Thanks for the tip, Mary Anne. I am a huge fan of coffee grounds. I would say by now my beds are about 90% coffee! But I am leaving my wonderful, developed soil and moving to a new place with tons more gardening room, but unfortunately, the soil has been stripped bare over the last few years, with no OM added. So I am "cheating" a bit this fall when I move in by adding a LOT of compost and untreated alfalfa meal on top of soaked newspaper, topped off by cocoa mulch, and planting in the Spring. Coffee grounds and mulched leaves will be added as they happen but I wanted a big head start. (Compost, alfalfa meal, cocoa mulch, coffee grounds and shredded leaves are my favourite "recipe" for soil.) Aray, alfalfa meal is terrific for grass. I prefer meal to the pellets because it is compsoed of tiny little pieces, which break down very quickly. And a 55 pound bag, once spread and water added, goes a long, long way. Many "organic" lawn fertilizers are basically alfalfa meal. Treemedic, the feed store is called Kipling Feed (416-239-2024) but they ordered the meal in especially for me...they don't carry it ordinarily. I don't know if they ordered any extra. But just ask the feed store closest to you and I am certain they will order the stuff in for you. It is not hard to come by, but most places need you to give them a week to get it.

Well it is about time! American Holly is a native down here on the south coast, with huge tree sized specimen's growing in the woods near my house and some spectacular 40 footers in yards. They pop up like weeds on my property, but I have never had much luck transplanting. And I almost never see them in the local nurseries. This has never made sense to me. They sell many other holly cultivars locally, some not so well suited to our winter climate (like English Holly) but they pass over the hardier native. I know Sylvan nursery in Westport MA has had them in the past, but only super large sizes that cost mega bucks and require a large truck to move.

Wanted to see if there are any updates. I honestly dont know what to do to make my next soil mix. I have a bucket left of Flourite, Ill use that in place of turface. I used it for a few years to feed my aquatic plants. Flourite absorbs nutrients from the water and releases it slowly to the plant roots. I can buy succulent soil from anywhere, I think its the same price everywhere. I still need to call humber to check for periite, I went there a few weeks ago and didnt see any perilite. I also cannot buy it in cu ft because I dont have the space. Bark, Ive not seen bark anywhere where its not an inch in size. Same thing for crushed granite, no idea where they will have it.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, but as it turned out, Sony decided not to send anyone to Toronto and is going to let the staff in Toronto work it out on their own without a director. I guess that is one way for them to save money. So I will wait for warmer weather before I visit Toronto, and Kevin will not be there, unless he goes with me. Last week a friend asked me to go to Brazil with him some time next year after April. He has to settle an estate there, and he knew that I could take the time off. We'll see if that materializes. I would like to visit Brazil, but I've been afraid to go because I do not speak Portuguese, but my friend does, and that would make me feel more comfortable. He will be mainly going to Rio de Janeiro, but would be making side trips to Petrópolis and other places.