Right now, I need a sump pump...and I live on a hill. More rain in the forecast, too. The weather pattern has changed here - normally an El Nino year means severe drought in Oklahoma. Not this season anyway. With our normally semi-dry to dry summers, I use the garden hose to water EVERY day in most areas and every other day in other areas that prefer dryer conditions. We have our own well, so I can also use the sprinkler without ill affects on my plants. It is just like rain water. The birds, butterflies, bees and amphibians love it too. When I hand water, the birds follow me from tree to tree, so I spray up into the trees and they chirp and sing for me. The occasional tortoise will come out of hiding for a long, cool drink, too. I set the mister on the tropicals and water-loving ferns etc. to keep them happy. This takes all day. I use soaker hoses under my veggies when it is very hot and very dry to prevent scorching and so the water will get down deep where the nutrients are and encourage deep roots. For under my Phlox and roses, &etc., I screw on a fan sprayer and let it run slowly, gently and deeply under them to prevent leaf-scorch, and do this as often as needed. I even water in the winter if it is a dry winter. Soil heave (freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw) is terrible here in Okie, and in dry winters this will kill plants and even small trees and shrubs. And of course, potted plants need a drink just about every day in the summer. That is how I have to do it here to keep mine alive year round. ~Annie

Willamette, There are a lot of factors that determine your success. Lots of people have a lot of good answers. I have a little over an acre that I took on because a friend does very well on his little acre by Seattle. He and his wife are retired and do theirs alone. They have corn, beans, squash, peas, carrots, berries, lettuce, potatoes and the like. He has a mid-size Kubota and a good gas tiller. He lives next to his plot and his wife cooks for him. After watching his success for years I jumped when I had the chance to have a similiar plot. Boy, did I have a lot to learn! It's a lot different than a garden. My plot is about 5 miles from my house so tractors, tools, equipment and so on must be hauled down there. Top speed on the Deere is 12-15mph. I also have 4 kids and I do all the cooking and canning although my husband helps with the haying he still has a full time job, I mean besides fixing what I break :p My 15yo son was to help but he injured himself and could not work all summer. While my friend's garden looked beautiful, mine suffered comensurate to the neglect it suffered. Also, my land owner specified in our agreement that I could not use chemicals, pesitcides or herbicides due to the fields proximity to his house and his family's allergies. While my friend in Seattle does not use row covers or black paper mulches, I am definitely planning on using them this year to thwart the squash bugs and weeds. There are some implements I think will help immensely, esp. a 3 pt cultivator.(Honey, if you are reading this, my birthday is coming up! :) This year I am also planning on fewer vegetables and more grain crops (oats and spelt). Hopefully my son won't get hurt this year and the kids manage better, maybe even help out a little. I may even bring along the chicken tractor and move that around to help control more weeds. It can be done, and one of these days I will get it done. Meantime, I listen to the old farmers, read, and roll up my sleeves. I love watching seeds grow up into food that goes into my pantry. The sense of accomplishment when I see my loft full of hay, jars full of food and my pantry filled with apples, squash and beans from my own hand is worth the effort.

my daughter and i did alot of research about a week ago online. the general thing we noticed was it depends on a couple things. in the end we came to the conclusion that starbucks coffee grounds, (they give away the used for free just ask for it) are PH 5. how ever i can't say all coffee is the same. with that said if you are putting coffee straight from a new can of coffee into your bin thats more acidic. the acid is in your cup of coffee not as much is in your already used coffee grounds. yes they do heat a bin fast and hot!! i am trying my own experiment. i have a 4'x4'x4' wood bin, it sits in my back yard. we do get cold weather here in upstate ny. i am using alot of used coffee grounds, one bail of straw, alot of shredded leaves, newspaper, cardboard (courigated and egg cartons, drink tray), as well as kitchen scraps as much as i can get, i also begg my friends, relatives, neighbors. my goal is to keep my bin from freezing using no man made heat. so far i have a 20 to 30 degree temp warmer inside my bin from out side temps. so far so good, the bad weather still ahead. enjoy your worms, hope i have helped at least some. good luck all!

Wow, am I envious! I live in the Tampa Bay area and we are hoping to come in somewhere about $110-120/ft. Average prices are between $175-300/ft. The main thing to consider is that our building codes are probably some of the strictest in the country due to the hurricanes. The home is built to withstand 130mph winds. It is built from concrete block which definitely increases our cost substantially. As we are the GC, we did hire a manager to over see the entire project (he also did the slab/block/frame). But the money we are paying him to manage is definetly worth the peace of mind! He is very reputable in our area and has many many contacts so we are able to get his pricing. In the end, his management fee will probably wash with the savings. We are also going pretty high end with everything else from windows to appliances to flooring and so forth. In the end, it will all be worth it. However, our cost to build does not include what we paid for the lot. Land is NOT abundant here and you pay for it - ALOT. Our lot had a home which we initially wanted to add on to. But after talking with our architect and engineer, the cost was more to do that (by going up a floor) than it was to demo and start over. We went that route since then we are not limited to the footprint and could then have exactly what we wanted. Our new home is 4000 sq ft living/8900 sq ft under roof incl 1500 sq ft covered lanai/3 car garage/semi-detached 4 car garage. So, with all of this, in the end we should be about $450K (not including pool). For Florida, this is not bad at all.