This has been a huge problem for me as well. I can't take the advice to just "use what's here" - our urban property, when we bought it, is cemented over. Short of breaking up the cement, we have to buy soil for our beds. This is what I did this year - I purchased a mix from a landscape supply company that sells in bulk. It was supposedly an ideal mix for raised beds - compost, peat moss, and the ubiquitous pine bark, which I figured was ok (and a friend at a garden center recommended it as an amendment anyway so I figured it was ok). It sounded close to Mel's mix, with pine bark instead of vermiculite. The results have been disastrous! Nothing is growing. Trying to navigate all the bad advise and false advertising with limited experience has been demoralizing. If I go to Home Depot and look at the soil available in bags, it is almost all Scott's or Miracle Grow fertilized mixes. I don't know a whole lot about soil but I would like to build healthy, living soil that can support beneficial organisms. Organic soil at the garden center is $18.00 for a two cubic foot bag. We have decided to dump out one of the beds and try to salvage some tomato plants this year. The alternative is to watch everything die. I hate the idea of buying Miracle Gro soil mixes, but I am in the city and I don't see a lot of alternatives. Bulk soil didn't work out, garden center stuff is WAY too expensive, and Home Depot only wants to sell me better living through chemistry. Is there some sort of conspiracy against home vegetable gardeners? It feels like it.

Wow, thanks for all the great advice and suggestions. I did not know that about tulips (said in my best Ron White voice). I have enough trouble with my own accelerated depreciation, let alone dealing with that of bulbs that I plant, and this property is Grand Central Station for deer, so I think IÂll stay away from tulips and focus on other spring bulbs. DD, I did not find King Alfred on the BreckÂs website, but I learned from some of the other excellent sites mentioned that it only called that in the US and that elsewhere in the world it is called Dutch Master. Given the size, IÂll bet that BreckÂs ÂColossal Daffodil is probably their version of Dutch Master. Peering around my monitor, I can see a half dozen blooming right now out in the garden. Even in the rain they hold their headÂs up proudly, must be royalty. Too many choices! With respect to daffodils I found a couple of collations that offer nice variety and include some of the ones yaÂll recommended. I think IÂll start with those and then see what to add, either later this year or next year, after they bloom. I have a coupon for BreckÂs that expires soon and also want to order some perennials from them, so I think IÂll start there and maybe order from some of the other websites, once their 2006 catalogs are out. I also like the idea of layering. The reason I stayed away from spring bulbs for so long was because I considered them one-hit wonders  a week or so of color and then wilting greens. BUT, after watching the crocus and tulips and daffodils and hyacinths bloom one into the other, IÂve gotten just a bit wiser. And, with layering it is possible to extend the color in the same spot, instead of scattered all over the garden (not that thatÂs bad, either). Since I have so many new stretches of bare ground to fill, what with all the construction, itÂs the perfect opportunity to plant layers, since there will be nothing blocking me. Again, thanks everyone for all the great ideas. I am definitely psyched to plant bulbs. narcnh

I am in the midst of my build right now, and this has been my experience. I was planning to GC my house but was counseled to get a builder by friends who had been the GC for their builds. As a compromise I hired a builder who was willing to do everything up to the dry-in and then let me hire out the subs for the rest of the job. I had worked with all of the finishing subs before and I was planning to do some work myself (electrical, painting, trim, some flooring) as my and my family have done extensive renovations in the past. Things started out pretty rocky with the builder. He didn't follow the basement foundation plans (! I know, crazy, right?) which thankfully the inspector caught. This and a few other things had me thinking that I was going to be so glad to get rid of this guy once his part was up. Then, my subs started to get flaky. Bids came in at twice what we had paid for similar work in the past, two were no longer doing their trade due to the economy and others didn't get back to me. My builder was right there with quotes from his guys which were competitive, some higher, some much lower than bids I had received. And the best thing? Every issue that comes up with one of his subs? I tell him about it, or he tells me about it, and it gets resolved. For some of my subs it's a painful process every time to first get them to realize that I know that X is a problem and that they need to fix it. I'm young and not in the trade so a lot of people assume they're going to just blow me off. I only had to work through that with the builder once or twice, with shorter term contractors though once or twice adds up. Doing the split GC thing has worked okay for us. There have been a few communication misses that set back the schedule, but I was planning on a much slower build anyway due to me doing some GCing and some of the work while working full time and teaching college online part time. Thankfully my parents live next door to the build so my dad can check in or talk to subs since he works from home occasionally. Some of the downsides of this situation though is that I have to deal with the builder telling me how he would never do x or y if it was his build. He's a professional and obviously has his way of doing it. Sometimes it's great advice, sometimes is just crotchety moaning. In the end though I do trust him to do good work, and he will do what I ask so long as I make it clear that I understand what I'm asking for and that I'm sure of my choice. Getting to that point of knowing that about your builder though is tough. This guy was recommended to me through my brother who has worked construction before and now works in a cabinet shop often building cabinets for my builder's homes. Personally I'm very thankful that I didn't attempt to GC the entire house. It would have been an expensive, long, painful process that would have taken all the joy out of the new house process. I enjoy managing what I am managing, and I love getting to do actual work on the house. I loved having the freedom to buy every fixture / appliance / whatever ahead of time and make the changes necessary to accommodate them. While it hasn't been perfect, so far this situation is working out as well as I hoped it would.

Tiskers, Sounds like you're doing the same extensive DIY that we did/are still doing! I have one question --- if hubby is that handy, why aren't you installing the cabinets yourselves? WE saved $2000 doing that. That was the easiest $2K we saved on the whole reno. Mind you, my DH is an engineer (electrical- so he did all the re-wiring and new wiring), and really really good at drawings and figuring things out. One day (perhaps when it's all done), I will sit down and figure out how much we have saved DIY. WE gutted a 25 X 10.5 space- including removing ceiling (which wasn't pleasant as it was an older house with no vapour barrier)- bits of insulation were 'everywhere'! We tore down a wall (that was fun)- removed aluminum wiring- rerouted plumbing/venting re-wired/installed all new electrical/appliances. Changed windows- now, that was an area that I subbed out, ie manufacturing and installation of new windows. That delayed us by quite a bit- they were more than 2 months late, as we had to take out old windows to reframe- we did it to be ready for scheduled delivery... and we ended up living with plastic sheeting for windows for months! Check your timelines. We had to have drywall up and painted for a set period of time (forget exactly), so that it could all dry before cabinets went in. Since we weren't drywalling until windows were in, we got behind right from the start. Luckily our cabinet supplier had room to hold the cabinets for us until we were ready. Flooring was also subbed out, and when we missed our original time, had to wait awhile until he could reschedule. Appliance store also agreed to hold appliances for us for several months. We originally planned a July 30th finish date. With delays, we then hoped to be in before Christmas. Granite was finally installed end of November- had to be re-ordered, and replacement pieces weren't installed until April 08, so of course we couldn't put up backsplash or finish off back of peninsula. Not to belabour the point, but as of Nov 24 08, we are still waiting for the last pieces we subbed out to a carpenter- finishing off our cabinets (original order was screwed up- long story). Hired him in August, and supposedly will get our order this week (not holding my breath). As I've said here before, my mistake in saying we wanted to be finished before Christmas, was in not specifying the year!!! So, advice? Money to be saved is real. In these times, priceless. Luckily, your DH can do all the work. If you don't have to sub out to anyone for anything, you're ahead of the game. But, if you have to depend on anyone else, be prepared for delays, and make sure your suppliers are OK with them.