Unless you are in a really high water table area, your garden is extremely close to a waterway, or for some reason planting in an extremely sandy soil area where you also have a lot of moisture...then most home gardeners are having an extremely small (to none) impact on their local water tables. We gotta remember there's 2 main worlds in the outdoor food production game...those managing a few sq foot to a couple acres...and those managing 100s-1000s+ of acres. While some information you get may be technically true for everyone, it may not be an issue depending on the actual variables and the scale of the operation it's being applied to. There's no shortcut around managing nutrient runoff on 1000+ acres even in the most hospitable areas. The home gardener gets a whole lot more leeway.

Anything colder than zone 7 is pushing her limits. She grows in my zone 6 garden but not well enough to keep. If you look through the posts it's almost perfectly aligned that all zone 7's and up love her and zone 6's and down not so much. I do have one tucked against a house (house blocks the winter winds) and it does wonderfully.....heat from the house combined with the blocking of winds probably gives it a zone 7 micro climate.

I brought this thread up to thank Jim for posting an excellent article on the danger of high phosphorus: "Phosphorus carries a chemical charge that competes with other micronutrients for plant uptake. Excess amounts result in leaf chlorosis because iron, manganese, and zinc are not available to the plant. Leaf tissue turns yellow while veins stay green." http://www.rose.org/phosphorus-fallacies-too-much-of-a-good-thing/ From StrawChicago: Agree with the above, except for the quote "Commercial growers of roses for cut-flower production typically use fertilizers with a 3-1-2 NPK ratio." That applies to pots or sandy soil, but NOT for alkaline clay. Alkaline clay has more beneficial bacteria to fix nitrogen from air. I used that ratio 3-1-2 before and got a 5 feet tall own-root Scepter'd Isle, plus a giant Charles Darwin (own-root). I gave both away since they got too big & less blooms. From Wikipedia: "By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen." Agree 100% with the quote "Phosphorus fixates, or becomes immobile, in the soil quickly after application. This fixation is minimized at a pH level of 6.0-7.0. So all the extra phosphorus in fertilizer will become unavailable at pH levels above or below that range." With my foolish experiments of bone meal (top-dress or in the hole) ... I notice that high phosphorus induce foliage diseases, due to the suppression of zinc, a very strong anti-fungal agent. Bone meal has 24% calcium and 11% phosphorus, that's NOT as bad as higher % of phosphorus in MG-Soluble. I tested MG-Soluble before: more blooms, but more fungal diseases, plus more pests. High phosphorus induce foliage problems in my Thai basil. That hole was previously occupied by Sharifa Asma, it's right under a rain-spout, so nitrogen get leached out (10 mobility), potassium also leached out (3 mobility), but phosphorus stay put (1 mobility). I put too much Encap cow manure (high phosphorus) in that hole. Sharifa was blooming great ...6 blooms for a tiny plant (6 inch x 6 inch). But after blooming, it broke down in black spots. So I moved Sharifa out, and put a Thai Basil. Here's how Thai basil looks like, tons of blooms, but very thin foliage, with black spots, plus potassium deficiency in lower leaves. The leaves are much paler, smaller, and thinner due to zinc and iron less available.

aprilneverends (what I don't get is how they have 2 kitchens..) ************************************************** 2 units(one above another) were combined and they left a kitchen. That room with the carpeting is 29 x 14, so it is a good size to start Re; HOA From seeing other listings in vintage buildings--this bldg is 61 yrs old, it's in the ballpark. One way to view it, nearly a third (or more) would normally go out for heat, air, cable, internet, gas, scavenger(trash) anyway Here's a video about another unit,http://www.chicagomag.com/Radar/Deal-Estate/October-2012/Afloat-Over-Lake-View-in-a-Milton-Schwartz-Penthouse/ This unit is on the 19th and 20th floors and looks to be a combined unit as it has 2 kitchens, one on each floor. It’s not the penthouse. Those are on the 21st floor. The listing says its the only duplex in the building. It has floor to ceiling windows with east and south views. I won’t go into the description of the two kitchens, because, well, everyone should check it out for themselves. The unit has some hardwood floors as well as wood paneling with moldings. It has central air, in-unit washer/dryer and one covered parking space. The listing says this is the first time this unit has been on the market. If they moved in right away, that would be 61 years. The owners in this building seem very loyal. In 2012, Chicago Magazine had a story about the two penthouses and talked to Schwartz’s widow who still lived in one. You can read it and see the pictures here. This unit has been under contract once already. It’s been reduced $24,100 since May. Who’s ready to take on this project? Amanda McMillan at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here. Unit #1901: 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, duplex First time on the market since 1956 Originally listed in May 2017 for $799,900 Reduced Currently listed at $775,000 (includes one covered parking spot) Assessments of $2337 a month (includes heat, a/c, cable, Internet, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger and snow removal) Taxes of $11,885 Central Air Washer/Dryer in the unit Wet bar Bedroom #1: 29×14 (main level) Bedroom #2: 15×14 (second floor) Bedroom #3: 14×11 (second floor) Bedroom #4: 15×11 (second floor) Foyer: 18×7 Study: 15×11 (main level) 2 kitchens (one on each level)