What would be some origins of this excess soil or turf? From hardscape installation? That would be oe of the primary sources I can think of in which you are replacing your soil with something else you've brought in and would not necessarily have any other place to put it. Also in my town, if you try to dig, you will turn up large rocks, which most people to try to use in their yards somehow, but if they really don't "go" you'd have to make a pile and put a sign "take me" and wackos like me might, or you would have to kinda make them disappear. I've never used Freecycle, but I suppose if you had a dirt pile you could say, please come fill your buckets. However, if you have any kind of garden bed at all, you'd be amazed at what you can add to it. Or if you have a lawn, there may be low spots or ways to recycle some sod. But obviously not for huge amounts of material displaced by major construction.

You could see if any school, community, or food bank type of gardens are going on in your area, and donate plants to a good cause. How lucky you are!

Maid, oh yeah, our family lives compare to soaps..lol..never know what to expect the next day.. Here's a pic of my green and variegated Sweetheart before the fall. As you can see it had 3 or 4 stems. For some reason, the variegated doesn't show up on pics. Here's a reverse Hoya Sweetheart.. Oh, found this pic while browsing Flickr..This is my H. Sweetheart when young, before adding the variegated hoya..it was so compact..Wonder if I should cut back, too? lol..I should send one long strand to you, Maid, you can root cuttings for me..lol..I just noticed, it even had a little cluster of buds..What to do? Doodlepunk...you asked some good questions..I hope someone replies..I'd like to know, too..especially the part about lying the cutting horizontally to root. Golden Ca. Very cute Hoya..it looks much better on the trellis..I agree growing trailers on trellis looks better/neater, and easier to work with, but with Kerri, at least as I've discovered, once a stem is 'x' long, it's difficult training it on a trellis..stems and foliage are thick..I have the same problem with a Stephonotis. I made a home-made trellis, ran the Steph growth in circular motion. Because the leaves are thick, 1. the plant lifts the trellis out of soil 2. a stray sidegrowth grew in and for some reason untangles itself from the trellis, knocking it down. Perhaps a heavier trellis is needed for thicker leaf vines??? And should be done when young. Toni

I always scrub any citrus fruit I make marmelade out of, with hot soapy water. Don't know if that gets off much of the pesticide residue, but rinsing with water will not work since the pesticides are oil based. Soaking in a 5% salt solution may help too. But don't kid yourselves about the rind of citrus fruits, they drench them with pesticides. Clementines make marvelous marmelade, so if you don't make it, now would be a fantastic time to start. Homeade is well worth the trouble. Throw in a vanilla bean or a hunk of ginger to the stuff as you are cooking it for an extra special zip. Take out before jarring up. Here's a great orange tea loaf I make which also calls for grinding up the whole fruit in a food processor. Take out the seeds (pips!) first. This loaf freezes well and makes a nice holiday gift. Great spread with cream cheese for breakfast. Seems kinda weird to grind up the whole orange, but trust me, it is good. This got "best of" one year on this forum. Don't know about the pesticide issue though, you'll have to weigh in on it based on what you know about your fruit and risk tolerance level. Orange Loaf 1 orange, unpeeled 6 oz. pitted dates orange juice 1/2 cup hot water 2 TBLSP butter 1 egg 2 cups flour 1 cup sugar 1 tsp. baking powder 3/4 tsp. salt (I'd use less if I soaked the fruit in a salt water solution) 1/2 tsp. baking soda 3/4 cup walnuts Combine orange and dates in a blender or food processor, process until firmly ground. Drain juice off of this mixture and combine with enough extra orange juice to make 1/2 cup. In a saucepan, heat the orange juice, water and butter until the butter melts. When this mixture cools, add the egg and date/orange slurry. Combine this with the dry ingredients. Bake in a 9x5x3 inch greased loaf pan for 1 hour. Recipe easily doubled. And if you're prone to excess, could add some raisins or dried cranberries too. The way I bake, I routinely sub half whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup sugar for 1 cup, and use two egg whites instead of 1 whole egg. These tweaks make for less fat and calories and more nutrition, but the bread doesn't keep as long.