It's all for a vegetable garden. The beds should stick up 2-4 inches above whatever mulch I use if I use 4 inches of it (more if I use less). The depth of the beds will be more as I intend to dig down directly under the beds to give more depth for better soil I'm going to haul in. I plan to leave some room at the top of the beds to add compost as time goes by. Some of the beds will be 10x4ft with 4ft spacing between them. These will probably be the least of my worries and I'll mulch with newsprint inside the beds with drip irrigation on top to keep it wet (and by so doing, keep it from blowing away). I'm reasonably confident of that part of my plan. Mulching between these beds will be important mostly to avoid the tall weeds, and to avoid anything that likes to spread weed seeds to the rest of the garden. Elsewhere (which is the majority of the garden), my bed setup will be the same in terms of height/depth but widthxlength will be 2x2. The purpose of these will be for larger plants like watermelon, muskmelon, pumpkin, squash, etc. While the pumpkin and squash MIGHT be able to hold their own against the weeds, the watermelon and muskmelon (which will be the bulk of the plants) won't. I proved that this year when I didn't weed some of them in time and the plants didn't put on near the growth they should have due to being shaded. The ones that were weeded in a more timely fashion did fine. Due to the size and quantity (around 125 or so) of these plants, it's really not practical to try building a bed large enough to hold them. The purpose of the bed in their case is to provide for the main stalk/root system. The leaves and fruit will have to be outside the bed on the ground where I need some sort of a mulch system to keep the weeds under control. When these things start growing, mowing obviously won't be an option because I'd destroy my plants. I've got about 9,000 square feet of space here I need to mulch in some fashion, so cheap is important. I can live with spending a bit of money up front if it means I've solved the problem (or the majority of it) for several years. Spreading anything over that much space is a fair amount of work too (and often the work involved is more daunting than the expense - particularly if I end up doing something like rock). Landscape Fabric I tried some experiments with landscape fabric this year and didn't like the results. At a minimum, I'd have to replace it every year if I put it on top, and in that quantity, it's rather expensive for a yearly cost. Newspaper I can afford (I buy the end rolls from the newspaper company), but isn't suitable outside the beds mostly due to wind. Black Plastic I'd consider black plastic, but I don't think it will hold up to foot traffic - assuming it can survive the wind. Astroturf Any sort of outdoor carpeting/astroturf appears to be to expensive. Old Carpet Old used carpeting might be a real option if I can find a ready supply for free/cheap though I have concerns about the chemicals and possible smell. I suspect smell (if there is any) would only be an issue when it's wet during the spring. I can't really see it smelling when it's dry which should be the bulk of the year. Stone The more I read the more I'm afraid it won't do much at all for my weed issue after a few years and then I'll just be stuck battling weeds with a ton of rock involved. Organic Mulch I have doubts about being able to make the expense/longevity make sense here. It might be able to work, but so far the numbers aren't looking right. If it was either cheaper, or if it lasted longer, I could justify it. Cardboard I've got doubts about being able to locate this quantity of cardboard, and far more doubts about being able to make it hold up to the wind. I realize I could pin it, but if the cardboard pieces aren't very big to begin with, I think half the mulch will be pins instead of cardboard. Even with the pins, I'm not sure it could manage the wind. The wind gets really rough here sometimes. Aggressive non-mow groundcover Haven't found anything I think would do the job, I could reasonably source and afford, and I could have in place and ready to take over by next spring - I'm looking for a solution that will be working by next spring. Not one I'm going to have to spend a few years getting up to speed. whatever I do, I don't really mind spreading some more of X every year, or rolling out new cover, etc. but it has to be affordable at those replacement rates. I'm trying to stay below $3K for the beds, soil, and mulch. For $3K, I want a minimum of a 5 year solution, preferably more like a 10. If I spend less, I can live with having to spend more on maintenance each year. I forsee getting some good life out of the soil (if properly maintained which I will) and the beds (if decently built which is the plan). My concern point and issue is the mulch.

