I have to defend everything I do. There will always be attacks on me, since I advocate cheap & organic ways to control black spots rather than Bayer spray. The reason why I use low-salt monopotassium phosphate, NPK 0-52-34 is: 1) My alkaline soil, pH of 7.7 is tested very deficient in phosphorus and potassium. 2) According to Robert Morris PLANT foundation, nitrogen mobility is a 10, it moves with water. Potassium mobility is a 3, somewhat mobile. Phosphorus mobility is a 1, it stays put where applied. 3) The phosphorus leaching that Diane_NJ mentioned is due to phosphates in detergents that EPA banned years ago. It does not apply to phosphorus in fertilizer, like bone meal, which stays put where applied. 4) Phosphorus is immobile in my heavy clay, with a limestone base at bottom. Plus I use a soluble fertilizer right at the roots. Nitrogen moves with water, leaches out and is an ecological problem. Here's a quote: "about 60 percent of the nitrogen contained in applied fertilizer is never incorporated into plants and so is free to wash out of root zones, and then pollute rivers, lakes, aquifers and coastal areas through eutrophication." Wikipedia wrote this on nitrogen: "High levels of NO3 in water can adversely affect oxygen levels for both humans and aquatic systems. Human health issues include methemoglobinemia and anoxia, commonly referred to as blue baby syndrome. .. Eutrophication, a decline in oxygen content of water, of aquatic systems can cause the death of fish and other marine species. Finally, leaching of NO3 from acidic sources can increase the loss of calcium and other soil nutrients, thereby reducing an ecosystem's productivity.[2] Here is a link that might be useful: Wikipedia on nitrogen leaching This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Fri, May 24, 13 at 7:35

I do not think these two fade much. My Ville de Lyon doesn't fade. They are close in color. Ville de Lyon has a two toned effect but it is subtle. I don't have Ernest but I have seen a mature one in full sun and there was no noticeable fading.

First, regarding the sink - the best sink to lessen the chance of back pain is an apron front sink. With an apron front sink, you do not have 4-5" of countertop in the front of the sink to lean over, the way you would for an undermount sink. Instead, your body is right up against the apron front of the sink. You didn't say what stage in your kitchen redo you're at while you're determining whether you bought the wrong sink--has your countertop been cut and scribed already for an undermount sink? If not, then perhaps look at switching to an apront front sink. But also make sure your contractor has the expertise to install one, as they're harder than an undermount. Do a search on this forum for apron front sink and you'll see a lot of threads. Second, as to the faucet, I don't think that the handle on top vs. handle at the base will have a significant impact on your back; it's just a few inches difference, and you only reach for the handle for a second or two. The bigger impact will be the reach of your faucet, i.e. where the spout is. You didn't say what faucet you've chosen. A pull-down faucet will have a shorter reach, and be close to the back of the sink, which will be harder on your back cause you'll have to reach more while you are using it. A better choice would be a pull-out faucet, and one that has a length that brings the spout closer to you. When someone is using a kitchen faucet, as I mentioned they just touch the handle for a second or two, but are likely standing for much longer with hands under the faucet spout while rinsing, filling a pot, washing the sink, etc. So the reach of the faucet is important. A good idea is, before installing (or even purchasing) the faucet, to make a cardboard cut-out of its dimensions, and hold it over your sink to see if you like the reach.

srahndennis - I chuckled a little when I read this, but certainly not at you ... it's because I was doing the same questioning of my choice (like I've done with so many other things in this kitchen reno =) I'm the opposite of you though - I originally wanted a deep brown sink because I have cream cabinets with a cafe dry brushing/light glaze and antique bronze handles. My granite is darker - has mostly deep browns, some black/creams/silver and slight splashes of dark coppery orange. But when I saw the Silgranit cafe in person, the brown didn't look rich enough for the browns in my granite (it actually looked like a dusty brown (it could have been that the sink was actually dusty instead though - lol) So I went with the anthracite since I have black in my granite too (and in parts of the ss appliances). With a colored sink, I'm of the thought that the sink looks best when it blends, rather than contrasts, with the counter (ss is an exception as it is so standard it always works). I think in our cases either one would work, but the cafe may work better for you since you have a lighter granite. It's hard to say without seeing it, but I think it may give you a softer flow than the black. And the appliances will then pull the slight blacks from your counter.