Ok, I was reading some info from Virginia Cooperative Extension, which said late February at the earliest. Where I grew up, that is deep winter, though down here it is early spring, especially if it is like last year (I hope not, that was just too rough on everything). I don't know why, but reading about pruning always gives me a headache and I never feel sure I understand it. Perhaps it is just trying to picture something I haven't really seen, or plain old unfamiliarity with the terms. Anyhow, if I understand it, I have now a basic "tree" shaped tree with a central leader and a problematic low branch that is competing for that position. I need to not only remove that branch to avoid a weak crotch (I can just see trying to have that conversation with my husband with a straight face) but also head back the central leader to a fairly short height. But then there is the thing about scaffolds... What's a fairly wide angle? Why is it ok for those branches to be fairly wide when all others need to have a 40-50� angle? What if it already has some suitable branches? Thanks!

Back in the olden days when Sir Albert Howard wrote about the Hunzas farming practices they made compost by mixing 3 parts vegetative waste to 1 part manure and is just what Sir Albert proposed every one else use. However today we know that is is not necessary to use manure, and many people do not have access to any even though there are more of those animals around to day then back then. There are a number of other Nitrogen sources you can use other than animal manure and some people do have good results, they think, using synthetic fertilizers as the N source.

Our electric bills aren't terrible, anywhere from $350-$550 a month (until the proposed 47% increase kicks in). The higher ones are in the summer because of the AC. It was the $1200 water bill we just got for this quarter that is the killer! I thought DH was going to have a coronary when he opened the envelope. If there's another drought next year I'm letting the plants die and the pool evaporate! lol There is a thingy that you can buy for the outdoor water faucets that lets WSSC know that the water isn't going back into the sewer system which is what you are actually charged for. I think they run a few hundred bucks each but might be a good idea. I wish we had installed them at the beginning of the season. Karyn

Compost made from plant wastes tends to be neutral. If you have a situation in your garden where you feel that a product such as Humate would be useful, it would probably work better if you mixed it with the finished compost from your heap just before you need to apply it. If you look at some of the 'special' growing medium recipes you'll see things such as 'one bucket of mature compost, one cup of lime, one tablespoon of slow release pellets 10-10-10' etc. All added just before use with plant material - otherwise it can leach away with watering, rain or snow, even in a compost heap. When you come to take plant matter from the area that you treated with compost and Humate, later, those plants will have the mineral uptake from the product and you will be adding those minerals to the compost heap.