Good enough compost works! I have experience with both hot & cold, so it's a matter of choice as well as energy level. I have a chronic illness as well, so when turning hot piles it's my workout for the day & have to treat it as such hydrating before & after then resting after. I'd suggest you need to turn a hot pile more often. Naturally, smaller pieces will heat up & compost faster, but it's a matter of choice really. It does take time & energy to turn a pile no matter what size. A garden fork works well and a pitchfork even better if you're using hay or large garden waste pieces as any part of the mix. A shovel is much more difficult! Either way, compost happens if you just leave it or you turn it to make it compost faster. It's a matter of choice. If you can't turn it & hubby doesn't want to turn it cold composting works well then if weed seeds are a concern you could solarize or presprout with clear bags before spreading & using. I build a hot pile & cover it. Then I work it for about 2 weeks after that 1st heat up then let it cure. To work it I turn every few days & cover again as long as it's still heating up. I also monitor the moisture level. If it isn't keeping hot & it's not been 2 weeks I will add more nitrogen material (manure, green grass clippings, garden waste). After about 5 turns my pile is usually 1/3 - 1/4 the size of what it started, so no longer really heats up like at first. I cover it & let it cure for at least a month or so depending on the season. Faster cure in summer. If you have additional material to compost you can build another hot pile adding new materials to the old. What works for me is to collect materials in cold compost bins, then build hot piles 2x a year in spring & late summer/fall using the collected materials + others to balance greens & browns. Anytime a hot compost pile isn't turned often enough it becomes a cold & can still be used once ready. I like building hot piles when I do because I have a lot of material at those times of the year & reducing the volume helps me keep up with the garden spaces. Another option for cold composting that is super easy is sheet composting in place where you're not growing crops currently. Cover & let the worms work it for you to plant in a few seasons later. I do that in fall to plant in spring or sometimes in early spring to plant in once soil has warmed. Another way I keep it easy is to avoid adding any weed seeds to my cold compost piles. Sometimes that isn't possible, so if I have weedy waste I pile that separately to build a hot pile with it or bury somewhere in the wilder parts of our garden. I try not to work more than I have to! Using household paper waste is a great way to add bulk to your composting efforts. I added a step on trash can in the kitchen right next to the other trash & much more paper gets composted now. We've composted for many years & have had various buckets for collection, so though it's a habit the step on can has been the best idea ever helping us remember to add the paper trash to it instead of the other garbage can. Also, put 2 trash cans in each bathroom with one for paper trash like tissues & toilet paper rolls. The bulk of our paper trash though is from the kitchen. Hope that helps, Corrine

Stage Rat, Around here we can plant Astilbes in full sun although I try to give them shade for the noonish part of the day. As I made the bed I made a mental note of where the sun was at what part of the day and the Astilbes will be receiving direct sun after 2 pm but nice bright light before this. Our temperatures, because of the Atlantic Ocean being close by, are nice in the summer, rarely going over 90F. In terms of watering, as long as the soil has some moisture in it they will be fine once established. Basically just like any other plant. Soil which is completely dry will do them in. Even after no rain for two and a half weeks, the soil in this area still had moisture and Astilbes in other gardens have not been watered yet this season for the same reason. If I don't have to get the hose out, I don't. :O) Vera, I still have lots of room so you could bring them over here! I have several Hardy Hibiscus which were winter sown 5 years ago but have yet to see them bloom because of our coolish summers. Maybe one day... Bakemom, It is obvious that they amended the soil for the lawn years ago with some good topsoil so I was pleasantly surprised by it's quality. That coupled with the fact that I fling UCGs on the lawn twice every season made it nice to work with. Definitely not used to that. :O) What I am used to though is rocks and when I started planting I discovered a HUGE one right one the middle, and another a couple of feet away. Both are like icebergs - the tips are only 10% of the actual size - and to take them out would require a bulldozer. LOL! As usual, I'm working my way around them...

I'm so amazed to be in this situation! Usually the DH & I have (as he puts it) "enough ham to swing on" for days. I usually wind up freezing some of it. I think I'll go with a chicken or capon, just because I'm more familiar with cooking them. I have a Nuwave / Flavorwave oven (essentially a small portable oven). So I think that would be perfect. My experience in cooking salmon is very limited. I've only grilled salmon steaks before and that was a long time ago! I'd hate to botch it at Easter.

Here you go, Mara! Campbell's Cheesy Chicken & Rice Prep: 5 min. Bake: 45 min. 1 Can (10 3/4 oz.) Cream of Chicken Soup 1 1/3 c. water 3/4 c. uncooked long grain white rice 2 c. fresh or frozen vegetables 1/2 t. onion powder 4 Skinless,boneless chicken breast halves 1/2 c. reduced fat shredded Cheddar cheese. 1. Stir soup, water, rice, vegetables, and onion powder in 12" x 8" shallow baking dish. 2. Top wit chicken. Season chicken as desired. Cover. 3. Bake at 375° F. for 45 min. or until done. Top with cheese. Makes 4 servings. I made some wild rice and added that to it in addition to everything else. It was really good. I need to remember to make it in two foil pans next time. It's too much for just the two of us. DS is rarely home for dinner. We'll probably have the left overs tomorrow night, as I will be gone all day. We had meatloaf tonight! With mashed potatoes and gravy, and some wild rice mixed with green beans, salt & pepper. No problems with the tooth. DH is doing fine. By the time I had dinner ready, he was no longer numb. Tami