Since peat moss is a non renewable resource and expensive and in Maryland you should be able to find a better substitute even today in tree leaves I would opt for them. That your compost piles have been in the shade is not the problem since compost does not need any solar energy, directly on it, to function. A simple means of working to get close to the proper C:N ratio pile up 3 inches of brown material followed by 1 inch of green material, making sure the browns (usually very dry) are just barely moist. The green materials usually are wet. The website linked below is a real good tutorial for composting. Here is a link that might be useful: Florida's Online Composting

The reason the I turned it was because it wouldn't get wet, and I thought that was the only way to get moisture throughout. It didn't seem to be doing anything when I just let it sit. I will try to get some browns in there I guess. I don't have enough UCG or veg. scraps to make much difference. And I purchased the cotton seed hulls for the veg. garden because I like the way they mat and don't blow away, but seems like everything I read suggests not to use them on veg, because they can use whatever chemicals they want on cotton since it isn't a food crop. I didn't want to risk it. thanks, justsaymo

We shred leaves by mowing them and they get collected by the bagger attachment. Doesn't look like an option for you. Unshredded leaves didn't break down very quickly for me but I'm in NH and I didn't mix them with anything. It sounds like pine needles mixed with leaves would be good. You don't want a layer to compact. I suggest you watch Craigslist which is where I find free manure ads. Best find was a guy who added kitchen scraps, wood ashes and barn bedding to the manure pile. It was nicely composted so I used this for my top layer in the spring and planted directly in it. Last year I made too thick a pile of unshredded leaves topped with about 6-8" of fresh from the barn steer manure (no bedding material). The steer manure solidifed/crusted so the bed didn't decompose over winter like my first one did. I ended up digging large holes, filling with better material and using this bed for winter squash. A second, similar bed, was used for tomatoes and summer squash. Worked fine. Keep in mind that lasagna beds attract worms which will help in the decomposing process. I have also added the perfed edges from computer paper on a dot matrix printer at work. I would be added shredded newspaper if I could find the office shredder that got lost in a move. Just don't use glossy paper such as ad inserts. I've been very happy with my lasagna beds. Two are in second year of production. Two are first year after being built last fall. Never till. We've had a long, cold wet summer but I didn't have any mud or drainage problems whereas some neighbors lost their gardens. Six feet is a little wide. You don't want to do a lot of walking on your garden because it compacts the soil. I'm going to widen the second year beds and split them in half with a narrow path for weeding in the middle.

Your plan has evolved nicely! I don't think I'd bother with the door by the dining room table. I think it'd be too crowded to get out that door, and you have a door in the great room, only steps away. Multiple doors onto the patio will mean more difficulty placing furniture on the patio. Multiple doors also mean more doors to accidentally leave open, and if you ever do a security system, more doors = more cost. I like the increased size of your dining room table. I prefer the great room furniture placement in the second image. Why? When you walk in, you'll have "space" between the two chairs, which gives you a better view into the great room and feels more inviting. However, with a large family, the sofa is probably more practical. If you go with the sofa, I'd place a table behind it - just feels right to me. Since you don't have unlimited space in the great room, I'd go with the sliding door. Having lived with both, sliding glass doors are more functional than French doors. French doors open up into the house and take up space, whereas the sliding glass door "disappears" when you open it up -- thus, you get better air flow. I know, French doors are so pretty . . . so it's a question of function or looks. In either floorplan, I'd consider skipping the mid-room door and going with a bank of windows in its place . . . and then having a single door just at the spot where the great room meets the kitchen. A door in that place would serve both rooms and would free up your furniture placement choices. I prefer the mudroom arrangement in the first plan. Seems to be a better use of the space. I like the placement of the powder room better, and I think its laundry room is "right sized", whereas the other one is a bit bloated.