chris, My $0.02 is that you need to run a buried 1" PVC line along the 1,000 ft. At each tree, place a reducer and a drip adapter to provide drip to each tree. Later on that line can be used for other means as needed in the future. I believe this is just for start up of the trees and very quickly the trees will need no watering at all. The 1" line is to minimize pressure loss along the line for that far a reach an enable you water many heads at once instead of in zones with extra piping with smaller diameters. If your line will be used for less than a year, then a PVC or HDPE line above ground with the same set up would be cheaper (no digging). Protect the drip sections with cages or bury. JMHO Aloha

Many Counties have free mulch available. Some will say it is no good. I'm inclined to agree it isn't the best but for large area's it is okay. I'm neutral on its quality, it will have some rock and a little trash debris in it. In St. Petersburg it looks fine and I've seen much worse from a tree company dropping a bunch of wet palm trees or (even worse) bannana trees mixed in with their untreated mulch. Also the pest factor. If there are big Sago fronds chipped up & mixed in with a tree company free product you will have the scale sailing all over the place on your property the same with a fungal disease. These factors are more troublesome even then the weed factor. The way I see it weeds will come in no matter what I do from all sides (birds, wind blown, neighbors property, feet, etc). The Counties mulch is supposed to be treated to kill weeds, bugs and some bacteria. I believe this to be the case. I have not found this to be the case with tree company mulch, however the tree company mulch can be of a high quality oak/hardwood chip if you are familar with the company. I've found no real extra weed problems with this, nor any roots sprouting Pepper trees in it like some roots in tree company mulch. You can also get strictly "log mulch" often from the County at certain times. It will be pine, oak, and of course pepper or other log quality chipped trees. Bulk loads are delievered at a decent rate. When you look at a finsihed bed it is fine. The break down is fast. It does the job at the right price.

I've gone organic in so many aspects of my life, but the cosmetics are one of the hardest parts to switch. There is a difference between wanting to switch to totally organic and all natural cosmetics, versus switching because you are worried about toxicity of ingredients. EWG is the GOLD standard of seeing if cosmetics are toxic. Their Skin Deep Database is the best way to see what brands and what colors could be problematic. Surprisingly, a lot of drugstore makeup not made with organic ingredients at all are very low toxicity. Among the lowest you can get by EWG standards. They're inexpensive and super easy to get. Here's a partial list of just some of the drugstore cosmetics that are among the least toxic: https://www.getgreenbewell.com/best-non-toxic-drugstore-makeup-brands-blush-and-bronzers/ Lead in lipstick is a very real concern, and even natural lipsticks have been shown to contain lead (Burt's Bees years ago was one of the highest offenders in one study). Even some organic companies say that they can't assure that their lipsticks don't contain lead. But there are a lot of great options, and they are among my favorite brands because they don't make my lips peel and itch like some conventional lipsticks do. Here are my favorites: https://www.getgreenbewell.com/10-lead-free-lipsticks-for-kissing/ 100% Pure is a brand that uses all natural ingredients, with colorings from plants and fruits. There are a lot of organic companies. But what I've found is that my skin often breaks out from using all natural cosmetics. I've yet to find the reason and what ingredient it is to avoid. So the lesson is that all natural isn't always better and some drugstore choices might not be as bad as you think. It's a matter of what your reason is for choosing organic cosmetics.

Sorry MAJOR TREE HUGGER hugger here.I don't think tree huggers will discontinue using OTHER types of mulch but there are alternatives to cypress.What I did do was read the contents of a cypress bag of MULCH while I was in the Wal Mart Garden section and in wee letters under Cypress Mulch it said .....and other materials. So it wasn't even fully cypress mulch but it did NOT give you any idea of what OTHER meant. I think some folks like to pick on the environmentalists no matter what they talk about. They are usually people too lazy to help the environment.We are all in this thing together we just all have different ideas of how things should be done. After all most wars are started because people have differing views and both sides think they are right and refuse to bend. We found a mulch place that carries Meleleuca and bought truckloads of it. Call around and ask if they can get it for you. It is really pretty and easy to use! We did not find it all that expensive. No side affects or saplings growing and its been down about 4 months.We will order more of course. Putting away my soapbox now <:o>