First, you didn't flunk Lawn 101. You got a B in 2006, a C in 2007 (for late seeding) and an A so far in 2008. Nothing you did was wrong, but the timing for seeding was off a bit. 1) Round Up. We hesitate to mention specific chemical names for companies. The generic glyphosate works just fine and it's essentially the same stuff. Also, so many of us are organic and the R word stuff isn't. 2) Compost and peat moss will both decay away in about five years, so the soil is going to settle. Certainly you can mix either lightly (say, an inch or so every ten inches of soil), or skip it and use organic feeding methods. If your soil is really bad, I'd mix it. You can usually get compost from your local garden store, big box store, or delivered bulk from a supplier. The other option is to use 1/4" as a topdress for your seeding. Over time, the decay products work into the soil and enrichen it, plus you kill two birds with one stone and don't need to otherwise mulch the seed. Plus, the worms like it. :-) 3) Go right ahead and use it. If it was stored in a cold garage, it's completely fine. If stored in a warm house, you lose some germination but it's not that significant over six months. You can't wait too much longer for a spring seeding (and might want to consider using Siduron or Tupersan as a pre-emergent when seeding). So you probably don't have time to wait for the soil results. That's OK, you can work on correcting those issues afterward. Right now, get it sprouted--the seed has all the resources it needs for the first few weeks of its life. Once you get that test back you'll know what to add.

There's loads of knowledgable people here, I learn much from them every day! :) About the goldfish though... this seems to be an immediate issue. The one thing I really suggest (besides what the others have said) is to take sample of pond water up to the local fish/aquarium/pond store and have them test it for you. Many places will do this for free, as you're just starting out you might save yourself that headache of trying to learn about water testing kits. In the long run, however, you should get yourself a testing kit and learn to use it. It is a bit cold there still, fish should still be in hybernation or just coming out of (unless you keep it heated in winter - do you?) sleep. So if they're dying off this early there could be something seriously out of whack. Get your water checked for ammonia, nitrate levels and PH, as well as anything else they can tell you. A PH crash can kill fish quickly, as can large levels of ammonia or lethal gasses (caused by decomposing matter) built up in the substrate. Patial water changes can initially help to balance the pond and reduce stress on the fish, but the reasons for the ill water conditions need to be addressed for a permenant solution. Have you cleaned it out yet? If you have - did the fish begin to die before or after you did? My bet would be either a ph crash or gas build up. I like to drain and clean once a year in the Spring. I do save some of the water and filter media to save back the beneficial bacteria that the others have mentioned. I go out every couple days or once a week to net out the stray leaves and debris that have found their way in, to keep it from builing up on the bottom and creating stagnant gas. Good luck with your pond, I am sure with help here (and freindly terms with your local aquatics retailer) you'll learn pretty quick. Ponding does take a fair amount of work, but is extremely relaxing! Have fun and good luck!

Welcome, and congratulations! Listen, not EVERY rose requires dis budding to mature. Some are perfectly vigorous enough to flower and still grow. However, some definitely are NOT. Many own root Teas, Climbing Teas and particularly yellow Tea-Noisettes and some Chinas can take forever to develop and mature into the plants you expect them to be. Permitting them to flower only slows their development. Weak, stingy growers such as Austin's Dove; many of the earlier gray, brown and green roses; many of the Tea-like earlier HTs can also drag their feet, producing begrudging inches of growth. Permitting them to flower will slow them down greatly, too. Then, you have some more modern climbers, such as Kordes' Rosarium Uetersen, Renae and my Annie Laurie McDowell which will sit and flower like a blooming weed while refusing to climb. If you want to push these to climb, you pinch off the buds, forcing that energy into pushing elongated canes from the plants in their efforts to bloom again. Budding these particular types will speed up their development quite a bit, but they still benefit from dis budding to push growth. Own root versions of them are significantly slower to develop. It's with these that dis budding provides the greatest benefit. It is quite possible your roses won't require dis budding to develop into the plants you desire, in the time frame you have in mind. Whether they will or not, they very likely will mature into what you hope for faster if you don't let them flower. Whether you permit flowering as they desire; permit only some of the flowers to mature and open or simply continue dis budding them until they are the size you want them to be is up to you. Enjoy whatever flowers you want to, but keep in mind that if they are taking longer than you hoped to develop into the plants you expected or desired, removing the flowers to force growth should help you get what you want, closer to when you want it. Kim

wishing you good luck!!! :) exciting ! Chuy