What does the label say? Pre-emergents affect ALL seeds, but it only affects them as seeds. Once they sprout, it no longer should have any effect. Mix 3/4 of your compost with the existing soil and level it. Then, just to be safe, fill the rest of the bed with a mix of some of your compost and soil from non-treated soil. What you're aiming for is a 'safe zone' for your seeds, where they won't come in contact with the herbicide until after they sprout. Next time, why not just lay some cardboard over the grass and pin it down with your garden box, and let the lack of light kill off the grass? Do this in fall, and fill the box with leaves and grass clippings. By spring, rake off anything the soil creatures haven't eaten and dragged underground, and you'll have a nice bed, ready to plant, and it won't have all the 'seasonings' of the toxins of this chemical soup. Adding chemicals to good compost seems kind of contradictory, IMO. One of the big advantages of home gardening is knowing what's in your fruits and veggies, and what IS NOT in your fruits and veggies, esp if you are feeding children, elderly or people with compromised immune systems. I looked up the MSDS (Material Safety & Data Sheet) for this product, and when I see a warning like the next paragrah (for Dithiopyr, the active ingredient), I do tend to wonder about the accumulative effects: Ingestion: Call a physician or poison control center. Give person 1 to 2 glasses of water to drink, and induce vomiting by touching the back of throat with finger. If Syrup of Ipecac is available, give 1 tablespoon (15ml) followed by 1 to 2 glasses of water. If vomiting does not occur within 20 minutes, repeat dosage once. Never induce vomiting or give anything by mouth to an unconscious or convulsing person. Note to physician: no specific antidote is available. Treat symptomatically. The other ingredients aren't any better: Heavy aromatic naphtha Naphthalene 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene 2-Ethylhexanol Many people argue that all these chemicals break down in the soil. Yes, they can, IF the soil is biologically active, and IF they aren't over-applied, which is usually not the case, which is why they show up in your drinking water. Okay, rant over. Sue

Dear Jen, Most places will deliver. I also live in Lake O. and usually go to a place off 99 across from Loen's nursery (can't recall the name), or to S&H Logging company near the roundabout on Stafford Road just off 205. I don't know how to determine the best compost, but I have had no issues with materials from these companies, and I usually get the yard waste compost. S and H has a good selection of amendments as well, such as sandy loam.

Heritage Rock and Clackamas Landscape Supply are very close to our house and are very close to each other. We have bought a lot from both places. Heritage Rock has a bargain bin in the back that sometimes has good deals. Clackamas Landscape Supply also sometimes has deals in bins near their office. Spend some time driving and walking around each. Bring mud boots! Clackamas Landscape Supply has excellent 4-way-blend topsoil. They will deliver it by the yard in a dump truck. The delivery guy is superb. Or they will load it into your truck or trailer. They load it into our 5-gallon buckets when we need piecemeal extra. When we started our yard we used lots of different nurseries and landscape supply companies and we ended up settling on Clackamas Landscape Supply for best value. It's also near the Oregon City Dump and the Recycle Yard Debris place. Makes it really handy for lots of ppl, long lines of full trucks on the weekends. Beginning of this February, bought 14 yards (one huge dump truck) of 4-way-blend and 5 tons of sage granite patio stones (extra thick flagstones on clearance) from Clackamas Landscape Supply and finished multiple raised walking paths through our swamp yard since the muddy ruts made maneuvering dangerous without it. It looks fabulous and is now very easy to get around for watering, pruning, weeding, etc. It's expensive but it's a forever improvement, quite vast striking improvement and one of the smartest things we've done. Should have done it the 1st year!

Best Places to find a variety: Family Tree Nursery (several locations OP, Shawnee and I think up North) Heartland Nursery at View High Dr and I-470 (Very South KC) Soil Service Garden Center at 72nd and Troost KC, Mo Farrand Farms - 5941 South Noland Road Kansas City, MO For heirlooms you wont find elsewhere: Brookside Farmers Market 63rd St And Wornall Rd KC, Mo (look for Bear Creek Farms or KCCUA) There are also some events you will find different plants: Up coming events you can find plants from local growers Eat Local 2009!! 11th Annual Farmer's Exhibition Buy Direct from Local Family Farms  High-quality, organic vegetables available on-site and thru CSA memberships  Free Range meats, eggs and dairy products  Veggie seedlings and plants for spring gardens  Free Directory of Local Organic and Free Range Food Producers  Free admission, free parking  Original music by Eco-Troubadour Stan Slaughter Saturday, March 28th - 9 AM to 2 PM Shawnee Civic Center 13817 Johnson Dr., Shawnee, KS (2 miles east of I-435) Saturday, April 4th 9:15 AM to 2:00 PM Roger T. Sermon Community Center Truman & Noland Rd, Independence, MO (Corner of Truman and Noland Roads, Independence, Missouri) KC Community Farm Veggie & Transplant Sale Saturday, April 4 - 10 AM - 3 PM Kansas City Center For Urban Agriculture - KCCUA 4223 Gibbs Rd, Kansas City, KS 66106 Places like Suburban or the Grass Pad really dont have much on selection for tomatoes. They are better "landscape" sources. The best places for seed selections are Planters Seed in the River Market dowtown KC, Family Tree Nurseries (one in OP tends to have more) and Earl Mays (if there are any still around) Heartland Nursery has one of the better selections of annuals and perennial varieties (that you wont find elsewhere) but like Family Tree tend to be a little pricey. They are both worth going and just seeing what they have though! Planters Seed is also a very interesting place.