they definitely sell topsoil around here...by the bag or by the truckload...it sure looks pretty but it's definitely garbage. don't throw things at me though...because i just used some in my mom's yard. her soil was too rich for the type of garden she wanted...xeric. she had added so much compost over the years..i just knew the heads of all of her echinacea would be flopping over in no time! so...i had to basically cut the quality of her soil a bit. sad..huh? i added only 6 cubic feet...i'm not sure if it will make a difference or not..but i wasn't going to add compost! when i put in my raised beds, i ordered something called planter's mix. i think it was a 70% topsoil 30% compost mix...and i STILL had to add TONS and TONS of compost and manure to get that soil fertile enough to grow good plants. the soil was horribly hydrophobic too! anyway..in horticulture class..my professor warned everyone against "topsoil." he said it has no organic matter and will not support plants on it's own. in my soil class...we learned that silt makes great soil! so edie...just start adding compost and you'll be happy with your soil in no time!

Wonbyherwits - that is sort of like I was thinking - maybe a little bigger. Basically, the way the county people described it to me, I should be able to buy the big (10"-12" diameter) black corrugated plastic pipe with Y-shaped "wings" on the ends, that would sort of serve as a funnel to collect the runoff and channel it down into the pipe. But I would want the wings to be only off to the sides, not on the top or bottom, since this pipe has to sit flush on the ground (the ground is too unstable from erosion to dig into it).

I still have a few more to send out so if you were on the Christmas list whether you are in my group or not your card is still coming. Thank you all for the nice cards. My mailman said I knew people in a lot of different places.

Some kind of climber, apparently. Nettles (Urtica) seen in temperate climates are perennials with creeping root-stocks, tops that die off every winter - maybe you don't even have those in Jamaica.