I got a cutting from Lyon Arboretum. I also bought one at a farmer's market at the shopping center where Costco Hawaii Kai is. Since you live on the west side, the Oahu Urban Garden Center is your best bet. See randag's post. The Oahu Urban Garden Center is adjacent to Home Depot Pearl City. My vanilla vine has produced 3 crops so far. 1st year it blossomed, only 3 attempts at pollination took, and the ants got the beans before I could. Second year, I finally figured out how to pollinate, and got a maybe 3 dozen beans. Third year (2011), smaller crop because I didn't fertilize, so after 2011 harvest, I will be fertilizing. Note that it took several years before it bloomed, but I admit to neglecting it.

Both offer different speeds of DSL connections, but what's available in your area depends on how far away you are from the "central office" (which isn't the office they do the billing out of, it's the main switch in your area handling calls to that exchange, since DSL is over the phone lines). Simply put, the signal to noise ratio is roughly inversely proportional to the distance from this switch, so if you're on the outskirts so to speak your phone line will only support the lowest speed (or two) reliably. I got talked into an "upgrade" when I called AT&T about another issue, was assured that the phone lines would support that speed though I told the saleslady that 3 years ago they wouldn't. She said they'd upgraded the lines. NOT! We had no connectivity at the higher speed, and I don't mean we couldn't get the higher speed, I mean we had no DSL! Had the tech out to look, he immediately said "you can't support that in your area", tested it and sure enough SNL was too high. He dropped us back to lower speed and we were working again. Now if it just worked when it rained... Sorry to go off on a tangent, but basically you just need to confirm with any DSL provider 1) how far away you are from their CO 2) what type of lines they have b/t you and CO (copper or fiber) and 3) if there are any repeaters or other electronics on the line then you may have to go with "IDSL" instead of "ADSL" (there's another kind, SDSL that is "symmetric" offering same upload and download speeds but that's really only for commercial use, it's reliable but you don't want to have to pay for high upload speeds even if it's available in your area). Chances are that Earthlink is leasing lines from Baby Bell in your area and you're not going to do any better with them than AT&T. Have you looked into cable?

Well it's good to know I'm not alone, I guess! Thanks for the replies. I think that motor oil or other toxins from vehicles is the most likely culprit in my case, as with yours, barrett001. I'm guessing used oil from farm equipment in my instance. I tend to discount the compacted soil theory because my blighted area is on a fairly steep uphill slope, so not optimal for parking, but it is possible. Interestingly, when I did a search for trees that are tolerant of toxic (petroleum in particular) soils, many varieties of crabapple were on the list, so I guess that explains my sole surviving tree. It is remarkable how the area has such distinct boundaries. It extends a short distance into the neighboring "re-foresting" area, and two of the spruce seedlings I planted there suffered. One died early on, while the other is a stunted specimen today. Just on the other side of the invisible line, their spruce companions are all thriving and about ten times taller than the stunted tree. If I had less land, a small yard for instance, then I would be digging out the old soil and replacing it, or building a raised bed filled with untainted soil, but as it is I have no interest in soil testing or attempting to repair my blighted area. It's more of a curiosity for me.

I'm considering them myself right now. Two of my neighbours have installed these roofs in the past 5 years and are very happy with them. They like the look and find the upkeep easy. They've needed to wash algae off shady and damp areas and didn't find it a bother to do. I've also had 2 roofers try to convince me to go with Euroshield rather than standing seam metal, which makes me wonder if their margins are better or maybe they're easier to install.