perusing your clippings hoping to find a picture of your shower setup, and I was noticing that we have a lot of similar tastes in decorating. Then I clicked on your home page (hoping, again, to find a picture of your shower) and I find out that we have a lot more in common than shower fixtures ... I work for SAILING Magazine. Small world I guess!