"It is totally justifiable to have concerns about these products when they apply to your person and any sensitivites you may have. But it becomes a case of misplaced logic to extend that concern and blanket these products with evil properties that that are simply not supported by any scientific evidence. " GardenGal48. Respectfully, I think I explained my situation pretty well and why I do not use roundup nor do I think it is necessary in most home gardens. When you talk about scientific evidence...I am not sure it exists with relation to the chemical overload many people are dealing with. Meaning...the scientific model is very limited in its ability to prove cause and effect when so many variables are happening at once and this is what lets the herbicide and pesticides folks off the hook. Hort Vinegar for example is very strong. If everyone on my block started using it, especially like how most people use garden chemicals...which is way too much...then it would have an effect and therefore I am trying to find a permanent solution so I do not need to keep using chemicals of any kind. Due to the tone on the thread about Roundup...it caused me to read and research for many days. I am now even more convinced we need to control our chemical output and be mindful of not only the chemical itself...but the fact there is chemical "layering" in the environment. There are also broader issues like GMO's, among others. You need to read alot to see how it is all connected. We definitely need to do a chemical wind down and perhaps not just look at chemical toxicity as one chemical at a time. Unfortunately the only true way to test all this and get rapid results is on humans... which would be highly immoral so in a sense we are all human guinea pigs aren't we? I have successfully seen gardening without chemicals so I feel comfortable exploring those options and discussing it and recommending it. Unfortunately when concerns are raised by environmentalists we are treated pretty badly...but in the end unfortunately many times we are justified by our concerns. Some of us look at broader issues, and see how things are connected, a tad faster and not just one thing...or one use. Much of this has to do with the fact that the planet is simply crowded... I mean no disrespect Gardengal48...it is just a different way of looking at things and seeing cause and effect in broader terms. Have a great evening. Sunny

I love blanketflower, Kelly - it grows wild in beach sand at Gulfport and Biloxi, and seems to grow better there than here. Florida is known for its sand, so I guess that's why they're working out in your meadow. I mailed my order to Mary Ann at Pine Ridge Gardens, and the seeds that I ordered from Native American Seed in Texas came the other day - the seeds are Liatris pycnostachya, Cassia fasciculata/Partridege pea, Salvia Azurea/Pitcher Sage, Ipomopsis rubra/Standing cypress, Penstemon tenuis/Gulf Coast penstemon, and Tridens flavus/Purple top grass. All are native here. The plants I've ordered are Panicum virgatum 'Cloud Nine'/panic grass, P. virgatum 'Red Sunset', several Tridens flavus/purple top grasses, and two Liatris pycnostachya, all native. I'll soon be starting the seeds, and I'll plant the plants as soon as we get the top soil and spread it. I've got some swamp sunflowers and native delphiniums that came from Bustani's that I'm planting in my garden that I hope will yield seeds that I can then use to grow plants for the meadow - I hope to be able to do the same thing with the Monarda punctata that's coming from Mostly Texas Natives and some red stem sunflowers that grow up front. Plus the agalinis should make seeds that I can use. What usually happens when I plant things in an uncontrolled place - as opposed to, say, a raised bed in my garden - whatever wants to come up, comes up and dominates what I've planted. Still, the additional plants may very well take and enhance my meadow. Fun, fun, fun! Sherry

Update: Things are sprouting after two warm sunny days in the upper 60's/low 70's. These two days were preceded by three cloudy and rainy days. Not as much up as I would have expected by now, but the soil is quite cold yet. Squirrels are digging holes all over in the garden, but they don't seem to be after any of my stuff. I wonder if they are grubbing or something because I loosened and garden-raked the soil prior to seeding and did not notice any buried nuts. I put up some rabbit fencing around this garden today. Hard to believe it but I overheated a bit - was sweating profusely from the hot sun and wasn't drinking enough water. Also got a touch of sunburn on my neck while doing this project. After spending all winter indoors this is a dangerous time of year to be out in the sun when not used to it, plus no leaves on the trees for shade to escape to for a break. Didn't feel good so I skipped dinner and rested instead, but I feel fine now and ate at ten pm. Dug out my old wide-brimmed gardening hat from storage and will start wearing it again. That hat is like an old friend as it always helps keep me cool and nicely shades my face and neck from the sun. It was kind of stupid of me to not think of wearing it today. A cold snap that I expected would come sooner or later is forecast to start on Monday. Highs in the mid to upper 40's, rain expected as well. Here will be the test because I have no intention of doing anything to protect the garden - it is on its own. I currently have around 2000 seedlings in flats under lights to worry about and take care of - they are my babies, not the stuff in the garden. Thanks to all for the posts. It is nice hearing from fellow gardeners regarding what you are all doing or have done in the past.

Similar kinds of things I am aware of or involved with in Philadelphia, Cleveland, and locally where I live in the Lehigh Valley. For example, there's a group I know of where a woman is donating her large property for the youth group of her church to grow food to donate to the local food pantry and also the United Way there is attempting to coordinate home gardeners to be able to donate excess produce to the needy (the big issues with donations are always storage and distribution). Like I said in that other article that got pulled for whatever reason, where there's a will there's a way. It's great work to be involved with! Here is a link that might be useful: Gardens of Giving in Saylorsburg, PA