jjdbike you are in the heart of horse country! Sure many a local barn is near you with lots and lots of free and aged and new manure. I have horses and a wonderful pile. Starting my new beds with the compost. Wonderful stuff. Mine was a hot pile and at 6 months is ready to go. Suggest double bagging and bring home less then 5 gal per bag, small easy and not to heavy. I have a truck and bring home bags in it for easy carrying to the garden. Turned the pile once a week and in a long row. When it reaches the end of the row it isready to go. Rick Tack shop should benear you and if you can find the notice board will have stables in the area with stalls for rent. ie stables in the area, and with phone#s to call. You can even shop around for one that uses just straw for bedding or sawdust. Also you may be able to get mushroom soil in your area. It is the most perfect thing to get your hands on. Just a few suggestions. ML

Thanks marymcp. I was thinking of getting the.... Toro 51599 Ultra 12 amp Variable-Speed Electric Blower/Vacuum with Metal Impeller http://www.amazon.com/Toro-51599-Variable-Speed-Electric-Impeller/dp/B000H1Y4EK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top It has very favorable reviews and only half the weight of the.... Black & Decker LH5000 12 amp Variable Speed Electric Leaf Hog Blower/Vacuum http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-LH5000-Variable-Electric/dp/B001ECQ4A8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1304789179&sr=8-2 The Black & Decker LH5000 has a lot of complaints about it being too heavy which is of concern to me. However its users think more favorably about its vacuuming/sucking/mulching ability than the owners of the Toro unit. From one review it seams like if I would cut 12-18" off the vacuum tube of the Toro it would suck much better and weigh even less. The again I could do the same with the B&D unit making it a little lighter and make a really good leaf/vacuum/mulcher even better. Now I just have to decide which one to buy before the leaves start coming down next fall. Decisions, decisions.

ctlane - if you're new to starting seeds I would recommend you do some reading and not plan on doing everything that way at first. Not that starting plants from seed is hard, most are easy to grow, it does save you money, and you have a much better selection of what to grow than what the average nursery or garden centre stocks. It's just that there are a lot of things that have to be done right - if you do it wrong you can get discouraged, and you'll have wasted the money you just spent. So... Go ahead and do it - you may love it and it is intensely rewarding to look at something and say to yourself "I grew that from a seed"! But don't go overboard the first couple of years, and keep your expectations realistic. Here's what I tell people that are new to the process: 1. Seedlings need light, water and air. *Light - A sunny window is not usually a good idea. Even though it seems nice and bright, the amount of light your seedlings will get is not enough, and they will get long and spindly. If you have a huge window or a 'greenhouse window', then it might be good enough, but they will do better under fluorescent lights. A four foot shop light from Canadian tire or Home Depot is ideal. It can be put in the basement, garage, of spare room - whatever you have available. Don't waste money on expensive specialized plant bulbs. Cool white bulbs are all you need. Seedlings should be one to two inches (yes that close) from the bulbs. *Water - One of the biggest killers of seedlings is a fungal infection that is usually called 'damping off'. The stem gets a pinched look and the seedling keels over and dies. Overwatering is the main cause for this fungus to get out of control. Keep the seed starting mixture only damp - not wet. Amount needed varies from plant to plant and the age of the plant. *Air - A lack of air circulation is another major cause to damping off. A fan placed a few feet from the seedlings will both circulate the air and help the seedlings grow sturdier and stronger. 2. Seedlings need a lot of attention. If you cannot check on your seedlings at least once a day (preferably twice or more), then you will not be able to monitor them as they grow. They will need to be watered, thinned, and moved away from the light as they grow taller(the tops of the plants need to remain close) 3. All seeds are not the same. Some need to have been started months ago, many need to be started now, and many more need only be sown outside and not started indoors at all. Many seeds need a cold period (called stratification) in order to germinate. This can be done in your fridge or outdoors using a process called wintersowing. Figure out what you want to grow and ask specific questions about those seeds. So this spring, buy a couple of sorts of annuals or veggies you'd like to have, and give it a try. Use a sunny window, or get a light and go for that - whatever you want. Note what worked and what didn't, and ask for feedback. You'll probably still need to buy plants at the nursery this spring as it'll take a couple of tries to get the hang of it. But then, look out - you'll be taking over the basement with the seeds :-) BP

I just downloaded the book so is does work, It is very slow downloading and it's not your pc, it is the link that we are getting it from. I needed a clean copy. The link is being forwarded from France, and that is why it takes so long, make sure you have at least 75 clean pages for it to use. Make sure that it is fully downloaded before tring to print it off. Make sure you have enough ink. Don't run out of paper in the middle. They come out clean and sharp black and white, she did not use color. If you know how to use the printer there should be no problems. I broke my printer trying to download I douldn't load my printer. Norma