I totally agree, remy. On-topic posts make a forum better. It occurred to me, though, that folks who want to discuss their plant in conjunction with ID'ing it tend to post here vs. NTP. That's understandable since it's nearly impossible to do on NTP. Considering there are no moderators, I think most forums work well. marquest, I've pretty much dismissed the container forum as useless also because of the same reasons. There is a soil forum, and a veg forum. I've been growing stuff in containers for about 40 years and have never mixed soil via prescribed formula, and don't find it a bit interesting. The folks whining about not being able to find some of the components are excruciatingly irritating to me. It's all dirt to me and the stuff in the yard is fine with me and my plants. Not to mention that I think perlite, vermiculite, and peat are terrible things to put in pots. But since I seem to be a small minority, I take the onus upon myself to just avoid it. If that's what most folks want to discuss there, I guess it's the right thing to do and the right place to do it. In any case, I am glad that so many more people even have an interest in edibles, and nature in general.

I do like this suggestion! It's not so bad on a slow-moving forum, but on some of the busy ones a posting can be off the screen in a day and it's not easy to bump it back to the top for attention. A little light bulb that can be clicked to 'on' when there is a match between information and reality? Or a 'so hard basket' to where those tricky queries can be transferred for the attention of people who love challenges. The Advanced version of Name That Plant! It's bound to be less busy than the main forum. (Only able to be used after a posting has spent time on the main forum.) Hope it happens!

I think it's a great idea! I may have only been on this site for a mere 5 days or soi, but I've browsed around enough to know the ins-and-outs of gardenweb and find it difficult to go from one exchage forum to the next simply tp see whats up for grabs, imasgine if I truly wanted something and posted.I know that I've been searching for some nice ghost wood or other nice woods from places other than black jung;e and would like some really really nice, terratium appropriate broad-leaved lpants and orchids for the one I'm making now, but when I went in serch I realized that the majority are extremely large and too waterintolerant or the like. Not to mention most ferns in the fern exchage are staghorns. If I wanted one of those, I'd get it from my backyard, but I'm not in need of one.hell if there was an exchange here I think it may even be as easy as saying " I need large plants for my WTFs(white's tree frogs) and possibly get a few good offers. I think this idea is a great one.... two thumbs up.. I'll give my go ahead in the other forum as well! -Andrew

I have done the lasagna method, too. I suggest you check out the book at the library..by Patricia Lanza, I think. Texased is correct....you need significant newspaper, which is why a lot of people choose to use cardboard instead. You can use color print with no problem, as most papers use soy based inks these days. But you cannot use paper with a glossy finish. I just took large rolled up sections of paper and let them soak in a bucket of water for a few minutes before I layered them. I think I have six layers under the garden. In the raised bed, six layers was enough....under some pavers in the kids' playhouse it wasn't, so I think the layers on top might be key also. You can use "browns" in a bed (composted manure, compost, brown leaves, etc.), if you wish to plant it right away. I also have some thin layers of peat per the author's instruction. While the bed will cook down several inches, it will not be too hot to sustain plants. I had a nearly six foot tall cherry tomato and some healthy globe basil in there. I didn't use any dirt. The last layer (top layer) was about four inches of compost, and I planted directly into that. If you use "greens" or "hot" stuff....kitchen scraps, lots of green grass, fresh manure...the author recommends an entire season of cooking before you plant. I've heard that you can speed the process a little with black plastic over the top, but it seems like too much trouble to me. As far as I know, nothing short of chemical warfare will kill bermudagrass...and sometimes even that doesn't work. Fortunately, I don't have much in my St. Augustine. My mom has Bermuda lawn, and we have a terrible time keeping it out of the beds and the mulch in the walkways. Have fun!