I bought three 10 cubic yard truckloads of compost from a "certified" compost maker. Being certified they supposedly were required to measure the temperature of their huge piles twice a day. They were associated with a horse stable that at the peak had 220 horses supplying manure for their piles, which they mixed with the wood shavings bedding. So they knew what was going into their compost and controlled every step. It was good stuff, didn't smell and didn't attract flies, and was double screened so didn't have any of the usual plastic bags, soda cans, and broken glass you often find in commercial compost. That said, even though they claimed it was weed free I have more weeds coming up on my property than any of my neighbors, particularly in areas where I spread the compost. Most annoying is some tall, coarse meadow grass that has sprouted all over my property, and I am the only one in the area that has this so I am sure it came from viable seeds in the compost. So if even the best stuff one can buy made in piles six to eight feet high and containing hundreds of cubic yards can't get the compost hot enough to kill grass and weed seeds, I don't see how a little drum containing maybe one cubic yard maximum could get hot enough.

Oh my. What is a passionate rose lover like you doing in that glacial hell hole? Reading about your endeavors has exhausted me and I haven't even lifted a shovel. I admire your grit and determination, but would love to see you rewarded with thousands of blooms on your rose bushes for all your hard work. I bet they could use engineers in zones 7 to 10!

Interesting thread. A couple thoughts: Nearly every property I have ever seen of any character whatsoever has had SOME horticultural flaws. For me on several properties it has been run away honeysuckle. Try getting ANYONE to come help haul THAT stuff away? Its just NOT going to happen. Or, it may be ivy everywhere, or privet.... Or, it may be hedges or large trees that have been pruned in such a way that the annual cycle of pruning cannot ever be safely abandoned. Not to mention the offensive aesthetic of mature trees that have been robbed of their natural form by the utility companies- forever. Or trees placed dangerously close to a house with large overhanging branches. Trees with annoyingly shallow roots that are impossible to garden under. ETc, etc. If I were a realtor with clients looking at a house that seemed perfect in every way except for some bamboo that was offputting to them- I would make sure they considered the 101 alternative landscaping nightmares that they either hadn't considered or have just learned to adapt to before they walked away nervously.... Ultimately, I think for most buyers- sufficient proof will be in the pudding- if the hedge is well kept, buyers will see the beauty. If its out of control, they are going to see chaos. Many houses I have previewed come with packets of info highlighting the houses attributes. I don't see why you couldnt include a little faq sheet about bamboo, playing up the positives like its renewability and usefulness and including its manageability with an explanation about annual root pruning. If there is a clumper that does the job you need it to do in your area, then sure that MIGHT be the most saleable option, but only assuming you have a buyer savy enough to realize that there is more than one type of bamboo, or that is willing to listen/read. Remember- most people buying those little plants with the plastic pandas think they are actually getting bamboo and have trouble getting to the correct forum even when they are (obviously) interested in learning more. Im sure there are plenty of people who would be immune to Buddyboy's sign- who think they know what bamboo is and how bad it is- end of story. I wonder if THIS is not the more relevant issue when it comes to resale value and perhaps where the participants of this forum might be blinded.... THE BIGGER QUESTION?!?!?!?!..... Does it ultimately pay to have SO many DIFFERENT types of bamboo on a less than humongous lot? Seems to me that people are VERY VERY fond of their big uninform hedges. And, alternately, that the ones who might appreciate a traditional mixed planting for the variety of plant form and bloom display it can offer may not see enough distinction between 15-30 different types of bamboo to offset what might just be interpreted as irregularity of growth. Have any of you attempted to give tours of your collection gardens and watched your non-gardening friends eyes cross as you tried to explain the difference between this species and the next? Friends who are not altogether immune to the beauty of nature, but just don't have that special bamboo "bug"? Honestly? I've recently been convinced that rhizome pruning is a reasonable and reliable option of control, but THIS is the issue that I'm now struggling with..... Ultimately, I will do what I decide I like but I've bought and sold too many properties not to give this some consideraiton. There has to be a balance, at least from my perspective. Frankly, I guess I still have to make that decision as to whether I find bamboo jum-com-bos aesthetically pleasing myself. I've formed little collections in a number of different plant genera, but in nothing as imposing as bamboo.

