i also forgot to add Lime, i was told to either scratch it in(but it takes time to break down to calcium/magnesium) so what i am doing is i mixed lime with vinegar in a cottage cheese container(the reaction releases a gas so dont cap the container for awhile or you will end up with a mess in the fridgelike me!) what the vinegar does it break the lime up and make the calsium/mag avail after the fizzing stops. and the vinegar will only react with so much lime, all you have to do is replenish the vinegar till all the lime is gone, then make more. i just stir it up before adding to water.(which also contains magnesium) and adding 1 tbsp of acetate and 1-2tblsp vinegar/ gallon to assist in adding acidity to the soil. eric

Nazarino, so much was left out of the replies to this issue. Assuming you already applied lime (following your soil test which told you how much to apply and which kind of lime) and you fertilized (because you live in a time zone fully 2 months in the future because you should not be fertilizing in the early spring), then you should wait a full 4-5 months to put down seed. Why? Because spring is a horrible time to seed a lawn. The only worse time is summer unless you're seeding bermuda. Early fall is an excellent time to seed. If you can live with your lawn for the rest of the season, you'll be far ahead for next year if you seed in late August or early Sept. If you seed now you'll be expecting to have a nice lawn all summer and you won't. Where do you live? What kind of grass do you have? What is your watering regimen (how often and for how long)? What fertilizer are you using?

It's not very clear from your post what you are trying to do :-) Let me start by clarifying a few things and we can take it from there. All lime is does is neutralize or raise the pH an acidic soil. Depending on the type of lime used it can also supply a couple of nutrients that may or may not be lacking, but it does nothing in the way of supplying nitrogen. If you still live in the Portland area, your soil is most likely slightly to moderately acidic as are most of the soils in the PNW. Except for lawns and a few specific plants, the vast majority of plants will grow best in a slightly to moderately acidic soil so you may not need to lime at all. Any large tree will draw nutrients out of the soil as they have wide spreading root systems that out-compete smaller plants for any available nutrients and any soil moisture. This is one of the reasons it is often hard to get plants to grow within the root zone of these big trees. But black walnuts also pose some other issues - they emit a chemical through their roots and leaves (juglone) that makes it difficult for certain other plants to thrive or even survive. One needs to pay careful attention to any plants selected to grow in this area and makke sure they are compatible and not subject to the juglone. Tomatoes are noted for being very hard to grow close to black walnuts. And the rot you describe sounds like blossom end rot, which is usually associated with uneven watering practices while the fruit is forming. It can also be affected by a lack of calcium in the soil. You can purchase products that address this but even watering is really the key. And you need to make sure that you are growing your tomatoes well away from the possible influence of the black walnut. Your soil probably is clay-based - much of the NW is. Adding good quantities of compost or other organic matter will help to loosen the soil, improve structure, improve drainage and add fertility. NW soils also tend to be nitrogen deficient and compost will help with that as well. Otherwise, to determine what other nutrients may or may not be needed, you might want to consider a soil test. And this will clarify exactly what pH you are working with and whether or not you need to lime. OSU no longer supplies soil tests but they can direct you to a good lab. Here is a link that might be useful: OSU extension service

Another hardpan clay gardener here! We had to level our plot to build the house (we're on a slope), so once the existing topsoil was removed all that was left was red clay. The first time I saw that I nearly cried. It was impossible to grow a garden in such soil. We had to escavate the soil with a machine up to the depth of 2 feet and then had good topsoil brought in. It was a major task and I'm glad we did it while still in the building phase. Over the years I have added home made compost and some leaf mould. The only commercial fertilizer I use is a little bit around my roses, otherwise it's a top dress with compost as I have it. It's not bad and the garden has thrived, but if I need to dig deeper I still get huge boulders of clay, the kind you can make pots with. Another disadvantage is that once the heat starts the soil becomes unworkable, I can't even drive a shovel through it. This means all major work needs to be carried out during Fall and Winter, when we get most of the rains and the soil can actually be dug. Eduarda