What area is 38570? I live in area code 37722 which is in Sevier COunty and would love some pink primerose. I would also like to pass along some plants in my area. BTW... I just joined GW about 15 minutes ago. Gail

Peaches did you get my mail. My sent folder says it wasnt sent. I would be interested in trading with you. I just collected monkshood and pink turtlehead and canterbury bells (cups and saucers) out of my garden. Also a really cool grass it looks like purple bottlebrushes on it but I Lost the tag. I dont have the name. I hope these are the seeds..... LOL it is hard to learn all these seeds. Barb

Home test kits are pretty much useless as they are notoriously innaccurate. Your best bet is to have the test done through your extension office (I guess, because I'm Canadian and we don't have extension offices up here). Here is what a typical soil test result will look like (mine from the spring): As you can see, it measures pretty much everything of importance, especially pH, organic matter, calcium, micro-nutrients, etc. Then, at the bottom, it gives a reccomendation for inputs. These are largely geared to a scale of agricultural production, but a "home and garden" test may be better suited to small scale. Without the test, I would not have known that my soil had a fairly high pH (thus I do not add lime, I add sulphur), had a high organic matter level (it was a former cattle pen), and was high in zinc, copper, iron and especially boron. This knowledge allows me to cater my inputs to what the soil needs, and also alerts me to watch out for specific problems with plant growth. A couple of valuable tests you can do at home are the following: 1. Soil texture/composition: Using a large quart mason jar, fill the jar with about 3-4 inches of your garden soil. Dig a small hole, about 6-8 inches deep and try to get all levels (topsoil and subsoil). This soil should be then well sifted, and then pulverized until it is a very fine, even texture. Into the jar with the dirt, fill with water, leaving about 2 inches of air. Add a drop of dish soap to the water, and seal the jar tightly. Tape a piece of masking tape to the side that runs from the bottom to the top of the water level (this is to make the marks that you will be making below). Shake the holy bejezus out of it. After five minutes of vigourous shaking, when your arms can't shake any more, hand it to someone else and have them skake it for five more minutes. Then, set the jar down in front of a bright light and start to record. After one minute you will see a defined layer - this is the amount of sand in your soil. Then after about twenty minutes, you will see another definite layer - this layer as this is the silt. After about three days, you will see one more defined layer - this is the clay. On top of the clay you will see a bunch of settled junk like weed seeds and such. This is the residual organic matter and need not be much concern. After everything has settled over a few days, this is what you will see: The bottom layer (up to 0.75" is the sand) - disregard the weird looking lines in this layer, that is just a reflection of the wood table. Then the silt runs to about 2". Then the clay up to just about 2 3/4". If you then do the math for this sample, the sand is 27% (that would be 0.75/2.75), the silt is 45% (1.25/2.75) and the clay is 27% (0.75/2.75). This means that my soil is a silty-loam soil, confirmed by practical experience. That being said, there are patches of my garden that are more sand, or more clay. I know these areas and know what to plant there. It is great to run tests, but getting your hands dirty and exploring the soil is very important. 2. drainage: related to the soil composition test, a drainage test will be very valuable. Take a standard, empty coffee can and cut out the bottom. Dig a hole about 4-6" deep with the same diameter of the can. Put the can into the hole and press down to seat it firmly. Then, fill the can with water. If after an hour your can has not fully drained, then you have a fairly slow draining soil (typical of clay based soils). However, if your can is fully empty after, say, 30 minutes, you have alot of sand and will have problems with nutrient leaching. In both cases, obtaining the data is relatively easy. Knowing what to do with that data is the start of your gardening experience. Hope this helps. Michael

H. - If you want to trade - you need to have named plants. But your unnamed plants are perfect for your friends and family. Your friend will be very happy if you restart a plant for her. Next time - when you want to add another plant to your collection - get a named one - and some interesting one you will enjoy - and people would want to trade for. And in no time you will get 500 of them instead of 3. Good Luck irina PS Check violetbarn.com for an eye candy.