Hello Len and everyone else, Sorry for the delay in getting back to you hope my life settles down a bit now. The hardpan area is the area visible from the paddock gate hence it colours my perception of the paddocks but not in a rose-coloured-glasses way. When I actually walk the paddocks and remember what they used to be like 9 years ago IÂm pleased and heartened with how much progress they/we/IÂve made. A lot of the hardpan (which was only 1/3 of the area to begin with) has now been converted to useable soil, even if itÂs not used for growing food right now. And I have enough experience with it now to know how to go about converting the remainder. The area in front of the sheds was really bad  full Sun in Summer and hard baked. CouldnÂt even drill a hole in it with the hose going full bore. I scrapped enough depth to get some tree seedlings in, and used to water it with a circular sprinkler which wasted a lot of water but at least soaked the ground enough for some infiltration. Then I used any and everything I could get to shade the ground. I used 2 old timber pallets and grass clippings, used cat litter (pelletised paper), shredded paper, anything. Eventually I had the ground shaded and watered enough for the greeblies to move back in and now the trees are doing well. But this was a small area, wouldnÂt want to try rehabbing large areas that way. The goose yard and the rainforest patch are also on ex-hardpan, further downslope from those first trees. Info on plants says whether they are Âfull sun or Âpart sun but in my experience this is too vague. Full sun in cold climates is not the same as full sun in the tropics  they need to specify hours, or temperature, or exposure conditions. Now that most parts of this area have half-day shade it is improving but still it required nursing of trees that are actually hardy full sun species. IÂve had time so been doing some thinking about strategic directions. The three big issues to be overcome are : harvesting the rare but heavy rain events; rehabilitating the hardpan areas; and getting microclimates established to moderate the extreme heat (ie shade). Installing rainwater tanks is both impractical and not necessary as we have town water. The money is better spent elsewhere. So hereÂs what IÂm thinking of doing. One downspout from the house, possibly two, could have ag pipe fitted to collect roofwater and these could be laid along the ground beside the fence, dropping water into the paddock. This prevents water lying around the house yard and harvests it for paddock use. The 2 sheds currently have no gutters or downspouts  when it rains water falls and lies everywhere, if enough of it, then it flows across to the front of the paddock gate and then down slope where vehicle access normally is. It is starting to develop into gully erosion but still very small and preventable. So I can put gutters and downpipes on the sheds and collect the water, preventing all-over mud (if/when it ever rains!). Then attach more ag pipe or similar to collect the water from the down spout and pipe it into a shallow basin nearby (where the aforementioned timber pallets rehab took place). The geese would then puddle in this mud, so I could then scrap off the top mud layers and use to heap up along the downslope edge of the basin (swale). Runoff then would infiltrate into the soil, so watering the trees over the long term. Now the hardpan has two good points, it sheets water and is easy to drive on even when wet. So I can use those two points to my advantage. IÂll set up vehicle access lanes. Between the rainforest and the immediate neighbours backyards, and downslope of the paddock gate, thereÂs a large triangle of open hardpan still to be converted. I can have this ripped, and plough lots of cow and horse manure in (I can buy this cheap locally) and fence it off, leaving room for vehicles between the various fences. Then plant it with a mixture of herbs and vegies. Any water running off from further up will infiltrate when it hits this planted area. In other words it will act as both garden and subsurface dam. It gets full Sun in Summer and Winter. Those are the plans in my head at present. I need to think some more about them and see what refinements I can add. If anyone wants to contribute ideas, questions, criticisms, IÂd be pleased to hear from you. I am using this forum as a sounding board for my thoughts so apologies about the length of this post!! Explaining it all to you guys has helped me to think through my ideas so it has been a big help already. Kind regards, Luisa