Hmm, well, there is that Chinese drywall problem. I was always curious what actually caused that. It does not seem particularly harmful - at least on the sulfur side. According to that Wiki article, Chinese drywall gives off sulfur containing gases as a result of a particular bacteria attacking the unusually high levels of pyrite in the formula. Pyrite is nothing but iron sulfide, quite harmless. In an aerobic composting environment, I suspect that particular bacteria would decrease as others compete. Also, any gases that are produced will waft away outdoors. In fact, those bacteria probably already exist in most soils and compost. I did notice that the Chinese drywall also had more fly ash in it than American drywall. I do have some concerns about metals in fly ash, especially any fly ash from China. I would think this problem has been cleared up so any new drywall isn't going to have these problems anyway. But I would probably not put Chinese drywall, new or old, in my compost. As for fiberglass, it's first I've heard of that. There can't be much in there since you don't see it, and it's not a toxic risk. It's tiny glass fibers, which are made from silica and other harmless minerals, and would disappear into the soil. Of course it's up to everyone to make their own choices. I just try to clarify the facts.

My big zone push experiment is with Gooseberries and a Red Lake Currant. I discovered that the first two I planted are getting next to no sun, as soon as they go dormant, they are getting moved a couple of feet to where they can get some sun. The first gooseberry so far has grown but not set fruit but the currant had a few handfuls of tasty red berries this year. I have no expectations of huge crops, that handful made me happy. If I lived somewhere they grew I would probably be disappointed. Being in a zone they do not grow, I am happy. I think some times we have expectations that limit how much we will like a plant. If we are happy with a few blooms from a special rose, maybe it does not make a difference if we have to cover the ugly with companion plants. We might not want a garden filled with the ones that struggle. But if it is Mom's special rose, why not try it. As far as the garden and all the Austins, guessing those plants were all donated, Austin may hope that they do well and they can use that to sell more plants. Or if the first spring flush looks good, that is when they will sell tons of plants. If they later look rotten, chances are your average consumer is not going to take notes and they have already made the sales. I am going to order two plants I have been told will probably not like our garden. I figure it is a $25 lesson on garden zones and expectations. If they grow 1/3 of the typical size, I will be thrilled. I know that our lot has a variety of micro climates, so hoping they like the one I pick. Before I knew what rose it was, I moved a self rooted plant from a spot where it got a lot of radiated heat from a garage to what I thought should be a much better place. The other Iceberg roses loved it there, but this one plant turned in to a rusty mildew nasty looking thing....Guess that is the usual look for Simplicity, but the others are okay in that one special spot (not wonderful-but okay) Makes me wonder how many roses are considered great or bad depending on some minor micro-climate changes.

I read the Bismarck ND tribune on line everyday. I think a subscription for out of state is maybe around 400 dollars already. In state the last I know it was 240 and that was about 15 years ago. I can't afford it. I like to keep up on things there. I just found out that my last great aunt died at the age of 98. Some of the news is online before it is in the daily paper though. I don't understand why they do that. We subscibe to the small town local paper here in our county. It is about 28 dollars a month. I too started getting it so I would get to know about some of the people here and what was going on when I moved here. I also got another small town one the first one or two years but I cancelled that one. I sometimes read the Pierre Capital Journal on line. There is a paper that comes out of Pierre that is free. It is the want ads and flyers from the CPJ so I see what is on sale and the rummage sales if I am going to Pierre.

I agree that asking "Why are you telling me this?" either shocks the speaker into silence, or causes them to respond something like "Oh, I thought you'd be interested..." to which one can reply "No, actually I'm not interested..." or "No, it just sounds like gossip to me" or something similar. There's also the great one liner, to anyone asking something you consider personal. "Why do you ask?" is a perfect way of letting someone know that if you're questioning why they asked you whatever they just asked you, it clearly isn't something you're comfortable with them asking!