What I'm saying though, is that flushing such wastes down the toilets is putting those toxins along with any pathogens back into the water supply. This is what a septic leach field does, it leaches the liquids back into the ground water. The sewage systems pump the stuff to some central location where they separate the solids from the liquid and try to kill off pathogens with chlorine and then dump the liquid (now contaminated by chlorine and any other chemical people dumped down the drains) back into the water supplies. By the way, round worm can eggs survive this process where they can't survive hot compost. "How hot does a hot pile have to get to destroy chemical substances, heavy metals and toxins that your body just passes in the wastes?" Most of our poop does not contain much of these or we would probably already be dead. Most comments about waste containing heavy metals probably comes from sewage treatment where other substances get dumped down the drains and contaminate the sewage sludge and therefore making it unsuitable for agricultural land application. (By the way, sewage sludge does get used to fertilize land in some places and those chemical, heavy metals, and toxins might be in there. I prefer not to contaminate my manure with such terrible stuff by flushing it away with clean drinking water which also gets contaminated.) This comment is a bit interesting. How many chemical substances, heavy metals and toxins do you think you eat? And if you eat them, why are you worried about composting them, diluting that with dirt and then growing plants you may or may not eat with it? If you really are worried about these things getting back to you then the current method of using good drinking water to flush waste away should be far more troubling to you than some one composting their own and perhaps their pet's crap. I know most people are a bit Fecophobic and the topic of composting their own poop (or even that of their pet's) grosses them out. We are not likely to change those mines overnight. I just know that eventually the idea of using clean drinking water to flush away "waste" and contaminate more clean drinking water will be seen for the bad idea that it is. Composting is the most effective means of dealing with human manure with it's pahtogens while also keeping our water supplies clean. Here is a link that might be useful: Humanure Handbook

Dave, you're saying they didn't keep you over night in the hospital for observation? IDK, I would like to be given the option of whether to go to the ER or not. When Charlie fell they did not call me, they called his work who then gave me minimum information, then I had to figure out what hospital he was in, it was in another state. By the time I looked up the town, then called 15 numbers, it was late. I was able to speak to Charlie in the ER then the doctor who said he seemed fine, they'd give him morphine, then probably release him the next day. Charlie told me to stay home, deal with getting his tractor trailer home the next morning, then to come up. Took me 2 or 3 hours of phone calls starting at 7 am but I did it. I would have loved to go the night before but it would have been almost a 2 hour ride in the dark; I don't drive more then 45 minutes away tops because of my back. Did Deb swat you with a rose cane when she saw you? LOL You would have deserved it you know lol I can't believe you're back working. It had been so long since I had lost a rose..... I was beginning to think I couldn't lose one :) Sometimes I need a wakeup call to keep me from getting too full of myself, Same for us. With our sandy "soil" at the old house, the roses would own root, they'd be horrible for year 2 then year 3 they started getting nice, year 4 awesome. It was them own rooting that we were able to take as many roses as we did when we moved. The only way we lost some was due to them sitting in pots since fall 2006, not sure of the dead count yet, but it means I finally get to buy more roses lol I have to rebuy red Eden, that was planted in dads garden, my "mother" didn't let me come back to take my roses/plants before she sold the house. We were going to buy it, then she got another offer without telling us. It is easy to be 'brave' and uncomplaining when I can feel steady improvement. Pain woke me this morning and I began to feel sorry for myself. Realized that I would have given anything 2 weeks ago to feel as little pain as I had today. It would have been wonderful even a week ago :) I don't think you ever get used to the pain. Chances are you are going to have some problems from this. You're right though, you remember how you were when 1st injured then are thankful that the pain is going away, but it's still pain and when it wakes you up is the pits. I fought pain meds for years but gave in. They changed them back in March but once again, I'm used to them and they are only taking the edge off for an hour; as the day goes they don't even touch that. Best advice I can give you is to speak up about the pain, then if needed get a script for something mild for days like you had. Suffering through the pain isn't going to help you any and if you are like the rest of us, you'll get grouchy. You also have to watch because you probably injured muscle which is a large part of my problem. I have really bad muscle spasms, which are nothing like when you feel your muscle jumping around, it's a deep, deep pain that will wake you up. What I usually suggest is to google the body part, say lower leg muscles or nerve posters, you will then click on images and find this. Pick a decent one, then print it out and trace your pain with marker or pen/pencil then also write what the pain feels like. If the pain shoots from the left side of your knee to the right, mark that. Bring it with you the next time you see the doctor, they will be very impressed & it will give them a better idea of what you are going through. I've gone so far as to write down the various pain I have during the day. If you are good with a photo program, you can open the poster image in that, then draw the pain lines using the pencil tool. You can get creative with various colors for different types of pain. Duke is happy. He can keep up with me walking now. He lets me use the ramp I built for him to get in the house too. Glad to hear he's still around. Tell Deb hello! feel better and stop going to work. You should be home with your feet up still.

