I can't stand it -- The memories are overwhelming! I live in a region whose main industry is still agriculture. (How long that will last is another question, but . . .) Years ago, there were commercial egg producing "factories" a few miles inland from us. At least once every year, the local farmers got huge loads of chicken manure, and spread it over the fields below us, reaching toward the sea on the Oxnard Plain. You knew right away when they did it, because, well, it was way more than smell. It was an eye-stinging, effluvium of truly legendary proportions. I'm a big proponent of manures to feed the soil, but even for me, this was a bit much. You couldn't escape it. The smell "wafted" for miles on the sea breeze. Thank the Lord, "Egg City" went bankrupt. I don't know what the farmers use now, but it's not noticeable. And that's probably vital in an area where ramshackle farmhouses are rapidly being crowded out by McMansions. I look up at the huge "homes" on "Spanish Hill," and think, maybe the chicken manure wasn't all that bad. Jeri

Many garden centers sell inexpensive pH test kits. They're fun, and simplify all that pH stuff. Your manure and organic matter (and the life forms they support) will nudge it toward neutral over time, and it can be interesting to watch. Fall is the best time for serious liming. Permanent pathways provide habitat for earthworms, ground beetles, etc, and give you some access regardless of the weather. For temporary access to some areas, you also can lay boards on the ground and stand on the boards. If you planned to use your wheat as a cover crop, you'll need to take it down 2-3 weeks before you need the space, or you can pull it up and let it dry into mulch, or compost it. In mild winter climates, actively growing wheat does not go down without a little bit of a fight. Back to the permanent pathways. You can sow them with legumes and well-behaved grasses, and mow them to make mulch for the beds or rows next to them. It's a cool system. Picture it -- next year, a ribbon of crimson clover laced with blue bachelor buttons leads you to your beautiful [fill in blank] and you feel so happy! Here is a link that might be useful: my website

Hi Diane: Check out the link below for manure analysis, with a salt-warning ... doesn't apply to pots, since pots leach out salt & nitrogen well. From that link chicken manure has 0.9 nitrogen, 0.5 phosphorus, 0.8 potassium, 0.4 calcium, and 0.2 magnesium. I used Lilly Miller acid fertilizer with chicken manure & chemical NPK of 10-5-4 on all my pots last year. They did well, no burning .. no aphids either. Annie L. McDowell rose liked that stuff ... she's always dark-green & bloomed lots. Looking back, I should had used ONLY ONCE as said on the package. Chicken-manure is slow-released and LAST FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON. Chicken manure is highest in salt among all manures .. less is best. I would add gypsum (calcium sulfate) to pots to balance out the salt in chicken manure. It's a better choice than using blood meal, since blood meal is too fast of a release. Here is a link that might be useful: Manure analysis by EcoChem

Dear Trish! Ouch!!!! I can just see the whole event happening in front of my eyes! Yes, kids can get into the the most interesting situations at times. This little lady also broke her ankle on a swing at school about seven months ago, just a few days before her fourth birthday. So it was the whole process of rushing to hospital and dropping her three-month old baby sister and my eldest off at someone's house along the way while at the same time trying to comfort her and keep all calm. At that time my husband was gone for work so it was quite a challenge. After the whole stint in hospital, we had to carry her around for the whole time while she was recovering as she could not mobilize with crutches (too young ). In the end, she got so frustrated and she started to bum-shuffle, which was hilarious. :-) I found her one day trying to water my pots outside while still shuffling on her hands and buttocks, dragging the hose behind her :-) :-) :-) At least it is a bit easier this time around (that is, after surgery and the visits to the wound care nurse to clean the finger), and I know she is getting better the moment she starts watering the garden, which she has :-). She has a great affinity for soil and dirt and I must just try to keep her away in order to keep the finger clean until it has healed appropriately. Easier said than done :-) Moses and Lisa, I had a good laugh about your initial confusion about the word "kraal" My apologies! One tends to forget that local vernacular is not always known internationally. But well done on your investigations! Lisa, If I remember correctly you also have some Dutch heritage? I initially thought "kraal" might have had its origins in Dutch (where Afrikaans originated) but after reading your posts it struck me that the word might have come from the Koisan or other indigenous African languages - it indeed refers to an enclosure for cattle although, in centuries past, I think it was also used to refer to an area where groups of dwellings of particular tribes were constructed in a circular pattern which were then closed off with thorny branches etc. in order to keep wild animals out. We have so many languages over here and we all eventually "borrow" words from each other so "kraal" is an accepted English word here as it is in Afrikaans (our home language) and several other languages as well :-). One tends to forget that it is not necessarily known internationally. Moses, I think our mushroom compost might be similar to yours although I believe (I stand to be corrected) that we use coir peat instead of peat moss, which is not such a sustainable resource over here. We also have mushroom growers, possibly in greenhouses? They are readily available in our supermarkets although prices can be slightly more expensive at times. I used peat moss for my roses the previous time I amended some garden beds but was not satisfied with the soil quality a year later, that's why I considered the "kraal manure" Thanks to all of you I think I might get the recipe better this time. I really can't wait to get all my roses in the ground. The previous time was a bit easier as I had to start from scratch so I could design everything as I wanted. This time we have moved into a much bigger but older house with a large established garden (although not a single rose apart from 5 iceberg tree roses (we call them standard roses) at the gate. There are many trees providing lots of shade and it is a bit more daunting to think what must be moved / removed/ altered as there is already a basic plan and I don't want to simply redo the whole place right now. :-)