. what more do you need? Well, according to some members of the city council and some people who have complained in the press, we also need to prevent our "itinerant population" (students) from raising them and to address the supposed problem that they're going to be abandoned en masse without care, and that they're going to bug neighbors and lower property values. Just because their complaints are unrealistic doesn't mean we don't have to deal with them :( I'm just concerned about what we've seen from the council so far. Of the 7-member council: ------------- Correia I don't know. My sister lived in a small town in Illinois and her neighbors across the street had chickens and they were kind of friendly, but I don't really see it in Iowa City. I'm sorry O'Donnell No. Champion I don't know. (several talking) ... Lombardo Where do you stop? What regulations, I mean, in terms of just legislating how to keep them(several talking) Wright The fact that it's relatively common, I think there are plenty of models that could be used out there. Um ------------- Then, from one of our local papers... Iowa City Mayor Regenia Bailey who said her grandmother owned chickens said she was not interested in supporting such a move because supporting local business leads to a more dynamic economy, but she is interested in hearing what others have to say regarding the matter. We have a weak mayor system, so Mayor Bailey is basically just another vote on the city council. The other two members of the council haven't really said anything that we've been able to track down that indicates his views. We have Wright seeemingly in favor; Correia, Bailey, and O'Donnell seemingly opposed; and Wilburn, Champion, and Hayek unknown (Lombardo was the city manager). That's not a good starting point, and we don't get to "negotiate" with them (at best, we'll get to speak our peace in front of them the session before the vote). Then they'll either vote it up or down. So, in our position, what would you do? It might not hurt to have educational workshops at your County Ag Extension office Hey, that's a good idea. We should give the ag extension a call and see if they'd be interested in that. I think that'd go over better than just requiring that applicants read a pamphlet.

I should have added some more to my post. Sorry, I was stressed out from the rain and ground water sump coming loose and spraying several inches of water all over the basement in the middle of the night. The brushes I mentioned direct the debris into a net for easier removal. While you can use just a net it isn't all that efficient. If you have aquariums you have used Activated Charcoal, Activated Carbon or AC. It works the same way for the pond. It collects odor and tannins from rotting debris. That water needs to circulate so look into pumps soon. You can put a sock or muslin bag of the AC in the basket of the skimmer to start. Run the skimmer for the circulation until you decide on a waterfall pump. You might want to use some Zeolite too. That helps neutralize organic material, nitrates and nitrites in the water. I understand about the manure odor. I think it has become nasty smelling because of the feed the animals get instead of grazing on grass and hay. There may be something dead in the water making the smell worse and hazardous to work with. I wouldn't stand in the pond until it was a lot cleaner and it is likely very, very slick. If there are no fish you may want to drain the pond. It would certainly make the cleanup easier. Starting the waterfall would help since that tub you mention is probably the biological filter. It may have filter material in it already but if it has been turned off all winter I hate to think of the condition of the filter material. Take a look at it and tell us what you find. Poly quilt batting is a good and inexpensive replacement material. You probably need to clean it up before you start pumping water through it. If there is water in it there will be anaerobic bacteria which will smell to high heaven. A handful of Bicarbonate of soda can raise the PH. I like to use a slug made from Plaster of Paris since it keeps the PH steady and only works when the PH is acidic. Once the PH reaches 8. or thereabouts, it stops reacting. Since there are important details about POP, you can do a search to learn about it. You will find plenty of info. If you are going to add fish or you have plants you would hate to kill, you really need to buy a good quality test kit. It will run around $25. Don't waste your money on dip stick tests. they are rarely accurate. The advice from the other posters is good. You will find lots of help here.

I am surprised you feel that way about this forum. One of the things I have always liked about it is the fact that except where electric hook ups are concerned, none of the regular posters insists there is only one way to do something and that every pond is the same as all the others. The electric thing is a matter of safety and local code and is beyond our power to change. Frequently you will find a number of posters here that agree on a particular subject and that isn't surprising. For many of us it is a matter of been there, done that. It worked or it didn't and this is the reason why. On the other hand while there are disagreements about the relative value of certain methods, I rarely see the absolutist statements you say you have found. Of course people like that do show up from time to time but they rarely stick around very long. It is too hard to acquire a following. To go back a bit, that statement "this is the reason why" is important here. There is no autocrat here who claims to be the only valid source of information but there are lot of people who have extensive experience, often under many different conditions. They can truly claim to be experts who are more than willing to explain an answer. Often you will see them direct someone to different resources or to links that can help with a particular problem if they do not have an adequate answer. I have been to several other ponding forums, too. Some are dismissive of anyone who might have an experience differing from what is acceptable to that forums "experts". Some are flooded with neophytes who pass on incorrect information. Others are just plain ditsy with methods that have no reason to succeed. Then there are the ones who drown you in technical or "scientific" jargon which gives them an ego boost while smashing yours. Take your choice. I like it here. Sandy