when i moved here.. i brought 1500 potted hosta ... in promix.. heavy peat media ... rototilled to 12 inches .. and slipped the hosta out of the pot .. and stuck the media in the native sand ... over the years.. many cared not a bit.. and thrived.. then i started getting fairy rings [the middle dying in EXACTLY the size of the pot/media] .. and out right loss ... the problem is that the sand was wicking all the moisture out of the peat media .. especially come july and august ... when the sand was really hot ... so.. it is best.. to plant them in native soil ... and not leave that wad of media ... thought the better your soil.. the less it matters ... ===>>>>> by making the cone.. and really firming it up.. you can .. hopefully .. set and retain the plant at the PROPER PLANTING DEPTH .... if some of your hosta.. end up planted too deep ... THEY COME UP LATE ... and many will suffer ...in the long run ... if and when they come up .. and they are late.. then they need to be dug up.. and replanted AT THE APPROPRIATE DEPTH ... the pips.. eyes .. NEED TO BE AT SOIL LEVEL ... not one inch lower ... THERE are 3 parts to a hosta.. the roots.. and the leaves .. and between the two.. is a potato like thingee called the crown ... and the crown .. like an iris.. is at soil level ... another way to tell if they are too deep .. is that if the3y are supposed to be 12 inches tall .. and yours is say.. 8 inches.. and just look squat ... then you poke around.. and see if you can find the crown.. most times.. you will find it a couple inches too deep .... ====>>>> chris grows his in mother earth ... i dont know what his potting media is ... ====>>>> you do not need to remove 100% ... just shake off the majority of the media .... if it is severely root bound.. use the hose ... ===>>> potting media is not soil ... if you want to pot them .. use a PROPER MEDIA ... new post if you cant find old posts on that topic ... if no one above suggested what kind .. ===>>>> did i miss any other questions??? ken

Azura, last year was my first real veggie garden, and I learned a lot. There were successes and failures, but I enjoyed it so much. Skybird is right about you wanting to make it bigger next year. I created a separate bed for the herbs this year, just so I could plant more veggies in veggie garden. So far, I planted onion sets and peas (twice). I also have five kinds of lettuce, and broccoli sprouts that were wintersown, that I might plant out as soon as the crazy winds die down. Plus there are tomatoes and peppers in my kitchen windowsill, and tomatoes that were wintersown but haven't germinated yet. I'm also direct sowing carrots maybe this week, but the cucumbers, canteloupes, and beans won't get planted for another month or so. My goal is for as much variety as possible, even if it means just one or two plants of each - 5 kinds of beans, 4 kinds of canteloupe, 5 kinds of carrots, 4 kinds of cukes, 7 kinds of peppers, and as many different tomatoes as I can cram into the space that's left, and the Earthbox I just bought. I'd rather have too many plants and have to give some away, than to realize I have empty space in the garden, and not enough time to start something else before the end of the season. The bed and soil look great, and I wish you a bountiful harvest. Bonnie

I recently purchased a Sri, from reading most people don't get the short styles to fruit. Guess I should have researched before going on my clearance frenzy. But I've read a couple of instances, including Michigan where they fruit heavily without the presence of a long style variety. It sounds like some regions might have a small polinator that can get the job done. I guess it could be the case of either mis-identification of plant type or longer styles on a short variety. I saw a table awhile back listing all of the short and long style cultivars. There were quite a few in each column. The Kari and Arkin seemed to be the most readily available of the long styles. Guess I'll be getting another tree.....again. I think I'll wait until the tree irritates me by not fruiting.

I haven't scalped the lawn, just got it shorter in preparation for the aeration. The reason why I'm aerating is because it hasn't been done in a while judging by the soil - the thatch alone after a quick rake was enough to build another lawn from the dead material! The question is more directed towards seeding - Temps have been steadily dropping in the evening and I want to make sure I have the right plan (both financially and logically) before the frost comes. Since seeding after core aeration is a standard practice, I was wondering the best course of action while in a water ban.