OH MY G O O D N E S S ~ G R A C I O U S !!!!!!!!!!!!! That is just soooooooooooooooooo F U N N Y !!!!!!!!!! Oh me.... AKUP that is so sweet of you to tell us that.... I was thinking while I was reading... I should tell you my cell phone number.. then you could call me when you are "LOST" and I could look up the "MAP QUEST" map and give you the ~~~~~~~~~~~~ D I R E C T I O N S ~~~~~~~ but.. as I was reading... I was think'n of me and my FREECYCLE>>> ADVENTURES>>> and My DH finally got me a New Van with the NAVIGATION SYSTEM... so I would quit getting ******* LOST ********** and getting home late to fix DINNER !!!!!!!!!!!!! But this.... TEXAS ~~~~~~~~~~~~ To CANADA story really Takes the C*A*K*E !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HEY............. I'm closer... up here in Illinois... maybe... if she still has the trays.// I could Dog Sled on up the rest of the way... pick up the Metal Trays.. for you... Then I Could tell DH I am D E L I V E R I N G the trays.. to You and ..... You & Ms SusieYellowRose of TEXAS and I could have our TEA PARTY.... Invite... MsDaisyDal down... across the Border..and everyone else... that wanted... ** Maybe Cait could catch a BIG BOAT and come on over ....(TeeHee) and have our selves... A *BIG* SHENDIG* at The SusieRose Wants.... Company PARTY !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha Ha won't Hubs.. just croak on that one..... Well... AKaup thank sooooooo much for sharing... It is a REALLY GOOD Story... and make the WORLD NEWS>>. not seem sooooooooooo Important! Ok I'm gonna stop.... cause.... I would want Kirkus.. & Carol... & Purple Moon... and Use2BCapeCodder... and Jeannespines & Bright &tooooomuchglass and GoldenPond & Luvs2Click and other LUVS Tennessetrash & counterprimrose and NM GIRL debby_md a n d lunaLenaFeliz & sunnycal & smickerdoodle & nanagramma and Kudzukween & princess Mimi & rmurry and katishooked & mzclaassic calamityj & desertrat.... leeveta & .............................................. ___________________________________________________________ * A * L * L ~ ~ ~ ~ Y A 'll come on over to SUSIEWANTSCOMPANY 's house !!! she and hubs are having a B I G ~~~~~~~~~~ HUGE ! ! ! Texas Hoedown !!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA W !!!!!!!! rid'em little doggies !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! alert the T E X A S ~ ~ ~ RANGERS ! ! ! ! ! B ON THE L@@K OUT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! G A R D E N ~ ~ ~ JUNKERS might L@@K RUSTY>>.... but... we still got it go'N ~~~ ON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grrr Gophers! Our neighbor is working on their pile, but the varmints are going under a corner of their garage and in to our garden from an area not dug up. I have not backfilled our little wall with kitty litter yet, we have one more party to go before I fill that zone. Decided it was too close to where we sit to be that fragrant. But we have caught 3 and found one dead and the lawn has no holes.

Lyn, our summers are hot and WET -- July is our hottest month, and also the month with the highest average precipitation (just over 5"...our driest month is February, when we get a smidge under 3"). I know that wood mulch is basically all carbon, and that as it decomposes, it requires the addition of nitrogen. I hear that it gets it from the surrounding soil, but I also know that rain contains nitrogen (dissolved as gas from the air as it falls to the ground), and wonder if that would be a significant source -- we get a lot of rain here east of the Mississippi. Also, the nitrogen taken up as it decomposes is re-released into the soil when it's finished -- it "borrows" rather than "steals" nitrogen. The mulch I got was rather hot and steaming when it came. It's composed of shredded fresh tree and shrub debris (not just bark or wood, but also including green leaves), composted for a year, then shredded again. While digging deep into the pile to load it into the wheelbarrow, I'd often encounter spots that were uncomfortably hot -- like hot water from the sink. For it to be getting as hot as it did, I'm assuming there had to already be some nitrogen in there. But in any case, I wanted to use it very thickly as a "base" upon which to build soil, sort of like sheet-composting. The leaf-litter-layer that is under it is composed of leaves cut while still green, and thus still nitrogen-rich. They browned over time, but unlike Autumn leaves, the tree didn't re-absorb the chlorophyll first. The roses were also growing in a planting mix composed of 1/3 dehydrated manure, with a generous amount of Jobe's Organic Knock-Out rose food mixed in, and a few feedings with fish/seaweed emulsion. Next year, I'll be using fish/seaweed emulsion in a hose-end sprayer. The roses will be fed individually with more Jobe's Organic Knock-Out. I'll also be getting coffee grounds as often as possible (I bought a garbage can specifically for collecting the grinds from Starbucks), and I found an out-of-the-way spot for two compost bins for food-waste and Sammy's "used" newspapers from his cage. I think if I feed the mulch often with all this stuff, it will build into a nutritious organic mix to feed the roses. As far as weeds, right now I just wanted to smother anything that was there before. Under the mulch is the tree debris, and under that is cardboard. Anything that was growing there before is (hopefully) long dead by now. New weed seeds that germinate will be in a very loose medium (relative to the clay soil here), several inches from the true soil, and will be easier to pull. When all the layers of companion plants are in-place, there really won't be much room for weed seeds to germinate, and the few that do will be easy to remove by hand. After I finish with companion perennials, I'll be planting self-seeding annuals. Hopefully they'll fill any bare spaces before weeds can get to them. By that point in time, I'll be in school again, and the weeding and general tending of the garden is what I wanted to have as a calming activity between going crazy with school and work. :-) ~Christopher Here is a link that might be useful: Average Weather for New Brunswick, NJ

