I know of no substitute (liquid, organic or otherwise) other than pilled uncoated urea that will work for the last application and give the desired benefits. 46-0-0 is the fertilizer of choice because it is very inexpensive (around $20 per bag- no specific brand and some stores bag their own) and is available at most garden centers, seed stores, or feed stores, but any fast release (uncoated) urea (e.g. 24-0-5) can be used--it will just take more product to get 1#/k and increase the cost. An over application of any synthetic can cause "burn" but usining a broadcast spreader rather than a drop spreader will reduce/eliiminate striping. Correctly calculating the total amount of product to apply 1#/k and lowering the the application rate of the spreader by closing the spreader opening down and using multiple passes until the total amount of product is spread over the lawn can eliminate any possiblity of burn. In addition because this last "winterizer" application is applied once the turf has either stopped or dramatically reduce top growth and temperatures are low, there is reduced chance of burn. Slow release (coated) synthetic fertilizers are no more likely to burn a lawn than some organic fertilizers (e.g/ Milorganie, Chickee-Doo-Doo, etc.) unless applied to damp/wet grass. Except for their cost on a pound for pound basis for the N, organics are a fine alternative to synthetics when temperatures are hign enough and moisture is available for the microarganisms to process the organic fertilizer into N, but as I said, no organic (temps will be too low) will substitute for the winterizer application. The benefits of early Spring greening, Spring spreading and turf health from a synthetic late "winterizer" N application on KBG are dramatic and well worth the effort. Synthetics are safe for new grass after the new grass's need for a third mowing. As an Aside, if I had $200 of seed, once Summer temps break (last week of August), I'd go ahead and cut the lawn down to 1-1 1/2" in stages over several days, verticut the lawn (basically an agressive thatching), rake, overseed, slit seed/veritucut again to bury the seed at 1/4", apply a starter fertilizer and lightly water 3 times a day until germination. Hope this has been useful.

Thanks treebarb for giving me Karen's email address and phone number! I spoke with her this evening and she said she would love to have the additional help in the gardens (Kim - she is sooo appreciative for all the work people have been doing there, so thanks so much for organizing that!!!), as well as have her garden be the location for the 2012 fall swap! So now we just need to decide which Sunday will work for most folks to attend, as well as best time. I'm thinking Sunday Oct. 7th would be the earliest to plan on, since that's only 2 weeks away. Karen said that she usually doesn't get home from her second shift until 7am, but she normally doesn't go to bed until evening since she has the rest of Sunday off - and she would really like to join us at the swap. So what about starting off with working in the gardens from 10 - 11:30, then a pot luck (Karen said we were welcomed to do so if we want to. She has some tables we can use if need be.) from 12 - 1 (11:30 - 12 set up time), and then swap after that. If that is too long of a day for folks, maybe we just skip the pot luck this time and do the swap starting at 11:30. So please post to this thread if you can attend and if Oct 7th from 10 - ? will work for you - if not, please suggest a different date and/or time. Also please vote for whether or not to do the pot luck. Thanks! Marj

I spoke with my GC about the wall. It is screwed into the floor and the cabinets are screwed into the wall. With the weight of the countertop on the lower part of the island in addition to how the wall is attached to the floor he does not think it will move. As much as I want the cleanest look possible, I have to admit this whole experienced has me spooked about the overhang coming crashing down no matter what I do (I realize that is a tad irrational, but this renovation has been a bit trying, especially as of late). Although it is not the look I wanted, I am leaning (probably not the best word to use in this case, but it is late) toward extending a wall from the knee wall on both sides of the overhang so the ends are supported and then placing a 16" x 16" stainless steel bracket with a gusset in the middle.... The soapstone place didn't call me back Friday or today (they promised they would get back to me today at the latest). I left a message for the customer service rep. I will call in the morning and see if he is available. In the meantime, the GC rigged up a support for the countertop that isn't supported from the floor b/c my floors will be sanded and finished over the next few days. I hope to have a solution by the time the floors are done so I can get this taken care of and (dare I say it) actually use the kitchen! Now I have to just hope that it stays in place over the next few days... Thanks so much for your help!

You'd have to check the bag; most pre-emergents have various rates for various lengths of coverage. For fall overseeding, you'd want to make sure the shield drops no later than July. If fall seeding, or a full reno, is on the table, I tend to recommend skipping the spring application of pre-emergent. A dry summer will slow the degradation of the pre-emergent layer and may lead to problems when seeding. Plus most companies seem to underestimate the time the shield will be up. I apply a nine month shield of Prodiamine to my stone deck and my mother's, and it's effective for more than a year. There will still be some weed suppression next summer from what I did this spring--although I'll renew it next spring anyway unless I forget.