Hello, everyone. I have a question regarding nitrogen fixing by certain soil components, and how it influences organic fertilization. I am trying to develop a better soil for my potted maples, and have found as a component (in addition to pine bark pieces, and perlite) a mix of composted bark, wood chaff, cocofiber and cocopeat plus low initial organic fertilization. I chose the product to avoid peat, and because it uses very little initial fertilization - it's a mix for growers, and not especially meant for the 'end user'. I talked to a couple of representatives from the firm and two growers who use that particular product. The reps in particular mentioned that I needed to take into account the nitrogen deficit that occurs with the coco products contained. This, plus the low initial fertilization seemed fine to me. They mentioned for instance 'horn meal' meaning, I guess, parts of ground cow horns, for additional nitrogen. (Is this the same as bone meal?) Now since they were so adamant about this, I'd like to find out what I need to do, or worry about, if anything. I plan to fertilize these maples that are about 5-7 years old once the leaves are about 70% out, in May and only then. I was thinking about may be trying the product you mention above, as well as non organic fertilizers on other maples. Do I need to add anything when I repot now because of this issue? As I said, I was not planning to do this. If I need to add a little more nitrogen to compensate later, how much? The product has an initial low organic fertilization, like this : N 50 - 110 mg / l P 30 - 70 mg / l K 460 - 700 mg / l PH: 6-6.8 Salt: 0.4-0.8g/l Thanks for any input. schusch PS: I know these indications are in grams and liters, but since recalculating would imply me knowing how these indications are listed in North America, I thought I'd leave it as is.

I was in a very similar situation a couple years ago. I wanted a midcentury modern home but it had to be in a specific area. Prices were still depressed at that time, but I knew they were bound to increase soon. I had been watching a home online that was built by one of my favorite 1950's architects. I had seen black and white pics of the house from the 50's and it was beautiful then. Unfortunately, the previous owners had altered much of the architecture. The price was much too high. When the price decreased significantly, the realtor and I went to look at it. It had also been abandoned for 10 yrs. There was major water damage EVERYWHERE. The ceiling ballooned out all over the place. The patio overhang and soffit had areas of rot. The carpet had water damage. The realtor and I walked out laughing that anyone would think they could sell the house for the asking price (which was still above my budget). We looked at more homes, but the bones of these homes did not compare to the damaged home. The home had walls of glass, amazing views of the city and mountains and in my opinion had great potential. When I wanted to make an offer on it, the realtor was shocked. He tried to talk me out of it. But I felt it was a matter of time before I was priced out of this area and despite the terrible condition of the home, it had other things going for it. Before making an offer, we had a roofer look at the roof. Like your roof, it had been replaced in the last 10 yrs. All I can figure is that no one had bothered to repair the extensive drywall damage. The exterior soffit damage was from condensation in AC vents (yes- they had AC on the patio!). After haggling with the bank (shortsale), I finally got the house. I remember that night thinking, WHAT HAVE I DONE? The house has taken extensive investment. It is not done, and because of the expense, I am taking my time with it. I did put in new floors, new roof, new electrical, new kitchen, drywall, opened the floorplan up, etc. The house just appraised for much higher than I paid. If I were you, I would have a roofer look at the roof to verify it is intact. Try to get a contractor out there also to give you his/her opinion on the source of the water damage elsewhere and his worst cost estimate. Think about the WORST possible outcome with the water damage and decide if you are willing to pay this for the house. I was fortunate that for my house the water damage, although it looked awful, was negligible for cost. If you really want the house, repairing the issues may be worth it. Dont forget that other things might need repair/replacing - HVAC system, etc.

CC Thanks! gumby - yes, the 5ft decision wasn't easy. I practiced digging/planting/pruning in the middle of the first bed to make sure I'm ok with it before I built the rest. It helps me a lot that I have a place to sit/step on and reach in. Trellis support (aka el conduit) is still in pieces. I planted rattlesnake and garden of eden pole beans and they will be the first to need it, but not in the next several weeks, I don't think. I should have some their trellis ready by then. defrost - yes I can use a board if I need to, and except for tomatoes, I will keep all my tall plants on the north (top) side of the beds to keep them from shading the rest of the bed. If it turns out it is a big problem, I'll just rearrange them. It will likely be a weekend project to do it. Everything except the blackberries (not here yet), strawberries (last fall), blueberries(last fall), garlic (last fall), pawpaws(not here) and figs(not here) was planted during the week. I can't wait to see things grow in these new beds! Next I'm starting to prepare my tomatoes and peppers. In a couple of weeks I'll plant some more lettuce in the bottom left bed and maybe some more spring crops. It might get too hot for them, but we'll see. The rest of the open area will be mostly tomatoes and peppers, okra and some eggplant.

I've never seen in cracked. Not in any house Ive ever looked at. That's an installation error. And heated tile floors are dirt cheap! I have a tiny bath, I'll admit. But we had to remove the subfloor and ceiling and move walls. My materials were: $1k Maax jetted tub with heater and sound package. $1.25k vanity, granite top (my mistake--chose black--don't do this), medicine cabinet, IKEA cabinet in toilet niche, standing cabinet $800 plumbing fixtures: shower panel, diverter, tub filler, sink faucet $200 solid core two panel raised door $550 tile Toilet was already new. $350 frameless doors $200 hydronic towel heater $350 light fixtures $200 floor heat Drywall, subfloor, joint compound, green glue, cement board, red guard, primer, paint, mortar, leveling compound, grout, caulk: $1250 Plumbers: $1500 across two bathrooms My hourly friend: About the same Electrician: $350 across two bathrooms Finish work guy: going to hit $2k before he's done. I did about $1500 worth of work, too. So I definitely lowballed above with two for $12k, even not counting my work. $10k master--second bathroom I did way more work on, and the materials were quite a bit cheaper, so it works out to $6k--hired out, it would have been more like $8k. My first master bath ever I did for resale. It was WAY bigger, 18' by just over 8', but I chose the cheapest, nicest looking, well-built neutral materials I could get. So it was right at $10k in today's dollars, too. An addition: The foam insulation for the attic that was exposed was $1300. (Only way to reach recommended R value with our construction.) I also used it in the master bath walls and all around the cantilevered rim joist when we tore out the lower floor, so accounting for that is tricky. I also got to use the next door neighbors' extra dumpster space in return for helping her go through her basement. That saved a lot.