I understand your frustrations. Before you give up, I would suggest the following: 1.) Not all soils are conducive to gardening. Based on research you need to decide if this is your case. If you consider this to be fact then go to raised beds or containers, or find a more suitable location for your garden. 2.) If you decide that your soil is suitable for gardening then I suggest that you reduce the size of your garden to an area that you can manage fairly easily. Better to have something than nothing at all. As you succeed you can add back a little bit of gardening space each year if you so desire. 3.) Till or spade in compost, rotted leaves, grass clippings, etc. in fall. Organic matter in the soil helps to keep it loose and friable. Till or spade again in spring before planting when soil is fairly dry. Minimize walking on the soil after tilling and throughout the season to reduce compaction - have paths and stick to them as much as possible. 4.) Mulch the garden with weed seed-free mulch or a man-made product. Find something that works for you - there are lots of ideas and methods discussed in the GW forums. If you do not know how to do a site search on GW then check out the FAQ or ask. Do your research - knowledge is your best weapon against gardening issues and problems. 5.) Weeds are a fact of life and they will always be in your garden. Get them when they are young and small. Give your garden the constant attention it deserves to control weeds but also to spot disease or pest problems. Gardening is a commitment. A gardener can not "take time off" and ignore the garden for a week. Get into this habit and it will surely fail and all the work will prove to be a waste of time and effort. 6.) Purchase a few vegetable plants rather than trying to start them yourself. Starting plants is another big step in gardening and requires knowledge and equipment. This seems to be part of your frustration so put it aside for now. If budget is tight, set aside a coin jar to save up for purchasing or barter with a neighbor gardener for starter plants if possible. Just get a few plants of the common varieties in the cheaper multi-packs - again, better to have something than nothing. 7.) Common vegetable varieties available as seeds or plants are common for many good reasons. They are usually some of the easiest to grow. Stick to them for now and experiment later on with more unique or rare varieties. 8.) Post questions in the forums on GW and provide pictures if possible. You are among helpful gardening friends here. I am the first to admit that I do not know everything about gardening. When I have a gardening problem or concern I have always found answers here or at least leads to be able to do some further internet research. Success will bring back the excitement and joy of gardening in you. Give it another try. Good Luck! -Tom

Rollie, nice pics! Very lovely shots of wild A. tuberosa. I will 2nd or 3rd or 4th what everyone else has said. If you broadcast the seed into already existing, dense vegetation I don't think you'll get much for results. It would be difficult for a seed to germinate and grow under those conditions. A tuberosa is very easy to start from seed, as long as the seeds are viable. 2 years ago, I sowed some in April, and it did not even require much (or any) cold stratification. I would start the seeds next Spring (March-April) in pots, or winter sowing containers, grow them on in small pots for the summer, and then transplant early next fall. If you can mow the wild area first, it would probably help with the transplanting. Also, clearing a little planting spot as Rollie suggested, would be helpful.

This is a very, very easy fix. I have used homemade compost to sow seeds in. Compost is great, it's rich in nutrients and retains moisture very well. The only drawback is that it can also contain plenty of seeds. It's actually really easy to kill those weed seeds. I fill a 5-gallon bucket halfway up with compost (or you can use whatever container you have on hand that you think is fine.) I have that bucket of compost on the patio outside my kitchen door. Inside the kitchen I've got a full kettle on to boil. When I hear the kettle whistling I take it off the flame and take it outside and pour that boiling water into the bucket of compost. Then I put a lid on the bucket....it doesn't have to be on tight, it's just to help hold the heat and steam in as long as it can. The boiling water and steam will kill the weed seeds. If you don't have a lid for the bucket then use a large piece of aluminum foil, or you can even use an old towel or blanket draped over the top. I let the bucket of compost sit overnight so it's cool when I use it the next day. I can now use the compost for sowing seeds confident that the weed seeds have been killed. Also, another benefit of the boiling water treatment is that it will kill any soilborne diseases that might exist in the compost. Good luck with your seeds! Trudi

