Then it is probably not Ph. Otherwise the plants look fine, it's jut that a few of them have the tendency to spoon in the middle and I didn't know what this was. Who knows... As for Home Depot gizmo...I just got the confirmation that it wasn't really working, certainly not to accurately measure light. I just received another light meter (Analog) which someone recommended on this forum and that seems to be quite reliable. I was surprised to learn that this one uses a tri-stage foot-candle range for precise readings on three scales; so fluorescent light is measured on a different scale than sun light. When I set the meter on fluorescent, it registered exactly 500 ft candles right at the plant level, so the set up I have really is the way it should be. Now I just need to receive my timer so I won't leave the poor plants under the grow light for all eternity, as I have sometimes done...and then get them pale in the middle. And some leaf rings for support...:-) Looks like this hobby is not as inexpensive as I thought it would be but it certainly is fun. On top of that, a few days ago I also got my very first mouse ear EVER! It's embarrassing how exciting this thing can get. :-))))

But before you go shopping, I think there should be one more "figure out" on your list: Figure out what YOU want! That means knowing not only all those other figure-outs, but deciding what does and does not appeal to you - formal or casual? lots of annuals or lots of perennials? mostly flowers or all evergreens or great expanses of lawn or fresh vegs or fruit trees or maybe bonsai? is lots of pruning okay or would it better be if the landscape were mostly self-maintaining? Most of us have a general idea of what we like - however, this is *your* landscape so please yourself first - but going through a stack of garden magazines or driving around and just looking at what other folks have done can help clarify your preferences. And self-honesty is supremely important: how much time and effort will you *really* spend each week? Does your idea of a great Saturday mean going boating all day- or pulling weeds all morning followed by hauling mulch for several hours- or laying back in the hammock? The less time you have available in combination with the less effort you may want to expend on the garden means that you need to choose both plants and a planting style that appeals to you esthetically but doesn't require a many hours of labors every week. OTOH, if you adore roses and would rather train canes than relax in a lounge chair, then you can plan your landscape around roses (or whatever the magic plant may be). Knowing what you do -or don't- want will be a big help in narrowing the planting choices to a manageable number, and the rest of "landscaping" is mostly following a few sensible rules (those first figure-outs you listed); setting reasonable and realistic goals; listening to others who have done the same thing [who may or may not be experts, but you can learn lots from somebody else's experience]; and then accepting that both gardens and gardeners change as time passes. Oh yes, and 2 things about hardscape: always make a comfortable weatherproof chair your first purchase, and remember that it's easier to put the path where the wheelbarrow needs to go than it is to fix the lawn after dragging the mulch across the grass because there wasn't a path.

There are alot of variables. Is the area where you want the pad level? Does it have to be cut out with a bobcat or something. Do you have a place for the dirt to go or will they have to get rid of it. Usually you can get a square foot price to finish over the phone. I cut out the ground, formed my own pad, installed the gravel and leveled it. Then I paid 75 cents a square foot to have it finished. You need roughly 13 yards of concrete(85 dollars a yard here) if your pad is 4" thick, plus a load of washed gravel as a base.($200) I know its broad but somewhere between 4 and 6k. Get a couple of bids, but worry more about the concrete guys reputation than his price. If the cheapest guy makes a mistake its permanent!

The best way to level your lawn is with a tractor and a box blade. For those of you with smaller lawns, or no access to a tractor, here's a summary of how you can level your lawn yourself... 1. Mow with a rotary mower at the mowers lowest setting. 2. Scalp to 1/16 inch with a rented, self powered and propelled, reel mower. The purpose of this is to scalp the yard as low as possible and remove the debris. If you cannot rent a reel mower, mow at the lowest possible setting of whatever you have and remove the debris. 3. Core aerate (if you think you must, sigh) 4. Top dress with [*****your local topsoil*****] mix. 5. Drag a large mat over the topdressing to make it super level. Drag in all directions until you are happy with it. 6. Seed or sod. 7. Roll the seed or sod with a rented water fillable roller. 8. Fertilize. NOTES: 1. This step may hit roots, soil, or hidden rocks in your soil. Be careful. 2. The only way to completely remove the turf and keep the roots alive is to mow as low as possible. This exposes all the high and low spots to make step 4 work better. 3. Dont aerate before step 2 or you will have trouble mowing. If you have low spots you want to raise, dont aerate the low spots but aerate heavily in the high areas so you can sweep all the cores to the low areas. 4. *****Were still working on what to use in this step.***** I also want to come up with an easy way to estimate how much top dressing to buy. Basically you get 1/4 to 1/3 inch per cubic yard per 1,000 square feet. So 4 cubic yards will provide about an inch of cover on 1,000 square feet. There are probably issues with how to get this out of a pile and relatively evenly distributed before dragging. 5. You can use chain link fencing with boards to weight it down or an inverted shipping palate. 6. Use the best seed you can find. It will be the seed with the lowest % weed. 7. The roller is needed to push the seed into the soil and provide good contact. Sod needs to be rolled so that the bottom of all the sod is touching the soil. Roots cannot grow through air. 8. If you were doing this in an organic program, you would fertilize with alfalfa at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet about 2-3 weeks prior to starting this process. Written By: DCHall_San_Antonio