"You may be spending way too much time working on your compost if you are wearing the grass away." hahahaha, truer words never spoken. I just started it last summer, I think in about July. Understand that I grew up on Sevin (in a farm family where we used it for everything but cereal topping) and garbage disposals. Once I made the decision (after a year of pondering) to compost, I threw myself into it 100 percent. You could even say I became a bit obsessed with it. I went to it every day and looked at it, found things to add, sniffed it (smells so good), and just liked to admire it. My compost pile was what I thought of as I went to sleep every night...what was I going to add tomorrow? You could say that's pretty tragic, but I like to think it's just because I'm making up for lost time of a lifetime of waste. For what it's worth, my uncle says we always had a "pile" going out by the barn that was a crude compost pile. But I don't remember anyone shoveling manure onto it, or putting crop waste there (maybe there was no waste), or even putting potato peels there. The only thing I remember on that pile by the barn was a dead fox, and I always felt so sad for that fox. Anyway, I've calmed down to a more reasonable amount of time spent at my pile now, but I'm SO looking forward to spring when I can shovel some out and work it into my ground. I still like to pry it open now and then, work it a bit and look at my lovely worms and talk to them. And I still can't stop sniffing, but I've always sniffed dirt and roots...it's my version of snuff. I'm a bit nuts I guess.

I would not want dirt in my compost pile, or very little of it at least. You did not say what type "dirt", sandy or clay etc. That could make a difference, too much of one kind might cut off most oxygen and slow down your composting efforts. If you feel that you really need to add it, I would do it sparingly and mixed well with the other ingredients, rather than a layer, if it were me. Oh, you can just bury stuff in the ground and it will rot, but that is not what I think of as composting. I do not know if it would be practical where you live, but another possibility might be to spread it out and make a big pad for your composting area which would catch the leaching from the compost and one day be really good stuff to spread on your garden as an amendment, I think. Leave the bottom out of any bin that you build. That should make a well drained area to compost on and eliminate any problems with water logging. Just my thoughts. Bill P.

Merry Heart, We got down to 34 degrees last night, and had frost forming right about 3 a.m. and I DIDN'T cover up my plants. I wanted to, but the wind gusted hard all day and there was no way I could have gotten those big sheets of plastic out and over the plants. The plastic would have blown away before I could use something to tie it down. When the skies started clearing late in the afternoon, I knew we were in trouble. And, when the wind stopped blowing after sunset, I knew we were in deep trouble. I went outside at 3:30 a.m. and turned on the sprinkler, hoping to give my plants a chance of surviving what was rapidly becoming a very hard frost. I moved the sprinkler once an hour. I just checked on my tomato plants, and they seem fine. I'm not so sure about the beans and corn. They don't seem as fine, but I'll wait a few hours longer to see if they either perk up....or look worse. And, if you don't find Espoma anywhere in Ardmore, let me know. My DH will be picking up some for me one day after work this week, probably on Fri. or Sat., and he could pick up some for you at the same time. Once it is here at my house, we will figure out how to get it from me to you. You can come here, or I can come to Ardmore, or whatever. I know Carla would pick up some and ship it, but you and I are within easy driving distance of each other, and there's no need for y'all to spend money on shipping. Ilene, I used Epsom salts for a couple of years. I really couldn't see much difference in my tomato plants, but it made a HUGE difference in my pepper plants. The plants were large and green and lush. I didn't get as many peppers as usual those 2 years, though, and I haven't tried it since. I'm not sure why it didn't seem as helpful to the tomato plants as to the peppers. And I don't know if the Epsom salts had anything to do with the decreased pepper production or if it was just a bad year for peppers. Ilene, I've posted a link to Reinhard Kraft's website. He has photos of over 800 heirloom tomatoes in his photo gallery. Many of the ones he grows are the same ones we grow here in the USA. He has been active in promoting heirlooms for a long time, and has sent seed to gardening friends in the USA for trial and vice versa. And, y'all, we have just too much wildlife around here. When I was out during the night putting the sprinkler on the garden, there were raccoons on the porch (nothing there for them to eat, but that didn't stop them from looking), rabbits in the semi-tall grass along the fence line between our place and the neighbor's place, and coyotes.....at least one on our place near the barn, and one on the neighbor's place between their house and ours. The coyotes were howling back and forth. I know coyotes seldom attack humans, but it made me a little bit nervous. Hoping to work in the garden this afternoon after it warms up! Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Reinhard Krafts website and fotogalerie

I'm at that point in my life where I can afford to have a few (OK, many) conveniences in my home, even if I don't use them all that often. We (Mom, Dad, 2 teenagers) run our DW every two days, and wash a bunch of stuff by hand every day. In the 20 yrs I've had a DW, I've always had some stuff that just doesn't do well in there. But it's nice to have for the stuff it is good for. As for resale potential, it all depends on your particular market. I sold my late parents' home this winter past, and despite its lack of DW (plus red velvet flocked wallpaper), it sold FAST because of its location and overall condition. My realtor never considered its "primitive" kitchen appliance package a liability. My brother and SIL bought their first home last year, and it had a totally new renovated kitchen, without a DW. It may have been the only house in its neighbourhood without one, but its other features determined its desirability.