A couple of notes because the rest is going to be rather long and involved: Lynda, I have the Vitex marked for you and in your baggie! And thank you for the marigolds! They will be very interesting with my others! Dessie I would be more than happy to receive your little helper's seed packets! I think it's great! Wendy Try some Chai Spice tea, it works wonders in helping clear up colds and flu. I always add a dollop of honey to help sooth the throat. It's a staple in our house and really does help. Alright, here is my take on this.. I can understand how many were hoping that the two swaps would not coincide, but, we all knew there was a fair chance of that happening. For myself, I know that I continued to update my list, even well after Patty's swap's mailing deadline. I did my updates using the same method we did for Patty's swap- using an updated date. Even had I not, I knew there was a good chance the two swaps would overlap. I joined this one knowing full well- according to the guidelines posted for it- that I may NOT receive as many as I sent in. That I would receive as many as were sent in FOR me, up to five packets of the SAME item. I recall there being some issue with this and a member who became very rude in their comments about this fact. Yes, my package from the What's Left swap is in the second batch to go out. No, I did not keep strict record of what I sent to those who were in the What's Left swap. I did keep better records of what I'm sending for this swap. I also know that a lot of people will be sending in baggies of seeds marked as extras- not dedicated for anyone, but to add in when it's seen those items are on someone's list. No, these may not be some of the rarer or more exclusively wanted items on someone's list. But if someone has some of those rarer or more specific items to share, I'm sure they would have put them into your baggie before they mailed. So, I don't see that anyone would be missing out on anything. The only way I could see having updated one's list further as complicating Patty's swap would be if someone had removed things from their list. Updating and adding items would not have conflicted. Because if there were any extras of what you were wanting, Patty would have included them. So, I guess I'm not really understanding how there is such a need to update the lists just because one is in both swaps. If I receive duplicates, wonderful! Because the things on my list are things I want! If I don't receive something on my list, then no one had it to share. If I receive so many of something that I can't plant it all, then I can bless someone else by offering it up for a trade. So, perhaps I'm being dense here, but how would one not receive something sent in specifically for them (up to FIVE packets of the same item!) that was on their wants list in this swap? Everyone has the chance to see your wants as posted and you have had the option to add to that list, as many including myself have this whole time. The only thing I could really see the two swaps happening almost simultaneously possibly affecting would be one's have's list. I'm sorry, I don't mean to upset or offend anyone. I'm just honestly trying to understand why this is such an issue. So please don't take this as meaning to offend or as pointed to anyone in particular. This is just me trying to understand why so many are upset about this. If you prefer to email me privately and help me understand it, I would be pleased with that and please do! Perhaps there are aspects and issues with this that I'm not readily seeing and should consider. I don't want to keep the thread off track by my question becoming a debate here. Perhaps there can be some adjustments of dates if this swap happens in the late summer or again next winter, but for this year it is as it is and personally, I'm really enjoying it! Nancy, I hope you don't decide to drop out, because I know that I should have at least a couple of things from your list, perhaps more. But I'll respect your choice and be your Garden Buddy either way :) Fran, you have a real job ahead of you and I don't know how those like you and Patty do it! Leave me hosting my "pair em up and let em go" or true RR type swaps! I think those of you that host this kind of swap are awesome! Angela, you have been a wonderful help to Fran and all of us in this swap! I know the time it can take to code pages like that, though updates are easier once the initial work is done, and I want to say THANK YOU for the time and work you are putting in on this swap for everyone's benefit! Kathy~ heading off to stuff more little baggies and envelopes.