Thank you, Hoovb, for the info. Everyone climate and soil is different. Stuff don't decompose ON TOP in my zone 5a winter of -20 degree Fahrenheit. It was snow and hail early this April. Kim (Roseseek) has 7" of rain in his dry California versus my 40" of rain plus 23" of snow in my Chicagoland. Stuff decomposes fast where it's warmer underground in my cold zone, with wet limy clay. Lime was used to corrode corpses. Kim's soil is shale clay, where shale is a natural source of gas. I have limestone clay, rich in calcium carbonate. TUMS (calcium carbonate) is an anti-acid and anti-gas. Stuff decompose fast in my limy clay, versus less in shale clay or sandy soil. I tested it: I put 20+ fresh banana peels IN THE BOTTOM of Radio Times planting hole. That bush is 100% healthy, most blooms. I also tested putting half-rotted horse-manure at the bottom of Christopher Marlow, with huge blooms. My logic of putting cocoa mulch NPK of 2.5 - 1 - 3 at the depth below 2 feet for tomatoes: 1) Cocoa mulch decomposes FAST when wet underground. Its nitrogen content speeds up decomposition. A site stated "cocoa mulch decomposes fast when wet." 2) The heat released from the decomposition process underneath speeds up tomato growth. Black plastic mulching of tomato in cold zone yielded more, and earlier fruits, due to heating up of the soil. We put bags of dethatched grass in the garage one winter, and it heated up the entire garage. 3) The acid released from carbohydrates decomposition breaks up the bottom limestone layer ... I'm hoping for conversion to gypsum (hydrated calcium sulfate). Cocoa mulch is acidic at pH of 5.8, which will bring down my pH over 8 of limestone underneath. 4) By the time the tomato roots expand downward to below 2 feet, everything is decomposed and will supply the potassium needed for that late stage. Cocoa mulch has 2.5 nitrogen, 1 of phosphorus, and 3 of potassium, and contains all micronutrients: ANALYSIS OF COCOA MULCH at pH 5.4 Total N % 3.0 Total C % 43.0 Phosphorus mg/100g 1000 Potassium mg/100g 3251 Calcium mg/100g 575 Magnesium mg/100g 488 Iron mg/100g 140 Manganese mg/100g 9 Zinc mg/100g 11 Copper mg/100g 3.5 Nickel ppm 1.0 This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Tue, Apr 30, 13 at 17:14

GGGRRRRRRRRR BP is so downplaying this disaster and making it a spectators mecca with the live feed video. http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93687?fp=1 I can understand people want to see what is going on and how bad it is but the video is so very not showing the magnitude of the situation. The size, the scale and scope of the leak is not really shown and there is nothing the average person can use to put the scene into perspective. It doesn't look so bad so it can't be bad right? And like every other video fad I can remember people get bored with the newest fad quickly. Face it watching a black cloudy bubbling up from a crack in the ground (even underwater) isn't exciting or particularly dangerous looking so there is no thrill. Off they go to find something new and thrilling, forgetting the spill and not realizing unless we keep up the pressure on BP to fix it that leak will continue pumping 210,000+ gals of oil into the water everyday. One reporter somewhere said "Well with the size of the Gulf and Atlantic Ocean 210,00 gals is just a drop in a bucket." That comment chapped my youknowwhat. Let us think about this. I know some of you are familiar with salt water aquariums and have some very nice ones in your home. Lets just say your tank is a 50 gal and it has a couple different corals, starfishes, a few variety of fish, a few anemone, maybe a shrimp or 2 and whatever else you feel makes a beautiful tank and a thriving ecosystem closely resembling the real oceans. NOW lets drop a big drop of crude oil in that tank everyday. Even with a great filter system on that tank How long do you think it will take before that daily drop of oil starts to effect the life in that tank? Lets say the reaction to the oil started with in a few days on a very microcosmic scale the plankton and micro organisms that are the first on the food chain for larger creatures are dying off. What affect do you think it will have on future generations of the sweet little fishes and corals. Put that into scale for the worlds oceans and bring that chain of events right up to knocking on your door. It can happen. Whats worse is the feed is so popular that it can not take the traffic and keeps crashing. BP apologizes and says they are working on the problem. Like color me cynical okay & excuse me is that anything like WORKING ON FIXING THE LEAK that camera will be crashed for a long time. I feel like painting up signs "STOP THE LEAK" "BOYCOTT BP" "BREAK FROM PB UNTIL the BREAK IS FIXED" then going to stroll the sidewalk back and forth in front of a BP near me. GRRRRRR Thanks for the vent-let I gotta rant or I'll go ballistic Here is a link that might be useful: yahoo buzz

Hi Dee, The golden cane suffers from the same malady as plants like Aspidistra and Oleander - its just too common. The plants themselves may have many of the characteristics that gardeners seek (hardy, reasonably attractive etc), but they are fairly uninspiring plants overall. I have several golden canes in my garden, including two that could best be described as 'gigantic', and they barely rate a second glance. I admire their toughness, and they are great screening plants, but I wouldnt put them in any position which would draw the eye. Ultimately, its horses for course - my GF loves them and wont hear my objections. You will find them gamely holding on, alone and unloved, in backyards across Rocky (ditto Oleander), but I wont be planting any more : the tropical gardener simply has too many other great palms to choose from. Cheers, Artie

I would write to Reliable Roses in Victoria info@reliableroses.com.au Those two roses are not on their list and I cannot find them on any Australian Websites Reliable Roses have quite a few Species Roses on their website so may be able to recommend two similar ones. All the best with your search.. Mary-Anne Here is a link that might be useful: Reliable Roses Catalogue