Okay good. My mother was in Temecula for awhile so I might know what your soil issues are. Muck when wet, hard when dry. If it is moist all the time, then you don't want children running in it. You might consider getting some Kentucky bluegrass and seeding that in this spring. Once you sprinkle the seed in, step on it to make good contact with the soil and then forget about it. If it grows it grows, if not do it again next fall. This is a poor way to renovate but if it works for you, then you have saved an enormous amount of time and effort. A little KBG goes a long way and makes a much nicer turf (in my opinion) than just fescue. The timer on the sprinklers was pre-set when I moved in. It was running daily, for about 9 minutes at 4am. Funny, I would have guessed 10 minutes. That is so typical you can't imagine. There are many people writing in here trying to get their lawn to look like the neighbor's lawn. The neighbor waters just like that. I don't know what else the neighbor does to make that work but I can report that the once-per-week deal is a winner. More people are successful with that than with daily watering. You are correct in thinking you can't go cold turkey to that watering regimen, but you need to start moving. Being from California where all the fruits and nuts live (I grew up in Riverside), you might be interested in an organic approach. Unfortunately you will have to buy labeled organic fertilizer unless you can find a feed store that still sells ground grains. In the area from Hemet to Temecula all I found was soy bean meal at outrageous prices. You may do better than $1 per pound. It should be more like $0.50 per pound and corn meal or alfalfa pellets should be more like $5-$15 per 50-pound BAG. For more info check out this Organic Lawn Care FAQ. You were right not to fertilize right after scalping, too. When your grass gets back up to the highest setting on your mower, mow. The week after that you can mow and fertilize.

Hi All, Thanks for the ... um ... spirited debate so far. I've been far too busy to respond to each of your messages. I'm very much a part-part-part-time gardener. I've learned a lot from your posts, however. I understand that there are no definitive answers, and every point of view has pros & cons. Part of my problem is that I'm not 100% sure on what I want and when I think I know what I want, I don't have the time or the money to get it done that way. Upon one of your advice, I had a local landscaper deliver a big load of mulch (for free), and started spreading that around a part of the yard. That seems like a good way to keep weeds down w/o using chemicals. I'm not particularly afraid of the chemicals' toxicity -- but all else being equal I'd prefer that fewer chemicals be manufactured and used. I also bought a Hound Dog Cultivator to give it a try, and as someone noted above, it doesn't work all that well on rocky soils like mine. If I could afford it, I'd probably buy a used tiller. But I can't. Nor do I have the space to store it. My 1-car garage is jam-packed. So, my plan right now is to spread mulch to keep weeds down, and once I figure out what to do w/ a particular part of the yard, clear the mulch and plant stuff there. Thanks all, and if you're in/near San Diego, come right over and help me garden! There's a cold six pack and some hot dogs in it for ya.

I have never had lupines before, so I might come here later for questions on growing them. But as far as germination goes, here is my experience. I have used a small gravy bowl made of stainless steel (thought I'd use something non reactive) to soak the seeds. I did not do any of the recommended things like freezing or chilling them or scarifying them. I have tried these techniques before for a variety of plants and I simply find them too intense - I don't think to check the fridge all the time to take them out of there just in time. Too much effort to keep track of that, I guess. Besides, if these plants have survived so long in the wild without scarification and such, that is because they don't actually need those extra steps. So, back to the gravy bowl. I added half an inch of water and popped fifteen seeds into it right out of the packet. I left them in the water and checked the bowl once a day. It took about a day for one of fifteen seeds to swell. I sowed that one right away, but I was still left with fourteen more that were just soaking there. A few days later, three more swelled, so I planted those, too. Yet another few days later, another four swelled, and some of them actually had a tiny white root sticking out on the side. I sowed these, too. By this time, the seeds have been soaking for a week. But I just let them be. A few days later, all but three of the remaining seeds swelled and showed a tiny root. I planted these, too. All the ones I planted went into 2" soil blocks on a capillary mat and later into 4" pots. I am happy to report that they have all sprouted and are now handsome young plants without any sign of disease or lack of nutrients. They are growing quite fast, too. So, to sum it up, I find that the best way to germinate lupine seed is to soak it until it swells and/or has a root sticking out and then either plant them in their final spots or plant them to raise as seedlings. Don't worry if they soak for weeks on end, they will eventually sprout and they will not rot. Just make sure they are always covered by water, so you may have to top the water up once in a while (mine are relatively close to a fan, so the water does evaporate). You can easily distinguish seed that is about to sprout from seed that still needs time. The ones that are going to sprout swell to about two to three times their size very quickly (within about 24 hours). They look like little beans that would be excellent to eat (but they are poisonous, so please resist the temptation to eat them).

Outsmarting the tree rats (squirrels) around my house is a full time job. This past spring I hit on a new idea. When I plant a container I invert an empty wire hanging basket over the container and the plant gets sun and can be watered but the squirrels can't dig in it. Another idea: I bring in a lot of plants to "over winter" under lights in my garage. I have so many that it is hard to reach my hand under the lights (4 shop lights) to the middle for watering. So I bought a pump sprayer with a long wand and it works great! In late winter I add a little liquid Dawn detergent, few drops, to each gallon of water and not only does the soil get wet easier but the worms that are waiting to hatch into distructive pets just don't hatch. Don't know what it costs me to run those four shop lights all winter but I don't care. It is a small price to pay to be able to "garden" every weekend in the garage. Many people have mentioned that they mark their outdoor plants with a "permanent Sharpie". In my experience there isn't a "permanent Sharpie", they all fade and quickly too. A grease pencil/china marker or expensive "no fade" garden center marker are the only markers I have found that won't disappoint you by fading. Eight years ago I decided to learn about gardening so I tapped into my local library. I checked out nearly every book they had on gardening and learned so much. The Gardenweb forums are also a wealth of information and entertainment. There is always something new to learn and I appreciate all of you who take the time to write in your ideas. One last idea from me...I keep a small notebook on my computer table and jot down any idea I find that's new and I will want to try. Little pieces of paper get lost but I always know where my notebook is and also use it when I order "on line" so I will remember the name of the company and the order date. Tina or Trowelgal