Hardin, as you know, the three major growth nutrients or requirements for plants and algae are N-P-K (and carbon and oxygen are assumed to always be available). By adding potassium (also known as potash) and nitrate then phosphorous becomes the definite, limiting growth nutrient; plants such as water hyacinths, water lettuce, etc. will then actively compete for all available phosphorous. When you buy "Stump remover" make sure it is the potassium nitrate variety (there are a few out there that are not). You might be able to find some packages of potassium nitrate fertilizer but I prefer the "stump remover" package since it comes in small quantities and it will cake up a bit on storage (I'm too lazy to keep busting up a 20 or 50 pound bag!). One can usually lasts me a couple of years. I add about 1 tablespoon to my pond about every 5-7 days until things are where I want them. This creates - in my pond - a nitrate concentration of approximately 1.5 ppm. This is a short-burst concentration which is rapidly assimilated by the plants and not harmful to the fish. You would probably see a similar burst in nitrate if you monitored nitrates on a continuous basis for a few hours after you feed them (ammonia excreted by fish, converted to nitrites and then nitrates). I would adjust the amount I add if I had any significant background concentration of nitrates prior to adding stuff. Below is a little spread sheet in Excel you can use to calculate what you need. If that format doesn't work please let me know. This should also help your water hyacinths look much, much better. As I stated earlier, I prefer this approach...it may be a bit slower but I like the idea of stimulating biology to deal with a biological problem whenever possible. Plus it's cheaper!!!! :-)) Hope this helps. ---David P.S. Hey there Horton! I knew you'd say the same thing but I didn't want you to get a cramp in your typing finger! Here is a link that might be useful: Pond chemical addition calculator in Excel

I have no business here, since I was just searching the forums for threads on lasagne gardening, but I just have to interject a comment!! Catnip, you are SOOOO lucky your boyfriend shares your love of gardening!!! My boyfriend (who I love dearly) doesn't. He isn't against it, but isn't overjoyed at the thought of spending time on his knees in the yard up to his elbows in soil with his butt sticking up in the air, as I am. He drops me off at the Nursery to browse and comes back for me later to help me haul my purchases home. I'm not complaining, mind you, but I would love it if he wanted to help me build a compost pile or had something he really, really wanted to try growing this year. Even if he got interested all of a sudden and started telling me I was doing it all wrong, I'd just laugh at him and hand him a trowel. So count your blessings, young lady!! :-)

I've been there! My daughter and her friend (Lisa) have been friends since the age of 5. They are both 16 now! We're also neighbours. The girls were together every single day. Then at the age of 10, they went their own way till the age of 14. They just had different things in common. Now, they're the best of friends again! I remember one incident that is so very similar to the one you described above. I had had enough too! Lisa's mom called me to tell me what happened between the girls. My daughter told me what happened. Some things just didn't add up. Since I had had enough, I decided to nip this in the butt. My daughter and I went over to Lisa's house so that we could all discuss this together. Lisa's mom was so happy about this. Anyways, Lisa was caught in a lie and was punished. My daughter also saw that their friendship was worth more than gossip. That if they had a problem with each other, they were friends long enough that they should ask each other if the gossip was true. Everything worked out well and because we were all together, everything was confronted once and for all. Re your daughter leaving when Susie comes over. I'm not sure about this one though, because yr daughter cannot always run away from conflict. She needs to deal with it head on. You see what happened with my daughter was that "Jessica" was causing conflict between my daughter and Lisa because she was jealous of their friendship. Whenever Jessica and Lisa were together, my daughter would exclude herself and thus, was alone. She'd see Lisa on the street and was about to go say hello, but decided not to when she seen Jessica with her. I told her to go talk to Lisa and that if Jessica had a problem with her there, then Jessica could leave. It took my daughter awhile to work up the nerve to do it, but eventually she did and it gave her more confidence in herself to handle things. I've also had to deal with a mother who thinks her kids can do no wrong. I did the same thing as above. We drove to that kid's house and confronted him with the parents there. The boy denied everything, but his sister said that my daughter was right about how it happened. He was bullying her. His parents asked him how he could do that to my daughter since he had the same thing done to him and if he remembered how it felt. The issued got resolved! I strongly believe that confrontation with all parties involved is the best way to get resolved fast. This way, all the parents hear what each child is saying, which is lying, etc. Maybe it will open some eyes too! When my daughter had some "ownership" in some of the conflicts, I explained how her actions contributed to the conflict. Sometimes kids don't realize or see what the consequences of their actions can do, especially at the age of 8.

Well, first of all, you sound like a nice, young lady - open to suggestions from others and willing to change, but never forgetting from where you came. My hat's off to you! With respect to your stepbrother, it sounds a little like he's jealous that you have somewhat of a new life. I think his running to a "friends" house was a bit of a tantrum. I would keep reaching out to him and assure him that we can all use more friends. Should stepsiblings and siblings be best friends? Well, why not? The one thing I've learned in life is that you can never have too much unconditional love in the world. I think it's great that you've blended so well thus far. He's going through some growing pains and probably doesn't know at the moment where he fits in - regarding life, the family, your life, etc. Give him time and he'll come around. Things do change and our former "best friends" can one day seem like strangers - conversations that once flowed freely are awkward and filled w/ gaps of silence. Try to keep the lines of communication open - seek his advice, vent about work-related problems, dating, etc. to him and he feel important. Good luck!