If you have a good spade and garden fork digging out the weeds will probably take a few hours but will allow you to start using the beds this year. Once the weeds are out cover the soil with an inch or two of compost and add a quarter gallon of Steve Solomens's organic fertilizer per bed (4 parts cotton seed meal,1/2 part lime, 1/2 part bone meal, 1/2 part kelp meal). The lime helps combat the acidity of pacific NW soils and free up nutrients while the rest provides a great slow release fertilizer for your plants. Mix the compost and fertilizer into the top 3 inches of the soil and then water the beds well. Once that's done cover the beds with cheap clear plastic from home depot and secure the plastic around the edges with spare lumber, bricks or whatever you have to hand. Within a couple of weeks the soil will have warmed up and many of the weed seeds will have germinated. Remove the plastic and slice through the stems of the weed seedlings using a colinear or sickle hoe. This will kill them. Water the beds again and replace the plastic. After a couple more weeks you'll be able to kill off 90% of the remaining weed seedlings and plant your first plants into nice warm, rich soil. Good luck and let us know how it goes. SH

While remodeling, ran out of hardwood flooring. Purchased cheap untreated flooring & tried to match paint to no avail. Called Hosking to get pricing on hardwood I needed. Sales rep gave price quote & explained since I didn't purchase my previous flooring from them, might be slight color variation. I understood as I knew it wasn't from same "paint batch." She told me to check on invoice that hardwood brand, color, size is correct & then respond acknowledging there’s no returns. Got invoice emailed which stated description of my order, “LAUZON (brand) SOLID MAPLE (wood type) TRAVERTINE (color)” & confirmed. Two weeks later I opened box to see different size, wood type, & colored flooring. Enclosed shipping package shows these are not Lauzon. It looked the same as my initial failed attempt. Called Hosking about the MISTAKE but was told that since Lauzon is so EXPENSIVE, they use CHEAPER 3rd party lumber molding company that uses GENERIC hardwood & ATTEMPTS to paint match. I asked “Why wasn’t I told this BEFORE?” Rep responds “I don’t know what I may or may not have said…” I ASKED for Lauzon, PAID for Lauzon, I should be GETTING Lauzon. Why would I agree to pay for GENERIC, SUBSTITUTED product & be charged same price as the authentic? She was unapologetic & connects me to the owner. He doesn’t answer & unsurprisingly doesn’t return my voice message. I was willing to return INACCURATE order & have correct one sent. Now its been a month so had to resort to disputing charge & informing others about this UNSCRUPULOUS company & their blatant BAIT & SWITCH. I had to order again from QUALITY FLOORING 4 LESS, paid same price & got correct item. Would you buy a FAKE Rolex that is the same cost as the real one? If your answer is no, then AVOID ordering from Hosking!!! The pics of the invoice of what I expected, the packing slip of what came, and image of Lauzon Solid Maple Travertine & the "generic":

Things really have changed since a few years ago when people expected sellers to do a lot to a house before they sold it. Even then, at the most overheated time in the market, AT MOST, sellers got back 80 percent of the money they put into kitchen renovations. Most people got a lot less. The advice now is to make everything clean, clean, clean; and make sure it smells clean. Fix everything that is broken. Remove extra pots pans, dishes, food from cabinets, drawers etc. Remove any extra appliances you're not using right at the moment, like the microwave. Everything should feel spacious, and like they could just move right in. Remove draperies and blinds so the sun shines in. (Plus all of the usual staging, decluttering things for the rest of the house.) I do think it's important to talk to your real estate agent. Unless they're bad, they do know what's going on. They can then be fully on board with the message "The kitchen needs renovating, but the owners really felt the buyers should make their own decisions as to how that should be done, and that is reflected in the price." Personally, I don't think you need to do things like replace the counters or backsplash. I don't think you need to replace appliances either, for the reasons stated above. But if you do, consider buying secondhand appliances on something like craigslist, or through some other source. People renovating a kitchen often sell appliances that are in good condition just because they are upgrading. Remember, the buyer might turn right around and toss everything in the dumpster, you don't want to go overboard. Good luck!

Joseph Corlett, LLC: Thanks - I don't know how much more "Cage Rattlin" I can do. Did the woman in your reference have to go to court to get relief? Cosetino/Silestone's (The main company is in Mexico) customer Service manager Mr. Alejandro has not responded to repeated queries. I thought about having him served with a subpoena to get him into court but I am not sure how these things work - like, do I have to pay him transportation costs and expenses to appear in court? Regarding your question about Lowes - I try to do business with them instead of Home Depot and the only thing I know about them relative to my counter top issue is that they also use this same counter top fabricator. Also- Thanks for the Zodiac reference. In addition to the Zodiac specification that you referenced, I have also found specifications from Silestone, Wilsonart, CeasarStone, Viatera, and Cambria that support my contention that there is an industry standard tolerance. I am expecting the defendant to claim that there is no applicable specification for quartz counter tops just as he did at the first trial. I also filed a complaint with the MHIC and I also filed an appeal in small claims court - I am waiting for those hearings to be scheduled. I have low expectations of success but I will exercise all the available options. Thanks for the comments.