Well I have just had a good laugh. Lasagna gardening. I have called my layered method of composting "compost lasagna" for years and people always get a chuckle out of that. Years ago, 1977 or 78, I read a book by Max Alth called "How to Farm Your Backyard the Mulch Organic Way" He was a proponent of this method. He called it "sheet mulching" rather than lasagna, but it's exactly the same thing. I started using it back then and have ever since. It is simple and it simply works. I pile it on thick about a foot thick in 40 inch wide beds with good size paths in between. Lay my produce tape drip line up on top. Pull back the mulch where the seeds need to find soil and plant. I use thick mulch like this in my orchards too. Works there too. I put kitchen trimmings in the orchard since they are a bit more unsightly and harder to work with and usually slower to break down. I get truck loads of shredded/chipped material from a company that does tree trimming and has one of those big chipping machine. (They used to actually pay me to take the material, cheaper than taking it to the dump, but they no longer do that) I also have an 8 horse power Troybuilt chipper for all the pruning from my own place. The material from the Troybuilt is the most attractive, so I use that around the front of the house so it looks good for the neighbors. We also have neighbors with horses on both sides, so we use horse manure mixed in with the woody materials. Be careful with horse manure if you have heavy soil and it will make the soil tight. Well, it's good to know others are doing this. I have converted a few friends over the years. I recommend it to everyone. Good to know others are having success with it too.

The vinca will do fine. Why don't you use Roundup or something similar to kill the weeds then wait and replant the vinca. Keep the plants wet in the garage or in the shade, but don't pile them on top of each other. Hey no one is perfect it's when the pros blow it and get paid that's the problem. The mulch will still be there, just imagine the area when planted. Sorry, but everyone learns from their mistakes, or should. Here is a link that might be useful: Propagating Perennials

I found some online pdf articles on hydro fodder I thought I would pass along. The site is: http://www.sproutnet.com/nutrition_research.htm Some of the articles on fodder are: "Commercial Hydroponic Fodder Growing in South Africa", D. A. Harris, Republic of South Africa, from the Proceedings of the Third International Congress of Soilless Culture, Sassari, Italy, 7-12 May 1973. "Effect of Hydroponically Produced Oat Grass on Ration Digestibility of Cattle", R. J. Hillier and T. W. Perry, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. "Nutrient Content of Hydroponically Sprouted Barley", D. J. Peer and S. Leeson, Animal Feed Science and Technology, 13 (1985) 191-202. "Feeding Value of Hydroponically Sprouted Barley for Poultry and Pigs", D.J. Peer and S. Leeson, Department of Animal Science and Poultry Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Onterio. "Nutritive Value of Hydroponic Feed and its use for Feeding High Yielding Cows." Grigor' ev, Fitsev, and Lesnitskaya. Article in Russian. Abstract in English. "Production of a Green Feed by the Hydroponic Method Using Fermented Pig Manure", Nikmane, Klintsare. 1990 "Feeding Livestock form the Hydroponic Garden", Arizona State University, May 1974. "Hydroponic Shed Produces enough feed for 55 cows", New Zealand Journal of Agriculture 1986, 151 : 11, 18-19. Mixed Nitrogen Nutrition and Productivity of Wheat Grown in Hydroponics", J. A. HEBERER and F. E. BELOW., Annals of Botany 63, 643-649, 1989. "Nutrient and Trypsin Inhibitor Content of Hydroponically Sprouted Soya Beans", Animal Feed Science and Technology, 13 (1985) 203-214. "Nutrient Content of Hydroponically Sprouted Barley", D. J. Peer and S. Leeson, Animal Feed Science and Technology, 13 (1985) 191-202.

Kris, you can "grow tomatoes in the fall." But what that really means is "harvest them in the fall." If you plant an strongly indeterminate (means that it never stops growing and flowering) variety, then it's possible to simply nurse it through the heat and drought of July, and it will pick up flowering and fruiting when temps become more reasonable. But beware, if the plant gets too beat up, the fall harvest may not be all that good. The other option is to put out transplants in June. I say "June" because my climate turns cold sooner than Dawns. For me, since I start from seed, that means I start my seed early in May or late in April. Last year I direct seeded some Roma VF tomatoes on June 9. But all I got was some green tomatoes by frost. I have two varieties which I really like for fall tomatoes. One is Tuxhorn's Yellow & Red, which is like Hawaiian Pineaple (yellow beefsteak with red streaking). This one simply fruits more reliably in the fall. But the green tomatoes are WAY better than any other we've tried. The other variety is called Polish Pastel, which is a yellow and red streaked/pastel plum shaped but somewhat hollow fruited tomato. I bet it could be used for stuffing. Anyway Polish Pastel is an extremely resilient variety which can survive the heat and drought and BURST into flower as soon as temps become reasonable. This one is a heavy producer in the fall. Neither of these tomatoes is available commercially :( George