Welcome! Stick a chopstick in the soil. Pull it out every once in a while. If the end of it is moist, don't water. If it's dry, water. You don't want to water on a schedule, only when the tree needs it. Hope you're keeping it outdoors!

kodiakbear: "I've got a box of biokleen on the way from amazon just to try after reading some good information on that soap. Because of how little you need to use it should last long enough to justify ordering online and we have prime through amazon so there were no shipping charges. I'll follow the advice of try different ones to see which works best with our water." We have had front-loading washing machines (exclusively) since the late 1930s, which was well before top-loading automatic washers were invented, and we have never been anal-retentive about adopting any routines to avoid musty or moldy smells -- and yet we never have experienced musty or moldy smells. However: (1) it never occurred to us to close the door until it latched after we removed the wet clothes from the washer, so ours always has remained slightly ajar between washes; and (2) it has been our practice to use a scoop (about 1/3 cup) of borax in every load. Borax is a mild disinfectant as well as a strategy to reduce the quantity of soap or detergent that we need to use; it typically rinses better than detergent alone does, too. Our current washing machine, like yours, is a recent model Samsung (ours is a WF419aaw), and the operator's manual, not to mention stickers on the inside of the detergent dispensing drawer itself, are quite clear and unambiguous that the only detergents that you should use in it must be rated or labeled HE. Your choice of Biokleen is an excellent one; several years back, after experimentation with the available options, we settled on the All Temperature liquid version of Biokleen (which is concentrated "HE 3X") as the best solution for us, and -- using our one scoop of borax per load -- need only one-half capful of detergent per load. So we get at least one hundred -- probably more -- loads out of the 64-oz/"64 load" bottle. (The All Temperature Biokleen liquid differs from the Cold Water Biokleen liquid only in that the latter contains enzymes; we prefer to add our enzymes, in the form of Biokleen Bac-Out, only as needed, rather than in every load). When you are getting low on the Biokleen powder that is on the way to you now, you may want to try the Biokleen liquid next, seeing as your Amazon Prime subscription makes the shipping cost irrelevant. As dadoes rightly points out, the specific nature of your water will have a lot to do with what laundry detergent works best for you, so keep experimenting until you are satisfied; the perfect match is Out There somewhere. Here is a link that might be useful: More about Biokleen liquid all-temperature

Wow, buehl, that was a lot of work for you to do--thank you so much! Taking off w/ ttosh's comment, does anyone know if GardenWeb is *planning* to change to a different forum/whatever (how's that for techie talk?! LOL)? As frustrating as it is for us posters/readers, sure seems to be just as frustrating to them, as well as a ton of work for them to have to keep doing...and redoing...and redoing... And then what? Does it finally just crash and burn for good? Don't even wanna go there!

hi: congratulations on the new garden. :) I've had similar to you for almost 15 years. I've got the maple, probably Norwegian ...lol.... it's about ? 40 years old so pretty big. it's got good points and bad points. But first of all let me just say my husband severely, severely pruned it about 2 years back and now we get more sun. Bad: 1.incredible invasive root system ... very dense mass of roots...very shallow rooted plant. 2.those roots will be competing for water and nutrients with your plants. (the tree absolutely will win....look at the size of the tree ...it's a giant ...your plants have to adapt to the tree because it will not be adapting to them) :) If you do plant something like an impatiens ... you'll need to water so much more....just keep that in mind. ... and you can't cut the roots ...they'll just come back. 3. (I think) the roots compact the soil to make it harder - but maybe that's just because nothing can be dug in or because my yard was full of very hard clay soil. 4.drops an unbelievable amount of leaves which cannot be left to rot on ground because they do not break down but form a clumpy solid mess in spring which will kill/choke other plants. Good: 1. it's a nice big tree, lots of shade, blocks the afternoon sun. The squirrels are amusing. :) so ...planting underneath it? in shade? hostas!! :) different ones, different sizes etc... green and white is pretty in shade. I can share but i'm not sure what the zone difference would be ... but ...it wouldn't be until next year - i'm not even in Canada right now. I would also recommend adding a berm (soil mound on top), you can even add shredded maple leaves depending on how fussy your plants are. (i'd recommend going with unfussy plants.) Your plants would need to be able to stand up to the bullying that is maple roots... crowding and having water and nutrients taken from them constantly. if you have a fence you can put up hanging baskets that would be good too ... if impatiens were still around they would be ideal ...at least in the summer. As for the sunny part of my garden ...again ... gardening is not easy ... the roots of the maple are still there... I've built it up a lot (berm) and planted about 9 lavenders ...and a few daisies ...I had Persian mint there which did really well ... mostly anything which likes it dry and sunny. But you don't have that problem ...the sunny part ...you've just got dry :) As for food ... i have a rhubarb near another maple that has been there for ? 20 years but I can't comment ... I haven't used it. all the best. :) ps: looked at your link ... beautiful plants... but i'm not sure which will want water etc.... forget me nots ...are fine... they go crazy but they're dead by early summer ... ferns are no problem ...at least here ...but I pulled them out - the ones I had weren't that pretty ....you have a plant that is similar in looks to bergenia (in the photo)... the primula ...well bergenia is another amazing plant ... and very, very tough ... I grow a lot of it in my front bed and have not put it in the back so I don't know how it will react with maples but might be worth a try. Clematis ... I have tried and will be trying to move the ones I planted 3 years ago ... they've deteriorated ... they were doing fine in other places but I don't think they like maples. bleeding heart ...I've had one for several years and it has seeded too .... it is white ...it looks wonderful but not all summer. ... But ...not under the maple.... mine is in another part of the garden in a largish berm, full dappled shade. lilly of the valley ... I found it very invasive .... and took me years to get rid of. pulmonaria ..(lungwort) ... not so great under the maple, was moved several times and is happy now in another shaded position .... (it took 10 years to find a happy place for this plant but i'm glad I stuck with it.)