Two things: 1) the vegetable hair roots get into the wood. I had noticed that also with smaller chunks of wood buried in beds. If you worry about nitrogen, please notice that vegetables go out of their way to get into wood. 2) it is amazing how fine and broken down the soil becomes within a season. I think it is due to mycelium filaments, not readily visible by the human eye, running all over the place. This was tough clay, and the four logs (about 2.5 ft long and 5 inches wide) were placed as the sides of a square, yet the soil was finely tilled all the way to the center of the square. Each four logs was a newly planted fruit tree taken down by deer, so I was able to check this many times. No, it was not the tree roots which were small.

Sounds like the problem is a monoculture.

Pam, I do both. The pickled ones are a little more tender and have a different flavor. You can also take a fresh jal, slice it in half, put in cream cheese, put it back together, cut a big chicken breast or pork chop in half, pound it thin under Saran wrap, wrap it around the jal. Then wrap that in bacon or thin sliced ham and toothpick it together. Some people put mayo on it too. I like it better with the ham, cause the bacon doesn't get crisp unless you grill it. Bake off at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is done. I like the pickled ones stuffed with tuna fish or pimento cheese. Fried pickle chips and spears are all over here at any Cajun restaurant. Here's something else you can try. Two poblanos and two jalapenos chopped. One medium onion chopped. Three or four Roma tomatoes cored and chopped. 4-garlic cloves, chopped. Handfull of cilantro, chopped. Two pounds of Ahi tuna steaks cubed 1". Heat a pan with oil really hot, drop in the cubed tuna, and cook, all the while breaking it up as it gets done. When done, add everything but the cilantro, and cook until veggies are tender. Add the juice of one or two limes and the cilantro, toss, and serve with corn tortillas and fresh tomatillo salsa. Slap 'yo mama, daddy, and sister/brother, husband, and any other relatives that are handy...

Beth, Congrats on getting so-o-o-o close. Your PB should be able to let you know how many gallons you have. Water testing on a salt pool vs a non-salt pool is identical except that you need to do a salt test from time to time to be sure the amount of salt in your pool is correct...basically, you're double-checking your saltwater chlorine generator's (SWCG) read-out. Muriatic acid lowers your water's pH when it gets too high and that happens on a regular basis with a SWCG. MA can be purchased at a Lowe's or Home Depot-type store. It's generally cheaper purchased there rather than at a pool store. A drops-based test kit is the kind to look for, if your PB doesn't supply you with one. Poolforum.com is a great site to go to. Read everything you can there. Unfortunately, registrations have been closed there for some time, so you can't post at the present time. Another site that I've linked below, has many of the same members as PoolForum. You CAN register and post on that site, so it's the way to go. You'll still advice from some of the really knowledgeable people from PoolForum. They also are selling what looks to be a top-notch test kit (a very similar version of the excellent kit PoolForum used to sell - I have one of those and wouldn't have a pool without it!). Here is a link that might be useful: TroubleFreePool site