Wally - the fact that you're concerned about your plants during periods of extended rain, MAKES your question a soil-related one. Simply announcing that because plumeria growing in situ are often subject to extended periods of rain there is no cause for concern for your containerized plants when the same occurs is simply wrong. Plumeria occur in monsoonal zones, but they don't occur in monsoonal zones in areas where drainage is inappropriate, and in a container, the issue of drainage becomes even more critical. There are ways to increase water retention with minimal negative impact on aeration, and ways to increase water retention that have significant negative impact on aeration. Understanding the concept is the first step in being able to implement it, and no matter how you look at it, an understanding of the concept will serve you well for all your container applications - regardless of where you live. I'm going to suggest you keep an open mind on this matter. The strong disagreement is coming from a group that has a history of just that, but I'd like you to decide for yourself what does or doesn't make sense, or have merit based on your perception of your needs. Please take a moment to reread my initial post on your thread. If you have any interest in digging deeper into how soils work you should find this helpful. You'll find a large number of replies to the thread that should give you some kind of feeling how the information provided is received and accepted - a bit fairer than what occurred here. If you decide that you would rather stick to something from a bag, that's fine too. If you decide that, there are still ways that you can deal with excess water retention if you feel that's a concern. This thread addresses ways to minimize water retention by suggesting ways to help expel perched water from your soils. It is not water retention per se that negatively affects root function, it's perched water and the airless conditions it creates that is of primary concern. The best soils are those that are able to maximize water retention with minimal impact on aeration. By and large, soils that need more frequent watering offer your plants greater opportunity to grow as close to their genetic potential as possible, within the limits of other cultural factors. Growing is about balance, and here, the 'balance' is finding that combination of ingredients that gives your plants the aeration they need, while still providing you a watering interval you can live with. I'm not here to pressure you or harangue anyone. If you have no interest in the things I just said, that's fine with me. My interest in you is limited to doing my best to provide information you can use to determine your best course. If you have questions that you need answered about anything I said, please feel free. I won't continue to participate on this thread unless you feel I can help you. I wish you the best from your growing experience. Take care and please accept my apology for being involved in the ugliness. Al

time2sell: "logic - I don't actually have all the permits, but I think the solidness of the back porch is obvious. They could get the permits from the county - cause I know it was repeatedly inspected" This may not be as simple as you may believeÂ....as solidness is only one consideration. Often, if finals were not issued, the permits expire...and the process...and the fees involved...starts all over again. In addition, if code changed during this time, the deck would them be required to meet present codeÂÂas opposed to what was in place at the time. Code changes yearly...so this may or may not affect this particular case. In addition, decks often require zoning permits as well as building permits to insure the deck as not been built beyond the setback. Last but not least...I'm not clear on why you don't have all of the permits....but if the deck was built legally with all of final approvals, the addition of such would be on the CO of the home. Also, depending upon the code in your area, and depending on what permits you may not have in hand, you may be required to dig out footings to document that they were done properly. The bottom line is that you want to market your home...and you are coming here for advice because you are clearly motivated to sell it for as much as possible. However, you admit that its appeal is to a niche market.......that being the case, it is therefore unwise to create an unnecessary nuisance factor, in requiring a potential buyer to perform all of the legwork and expense of obtaining the documentation of the permitsÂas well as final approvals. The added risk is if there is a problem, such as a setback or code issue, it may turn the buyer off on the whole dealÂas there is plenty of other homes to be had on the market. IMO, you would be well served to get the deck issue squared awayÂand move forward with all paperwork in handÂ.or, risk unpleasant surprises later on down the lineÂand at the most inopportune time.