I think it would be best to explain what a "good posting" is by showing an example, and then breaking it down and showing "why" it is good. Let's pretend that "Gardener_Jane" has made a post that she has seeds to offer for trade. The following is her post: "Here's my list! All these seeds came from plants that were Winter Sown or reseeded in my garden. They are all hardy, beautiful, and easy to grow". *Perennials* Aquilegia (columbine, grape colored flowers) Aquilegia mix (columbines, nice selection from my garden) Asclepias Incarnata (swamp milkweed, pink flowers, will grow in dry dirt) Campanula Latifolia (mountain bells, purple flowers) Campanula Medium (Canterbury bells...nice mix) Coreopsis Mix (1'-2' mix of strong golden flowers) Hibiscus Militaris (halberd-leaved marshmallow) Inula Helenium (inula) Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry' (fountain grass "black moudry") Tanacetum Parthenium (feverfew) Tanacetum Vulgare (common tansy) Vernonia Gigantea (giant ironweed) *Annuals* Cerise Celosia (celosia...candle type, cherry pink flowers) Cosmos Sulphureus (bright lights cosmos) Daneborg Lace poppy (papaver somniferum, red and white flowers) Morning Glories (lavender) Nicandra Physaloides (aka shoo fly, apple of Peru, black pod) Nicotiana Rustica (Aztec tobacco, greenish-yellow flowers) Nigella (blue flowers, nice for drying...weird pods!) *Veggies and Herbs* Italian Parsley Bok Choy Ruby Beets Bright Lights Swiss Chard Soldier Beans (12 seeds per pack) I'm looking to trade for other flower varieties I can Winter Sow in my zone seven garden. I am also interested in growing oriental veggies, ornamental grasses, and roses from seeds. I usually mail seeds out within 48 to 72 hours after making a trade, and I send my seeds protected with bubblewrap. I'd like you to do the same for me please. If you need to make other arrangements all it takes is an email...I'm very flexible. Thanks for looking at my list! Gardener_Jane Okay! Great post Jane ;-) Let's break it down to see exactly why Jane's post IS good: "Here's my list! All these seeds came from plants that were winter sown or reseeded in my garden. They are all hardy, beautiful, and easy to grow." Jane gives some vital introductory information. Her seeds are hardy for Winter Sowing, and she says they're lovely and easy to grow. ----------- *Perennials* Aquilegia (columbine, grape colored flowers) Aquilegia mix (columbines, nice selection from my garden) Asclepias Incarnata (swamp milkweed, pink flowers, will grow in dry dirt) Campanula Latifolia (mountain bells, purple flowers) Campanula Medium (Canterbury bells...nice mix) Coreopsis Mix (1'-2' mix of strong golden flowers) Hibiscus Militaris (halberd-leaved marshmallow) Inula Helenium (inula) Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry' (fountain grass "black moudry") Tanacetum Parthenium (feverfew) Tanacetum Vulgare (common tansy) Vernonia Gigantea (giant ironweed) *Annuals* Cerise Celosia (celosia...candle type, cherry pink flowers) Cosmos Sulphureus (bright lights cosmos) Daneborg Lace poppy (papaver somniferum, red and white flowers) Morning Glories (lavender) Nicandra Physaloides (aka shoo fly, apple of Peru, black pod) Nicotiana Rustica (Aztec tobacco, greeny-yellow flowers) Nigella (blue flowers, nice for drying...weird pods!) *Veggies and Herbs* Italian Parsley Bok Choy Ruby Beets Bright Lights Swiss Chard Soldier Beans (12 seeds per pack) Janes list is organized well, it's in ABC order, and she's included both the common and botanical names of the plants. "Soldier Beans (12 seeds per pack)" Jane lets us know that this seed pack contains just a dozen seeds because the count is under the GardenWeb suggested miniumum seedpack amount of 24 (two dozen) seeds. "I'm looking to trade for other flower varieties I can Winter Sow in my zone seven garden. I am also interested in growing oriental veggies, ornamental grasses, and roses from seeds." Jane has suggested what she would like to trade for. She does NOT state that she is ONLY LOOKING FOR THOSE SEEDS so she may be open to other suggestions....you can still initiate a trade even if you don't have what she's looking for and she'll either say yes or no. Never take a trade decline personally. Jane may have a small garden so she only has room for her favorites. "I usually mail seeds out within 48 to 72 hours after making a trade, and I send my seeds protected with bubblewrap. I'd like you to do the same for me please. If you need to make other arrangements all it takes is an email...I'm very flexible." Jane is letting us know what she does and what she expects. "Thanks for looking at my list!" Okay....Jane is friendly and she seems to know how to trade. Initiating a trade with Jane will be a good trade experience.