Some info below. Please adjust your personal info to show your state and zone. When you post a question, it really helps to know where you are. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: CO State U - Bean Rust Management

Lindrusso, I agree, lasagna gardening is not foolishness. I started a herb bed two years ago using the lasagna method, and enlarged it this past winter, using nothing but cardboard, leaves, used coffee grounds (UCGs are a great green, BTW!) and soil. (I know, most lasagna gardening gurus say you don't need soil, but it worked for me). I let the leaves and UCGs sit and decompose over the winter, covered with burlap, stapled into the ground with those big garden staples to keep it all from blowing away. Then in the spring I topped it all off with garden soil, and planted tomatoes. I dug down through the decomposed cardboard to plant the tomatoes, and they grew like crazy! A real jungle, it was awesome. I am never going to till another garden bed. I've never used peat in a lasagna bed, and I only put kitchen wastes into my compost bin. You should definitely dig and bury the kitchen scraps to keep the critters at bay. I believe that burying kitchen scraps in existing beds is called trench composting. You mighty try googling that phrase. So, to sum up my responses to your questions....... 1. I am very interested in being able to use scraps from the kitchen. I have read that many folks compost right in the beds rather than (or in addition to) having a compost heap. If I do this, can I just scatter the kitchen scraps right on top of the bed or do I need to cover the scraps each time to prevent pests, flies, etc.? Don't scatter, bury. 2. If I do need to cover kitchen scraps, I would use brown material, right? Do you all keep a supply of brown material at hand for tossing on the pile when you need to cover things like kitchen scraps? Like maybe a large trash can filled with leaves or something? When I bury the kitchen wastes in my compost pile, I almost always top them with a layer of browns, usually shredded paper, of which I have many, many bags. 3. After I add a layer of something like hay or straw, do I need to top off with something with a little weight to hold it in place? Seems to me stuff like that would blow away! Burlap and staples works well to keep stuff from getting blown away. 4. What sorts of things do you all use as the very top layer when planting in the spring? I've read that grass clippings can be used - this appeals to me as this is the most readily available item because we have a large lawn and it's free - best of all. I use soil. And I don't mulch with anything right now, but I plan to start mulching next year with shredded leaves. When I used grass clippings, I too ended up with grass growing in the bed. 5. If I use things like corn husks or plant refuse (non-diseased, not weeds) - can I just throw them in and leave them on top or do I need to cover or do anything else to them? I would bury plant refuse just like I do the kitchen scraps. 6. Is there anything in the kitchen that is particularly bad for attracting pests (besides the obvious no-nos like meats, etc.)? By the time I get around to composting my kitchen scraps, they are usually pretty slimy anyway, and the only critters interested in them at that stage are earthworms and the rest of what you'll hear referred to around here as "the microherd." I hope you find my comments helpful. Alison

Janet: good to know about the rings. Pkramer60: I think I probably will go with the 8qt. and googling my current favorites cooked in the IP is a good idea. Anne Duke: If I ever have time to experiment I might try that. Right now I do the easy way:microwave in the potato bag. Dan1888: Sounds like things I cook, but don't understand how you cook potatoes and carrots wrapped in foil in beef stew-am I mis-reading that? Alex9179: I have a manual PC, so am familiar with the extra time you have to allow for coming to pressure and cool down. I still love the way it tenderizes certain foods and the speed. Thank you for the link; I will explore. Sooz: The chuck roast sounds delicious! I would have never thought of meat loaf in a pressure cooker and chicken broth, too. Lalithar: The time saved cooking beans and lentils makes a PC earn its shelf space. I didn't realize they act as warmers. And glad to hear you like the IP brand better. Chocolatebunny123: Glad to hear from another pleased user, even if it is hubby who uses it. I remember as a young married, being afraid to use a PC, but my mother bought me one an insisted it was safe. I didn't read the instructions well and eventually tried to cook something in it that I wasn't supposed to and blew the vent out. IIRC it was chicken and dumplings and they were all over my ceiling. By then I knew how valuable the PC was for saving time and started paying more attention to how and what to cook in it. Btaylor10: I've never made yogurt, but we do eat lots of it, so that would be a neat feature. Moosemac: I like the idea of using it for broth and I like that so many have replaced appliances with the IP. Thanks for all your responses. It always helps to make a decision about cooking appliances and tools after reading the opinions and experiences of the people on this forum I think I will have to be careful about weight gain if I use it for as many cheesecakes as people on here are enjoying!

Charles, you make a good point about the paint. The idea was to give the contractor a chunk of work he could perform continuously without my delay. The contractor would start when I completed everything in the walls. They start with window/door removal/install, then drywall inside and stucco outside, then paint, then flooring. You’re right though they would need to wait for me to finish the trim to paint that. We may need to paint the trim ourselves unfortunately. I have a graco 495 ultra that I used for the kitchen. I wasted a lot of paint and my sanity in that room to get a perfect finish that I wouldn’t try again, just not enough practice. On the other hand trim is not hard to get right. Just one more thing we will have to do now. I have an active owner-builder permit for this project, so I could hire the trades directly or go with a GC. My thinking was having a GC would get me more competitive pricing, and the quality of work would fall on the GC as well.