You don't use black plastic to solarize. You use clear plastic, 6 mill to 8 mill thickness. Black plastic does not raise temperatures nearly as much as clear does. While I'm sure it's annoying, it shouldn't be too difficult to pull the grass which should come right up, then place it on top of the existing straw. All straw i not created equal. It also needs to be applied properly by fluffing and then lightly sprinkling, it should never be packed down when you add it to your garden. There can be an issue where there are straw are seeds which might sprout but they're usually very easy to pull and add to your compost pile. It's good to know your source so you know what you're getting. Hay and Straw Glossary A popular organic mulch, hay is commonly used to protect soil and plants from the elements, to line pathways, and to address various needs in the garden. What many people don't realize, however, is that various products are often labeled as "hay" at garden centers, but there are many different types of hay and straw that are commonly sold in bales. While they are easily confused, it's important for gardeners to become familiar with the differences. Salt hay Salt hay, or Spartina patens, is a grassy plant that grows in salt marshes and wetlands. It is useful for keeping weeds from growing in paths, preventing runoff, and keeping soil from turning into mud whenever it rains or the garden is watered. A layer of salt hay will keep soil moist and encourage worms to come to the surface, which will help to aerate the soil. It also makes an attractive path to walk on between garden rows. Salt hay is an ideal all-purpose mulch because its seeds won't grow away from salt water so it won't germinate in your garden. Golden straw What is commonly termed "Golden straw" is either oat straw, Avena, or wheat straw, Triticum. This straw is a by-product of the process of separating oat or wheat seeds from their stalks. Golden straw is often used as bedding in horse stalls; because there are no seeds, the horses won't eat it. This straw spreads nicely, and the lack of seeds means there is no risk of it germinating in your garden. It can be used in the same way as salt hay. Wheat straw An excellent choice for straw for use in the vegetable garden. Lay down six inches in height in the fall then direct sow seeds in the spring. No need to dig. There will be a handful of weak sprouts from seeds, just pull them out. Feed hay Just as its name implies, feed hay is used to feed livestock. Though inexpensive and plentiful, it is not a good choice for use in gardens because it is full of seeds. The main ingredient of feed hay is alfalfa, Medicago sativa. It also frequently contains flowers and seeds from many other plants and weeds such as clover and golden rod. These seeds are likely to germinate, resulting in a garden full of weeds rather than flowers and vegetables.

Yep, Sweet Woodruff will let you know quickly if it`s happy or not. I`ve tried to root it in other areas and it always dries right up. But, if it`s somewhat shady, the stuff will go bananas. Very easy to pull up around plants, shallow roots. Grew like crazy for me on top of black plastic, so when I removed all the plastic (finally) last year, it was easy to pull up entire sheets of the Woodruff. Smells wonderful while in bloom, too. It`s cool to watch it spread then immediately stop itself where the sun hits it. It`s one of my top all time fave plants.

Sis2two, You're welcome, that's great that you have a fan deck, they really come in handy. Those are both nice colors but on my monitor, they seem to have a lot of gray in them and they read more dreary than cheery. The beige peach color in your tile can work very well with a lot of greens, but you may want to lean towards something with a little more yellow in it like the sample I've posted below. This color combination was suggested on the BM site and see, they suggested a color with a peach tone as a compliment. This green which I just pulled at random is BM Sweet Daphine. Can you post some pictures of your tile and the spaces you're talking about?

Buehl -- This is really fantastic! Thank you, thank you for all your help on this! The flow is amazing -particularly around the island with the new door - and the zones are so clearly designated now and much more practical. Regarding your questions: PANTRY- we have a pantry designated in the plans (as "Wine") in the library. It will be located under the new staircase (which probably won't get finished until the fall of 2012) and accessed through a door in the library. Having those 2 columns you added on either side of the sink wall is great, though!! (DH loves it!) . You also asked whether I'd like a walk-in or step-in pantry - where do you see that going? and I'm assuming that would replace the 2 columns on the sink wall? DWs - DH and I really like the config you have. The more I think about it, the more I see how it will streamline what I do in the kitchen. MIELE speed oven - Since we're going with the 48" (you like that better than the 36" right?) I think the speed oven is all I need - it's a regular oven, micro, convection and speed oven all in one. So I think I'm leaning toward having it under the Miele espresso - this is purely a form/aesthetic call on my part :). Do you think I'm making a functional mistake?! LIBRARY/KITCHEN ISLAND - We both are thrilled about your drawing here too. I always wanted a buffet/hutch scenario from the beginning but thought it wasn't possible. Thank u! A couple questions: 1. Do you see the previously drawn half columns going away and being replaced by the two 28.5" side cabs (that reach from the counter to the ceiling)? The column closest to the refrig is faux but we will need a structural beam on the other side (probably going down to crawl space - we have a structural engineer working on all of those issues this week. It supports a critical junction in the house (i.e., where the vaulted ceiling ends along with supporting the second floor load) Do u think we'll be able to hide it in the new cabinet? 2. I saw you replaced the 24" mini bev fridge with refrig drawers. Have you found better success with those? 3. How do you see the other side of that bar functioning ? I see that it's bumped out in the middle with blue dots - just wondering what that means. I can't wait to hear your thoughts! 2 more functional questions-sorry! : 1. TV - Where would u put a small flat screen tv? (DH request-and I'd probably like it too) I'm thinking somewhere in the sink wall area - or above the Miele stack? 2. Cookbooks - I have at least 150. Is there anywhere they could go? If not, I've designated a cabinet in the TV room for them. Nice to have but not necessary. We are so excited about this new design buehl! It's definitely more functional and I think it's more beautiful too! Thx again - make that a million times thanks buehl! davidro 1 - thx for bringing up the fridge dimension question ! I went online and checked the Wolf and Sub-Zero dimensions and I found that: (1) the fridge sticks out 28 and 3/8" (2) the range sticks out 26 and 3/16" - which means the deepest I could probably go out with the counter is 26" (vs. the std. 24")?? What do you think davidro 1 and buehl? Davidro 1 - is your reason for doing this that it looks better? And would you move the island accordingly 2 more inches to compensate? (making the distance between the island and the wall now 46") All of these things I hadn't thought about! Thx! lascatx - football season is draining! Our sons' friends are exhausted but having a great time! I am quickly becoming a Perlick convert - we chose that brand for the icemaker because we were unanimously told it's a superior product. DH LOVED your idea of them for our fridge drawers too. Thx for listing what you use them for too. Excited about that. And I love the idea of lighting the side glass cabs. I think it will lighten up the space and add some sparkle at night! I'm thinking I may use that backside space partially for cookbooks? I have about 150 of them and right now, I travel upstairs to the spare bedroom to retrieve them. Not practical at all - but I guess a decent workout - lol. Although I really like the idea of making that space usable from both sides. Hmmm ... What do you think?