A) If the compost is 'finished', the particles are very small and will be very water retentive - IMO, not well-suited physically for use in container soils in any appreciable volume. B) If the compost is NOT finished, it contains particles highly variable in size that break down very quickly into increasingly smaller particles. As unfinished compost breaks down, it does add some nutrients to the soil, but it also promotes the immobilization of N. When it breaks down to the 'finished' stage .... well, see A) above. Compost actually adds very little in the way of nutrients. What it does add can easily be supplied, either macro or micronutrients, by other either organic or chemical supplements. It increases water retention as it fills valuable soil pores and decreases aeration. The question I would beg of myself is: Why choose to use it, knowing there are other organic alternatives with better structural stability and that what it adds nutritionally can be replaced very simply with 1 or 2 fertilizer additives that will be required regardless of whether compost is used or not. If I had to use compost in a container soil, I would limit it's presence, along with peat, in my own bark-based soils to Al

1. Diatomaceous earth is not poisonous, it works like broken glass, the effect is physical rather than biochemical. It is supposed to puncture the skin of small pests (or the intestines, if they eat it). 2. No, there are many types of cat litter, few are suitable as soil amendment. Avoid everything that is clumping, made from organic materials, or crumbles if you squeeze it. The useful ones are very similar to products like Turface and Napa Floor Dry. All I have seen have been pinkish.

It's been a long time since I made this cake. I always lined the pan with Saran Wrap. Here is the receipe for those that don't know it. KITTY LITTER CAKE 1 Spice or German Chocolate Cake Mix 1 White Cake Mix 1 Pkg White Sandwich Cookies 1 large pkg Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix Green food coloring 12 small Tootsie Rolls 1 *new* kitty litter box 1 *new* kitty litter box plastic liner 1 *new* pooper scooper Prepare cake mixes and bake according to directions (any size pans). Prepare pudding mix and chill until ready to assemble. Crumble white sandwich cookies in small batches in blender, they tend to stick, so scrape often. Set aside all but about ¼ cup. To the ¼ cup cookie crumbs, add a few drops green food coloring and mix using a fork or shake in a jar. When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble into a large bowl. Toss with half the remaining white cookie crumbs and the chilled pudding. You probably wonÂt need all of the pudding, mix with the cake and "feel" it, you donÂt want it soggy, just moist; gently combine. Line new, clean kitty litter box. Put mixture into litter box. Put three unwrapped Tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until soft and pliable. Shape ends so they are no longer blunt, curving slightly. Repeat with 3 more Tootsie rolls and bury in mixture. Sprinkle the other half of cookie crumbs over top. Scatter the green cookie crumbs lightly over the top, this is supposed to look like the chlorophyll in kitty litter. Heat remaining Tootsie Rolls, 3 at a time in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle with cookie crumbs. This is my additionÂonly: spread 5 of the remaining Tootsie Rolls over the top; take one and heat until pliable, hang it over the side of the kitty litter box; sprinkling it lightly with cookie crumbs. Place the box on a newspaper and sprinkle a few of the cookie crumbs around. I donÂt know about you, but my cat ALWAYS makes a MESS!!! : ) Serve with a *new* pooper scooper

Four indoor cats here -- and one litter box! It is kept in the unused master bathroom bathtub! A hard decision -- but that spot has worked out SO well for us. Our litter box must be lidless because our cats literally outgrew the lid itself! LOL! The best thing of all is that the box cannot be seen because of the high walls of the tub AND the fact the tub is located behind the "swing" of the door so I love it! And the tub is easy to clean too! Our policy is scoop out the box several times during the day -- into a grocery bag, tie it shut, and stash in a tall brass garbage bin (which also has a medium sized plastic bag) that JUST fits in a empty slot between the vanity and the shower. The garbage can is emptied once a day out to the main outside garbage can. We were lucky that a litter container JUST fits in behind the brass bin too! So the extra-large main container of litter sits in the garage -- and the DH fills up the one in the bathroom. The scoop is kept in a pretty garbage bin just under-and-behind the toilet -- so it is out-of-sight too. But still handy! Along with a brush-and-pan to sweep up any scattered litter. And a deodorant spray like Febreeze (which works great BTW!) I would dearly love a better spot -- but this house has no basement nor a laundry room so this system has worked for all of us! Jan