Underplanting any conifer is a tricky situation. Not only is the soil generally poor (the mass of tree roots pull out all the nutrients), but the area generally receives minimal rainfall - the tree canopy shields the ground. Dry soils with minimal organic matter will be powdery as a result. And as lazygardens notes, amending these areas is problematic. Too many roots to be able to easily incorporate amendments and you can't just layer on top. Too thick an addition of any material will smother the tree roots. Often, just lightly mulching the area is the best plan or alternately, planting a groundcover that will tolerate the shady, dry conditions. btw, a blue spruce will cast spruce needles, not 'pine' needles :-)

Hi, I'm very excited someone else is interested in growing edible seeds/nuts in their garden. I've just begun exploring growing these kinds of things, but last year I had great success with a few varieties. FYI I live in central florida near Mt. Dora. I grew mammoth sunflower seeds and collected a large cooking pot full of seeds from about five plants. I did have some seeds mold though, so I recommend drying them exceptionally well if you plan on leaving them in the shells before storing. I also grew Afghani Sesame seeds which did really great here during dry spells of March and April and continued to flourish in the wet months as well. They do very well with the heat and had no issues with pests. They weren't as easy as the sunflowers to shell, but worth it for the delicious seeds. I hung mine upside down in buckets and banged them around a bit to get the seeds out. Bakers creek seeds has a few nice varieties including the Afghani kind. I've also grown buckwheat as a summer cover crop which has a distinctive flavor. I'd recommend trying it from the store first before planting, but it is such a great grower here in our summers and acts as a good insect habitat it's almost worth growing even if you don't collect the grain. A few things I haven't grown yet, but hope to in the future are: cashew trees peanuts (do really well here, many of my neighbors grow them with great success) Kakai Pumpkins (have hulless black seeds inside which are delicious and don't have the work required as most pumpkin/squash seeds have to be hulled.) Chia (super food and exceptional smoothie additive) Here's an interesting link about edible seeds: http://www.waldeneffect.org/blog/Less_successful_experimental_crops/ Good luck on your gardening adventures! Caitlin

I would suggest looking at your lease agreement carefully... I've been in the property management business for a fair few years, and many of the leases I have seen include stipulations (usually in the section titled "Use") regarding interference with the quiet enjoyment of other residents, occupants, or guests. If something along these lines exists in your agreement, then your neighbors are in violation of theirs. Bring this to the attention of your property manager, and that should get something going. I can't imagine that they wouldn't be aware of the terms and conditions of their own lease agreements, but it could come down to plain and simple incompetence or apathy on their part. In that case, as was said before, look for housing elsewhere.

LOL..... Women.... you never catch on.... But that's good. Didn't you watch Everybody Loves Raymond when Robert was supposed to make the wedding invitations? Chemocurl, that's true, but they also say "A woman's work is never done... since the invention of the TV!" ;) Now go fetch yer men a beer, bring their pipe and slippers and give him a nice back rub. To quote some great men: Women.... can't live with 'em. Pass the beer nuts. - Norm Peterson Women.... can't live with 'em, can't stuff 'em in a sack! - Larry (of Larry, Darrel & Darrel) Oh, this could get interesting! ANYWAY, I was going to just put up an eye hook (ask your menfolk what they are if you don't know, ladies... hehe) and put a rope through it. Simple and effective pulley system. And BTW, guys NEED $30k pickups to carry home 500 pairs of shoes for whom??? Maybe we should use the same argument: We need a BLACK pickup, and an EBONY pickup and an ONYX pickup... After all, you can't drive the white pickup after September...