Jan- Trish is right on. Black plastic mulch is the best way to get rid of grass and bindweed. I have 3 acres with plastic on it right now and another 2 that will have it this spring. Another benefit is that the ground warms up faster, uses less water, and saves hundreds of hours on weeding. I weeded 1 1/2 acre in less than 1 hour a week all last year. I can send you the pics of how I use it if you need. I use 40' X 100" 6 mil, over lap the edges by 18" or so. I use the soil from around the edges to hold it down. Perennials are on a 2' X 2' and annuals 18" X 18". If you prepare your beds in the fall you will be hours ahead. I failed to take out the 1,000 purple majesty millet last fall and I am not looking forward to that but the rest should be easy. I put down the plastic, cut the holes, use two drills with bulb auggers, my youngest son lays out the 6 packs, usually we have 5 people planting and can do 400 plants a hour. Call around to all the farm and construction places for your plastic. I paid $120 a roll last year. What else is there to do? Watch the snow fly, order seed and bulbs, fill the flats with soil. Oh 1 other thing to do if you are planning on selling wholesale is to call on your customers and talk to them. Yesterday I was informed by one that she is buying all my veronica red fox, all my white sorghum, 1/2 of my hylander and tapestry millet and 1/4 or so of the celosia. Another wholesaler already had a standing order of 500 purple millet a week. I need to fill out my FM applications too. That does not include cutting all the curly and pussywillow and preparing to give a presentation at our ag conference. Good luck. Bryan

Vaporvac: I bought Shocking Blue, Zeph. Drouhin, Savannah, and Orchid Romance. Really kick myself for NOT getting those huge bags of MG-garden-soil for roses sold for $4 each at Walmart early spring. Walmart is sold out, same with HomeDepot, and Lowe's selling it for $9 per bag !! My roses which were grown in MG-moisture-control potting soil had wimpy roots and didn't survive my winter, but my roses which were grown in heavy & wet soil like MG-Garden-soil for roses developed THICK & SOLID roots that survive winter and flower lots. It's even wetter than my clay !! For the record: every own-root (be it tiny band-size) or gallon-size which I planted right smack into my dense & alkaline clay survive many winters, but the ones which I babied in pots (with potting soil) grew wimpy roots that didn't survive zone 5a winter, no matter how I did it: be it putting potting soil into the ground, or grow in pots 1st, then transfer to the ground (my alkaline clay) later. MG-garden-soil for roses (pink-bag with pic. of roses) was on sale at Walmart for $4 per huge bag. That soil is AWESOME in moisture-retention. I had 3 bags opened in hot sun over 90 F: Hyponex potting soil, Scott's premium bagged soil, and MG-garden-soil-for roses. Hyponex dried up into hard-granules, Scott's-top-soil dried up to hard-black-pellets, but MG-soil-for roses STAYED WET AND FLUFFY. I moved W.S. 2000 (own-root) right before winter, and planted that in a bag of MG-garden-soil for roses (only $4), plus mixed In gypsum. W.S. 2000 was the 1st rose to bloom (despite being moved), and having 20+ buds right now as own-root. Own-roots have short roots, so they can't reach down below for minerals, best use a HIGH-MINERALS & HIGH-NUTRIENTS soil like MG-garden-soil-for roses, which has black-peat (de-composed humus), plus peatmoss & pH-balanced to neutral with lime. Fluffy potting soil like MG-moisture control can't enable solid roots for winter-survival, like heavy clay or heavy soil like MG-garden-soil for roses. For newly bought own-roots I have to use a HUGE amount of soluble-fertilizer NPK 20-20-20 weekly to get blooms. Potting soil has zero-nutrients peatmoss, plus a few chemical granular-fertilizer. Too much hassle to fertilize frequently so I would rather use a rich & fertile soil like MG-garden-soil for roses, which is dense & heavy & black peat mixed with peatmoss, rather than fluffy-peat-moss-potting soil which produced wimpy alfalfa-sprout roots and thin canes. I have never seen any black soil which retain moisture as long as MG-garden-soil for roses, see below pic. In contrast, there's the lousy rating for MG-garden soil with mostly wood-chips. Below soil has perfect rating everywhere: Walmart-site, and 33 perfect reviews at HomeDepot site:

I have a whole system when I bring my plants in. Luckily, here in south Arkansas, I usually don't have to bring mine in until around Halloween. My husband had a bread route & we have tons of trays after his helper didn't unload at the depot like he was supposed to. The picture shows two ways I use the trays & is from a post I did for my Facebook group. The bottom picture shows how I recycle old potting soil by pouring boiling water over it until the soil is completely soaked. I make sure it's over a weedy area or the driveway so the water doesn't scald anything I care about. The holes in the trays allow the water to drain out & away. When I start bringing plants in, I fill a kiddie pool with plants, making sure pots aren't touching. As the pool fills with water, I dump 2 or 3 bottles of hydrogen peroxide & several squirts of whatever dish washing liquid I have. I let the plants soak for at least an hour or so. If the plant has large leaves or stems, I take a cloth soaked in the soapy water & wipe them. I also wipe the pots if they are dirty. I then put the pot on an overturned bread tray. I then rinse the plant & pot with the water hose. I leave it to drain completely for at least an hour (or more, depending on what I've got going on). Sometimes I sprinkle seven dust or DE before bringing in.

The rule of thumb is that it's cheaper to go up instead of out because of the extra foundation and roofing required. However, if one were to add in an expensive elevator, etc., those costs would be offset somewhat. Another factor is whether the upstairs area will be under a one level steep-pitched roof (think: bonus rooms) or if there will be full height walls constructed. Our house is 2700ish (3 BR) on one level and another 600ish (2 add'l BRs and bath) in a bonus-type area under a 9/12 pitched roof. That space would've still been there but unfinished had we not converted it to bedrooms. Therefore, our the additional cost for that space was is somewhat negligible.