Try using red or white clover in your garden I have observed that grass wasn't growing near a part of our yard where we grew melons and watermelon so this year as an experiment we our going to thow white organic cloverseeds in our vegetable garden It is supposed to also fix nitrogen in the soil just as beas when planted with corn as Squash shades and protects of what's known as The Three Sisters.Oh White clover is supposed to be a good grass suppressor prevents grass from growing just whats needed in our garden.First we did a layer of 3 layers of the white ink less news paper wet it all down with our iltered garden hose then put cardboard around the whole garden fence then wet that down too alk done o a non windy day topoed with cow manure and some chicken manure then we put 3 inches of woodchips or woodchip mulch last year in the Spring but all that should have been done in the Fall! This year we are not planting plants but Only Organic Heirloom seeds and some Organic plants howeveryou need to keep tge woodchips away from the stems and keep around the drip area only! Put Toilet paper rolks around seedlings to prevent cutworms thise white cabbage montths lay.Spray aroundfir ticks aunts red yes and fleas Use Garlic online stuff I'll get back you thx medicine

I agree with Patrick. The only nitrogen loss (even after a longer period of time than you indicate) is going to be at the surface of the compost, where the sawdust meets the compost. When you hear of sawdust/wood chips depleting the nitrogen in the soil, the wood has been mixed in with the soil or compost. Signs are always good. There is always someone around who can put the wrong stuff in the wrong place. Sue

The pH of coffee grounds I have seen reported as anywhere from 3.0 to 6.9, but the one I would put most faith in is the one Starbucks had done which put the pH at 6.2. Every soil scientist I have heard talk about adding wood ash to soils says to have that soil tested for pH before adding tht ash, and only add the ash of that pH test indicates you should. "Aging" sawdust will do nothing to change the C:N ratio if no Nitrogen source is added so it makes little difference if the sawdust is used fresh, green, new, or aged. The C:N ratio of fresh sawdust will be about 500:1 and the C:N ratio of aged sawdust will be about 500:1. Although Pine needles test at a pH of about 3.7, just as Oak leaves do, as they are digested by the soil bacteria the pH evidently changes, toward neutral. Pines grow where the soil is acidic, not because the needles they drop changes the soil pH. Over the years as I have added organic matter to my soil with an initial pH of 5.7 that has changed to todays 7.2 without adding anything else. Contact your local office of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Service about having a good, reliable soil test done so you have some idea what might need to be done. Here is a link that might be useful: Cornell CES

Gdionelli, thanks for the tip on the music store - as a member of MTNA, I'll get in touch with the South Carolina chapter when I get there, and that will give me a networking base. As far as amending soil goes, that's been in the works here for several years - my soil is good part sand, and underneath that, rock, so compost is the name of the game. I have heard about the clay in the Carolinas. Any possibility I'll escape Japanese beetles? Susan, plants have priority over clothes in this move, LOL. I'm hoping to take a piece of that Bluebird hibiscus that I gave Tiffy seeds from a few years ago (has that bloomed yet, Tiffy?). I also have some hydrangeas (one that bloomed beautifully after a 7-year wait, waaaah) I bent and pinned branches down to root in the fall (serendipity?); I hope that was successful and I can cut them loose and pot them up in the spring. Rich, that something that will remind me of my NE home has to be a rosa rugosa - I have successfully grown them from seed from Planting Island Beach (how appropriate is that?), and I will try some alba seeds from the bush my Mom gave me when we moved here in '96 as well. Mary and Tiffy, the other thing I'm taking in lieu of clothes is my overstuffed seed box. And I'm still trying to figure out a way to take the compost. Thanks for all your support, folks - this has been a bit of a rough week. I announced the move (via email) to my students, and the feedback I'm getting is that they are pretty devastated about it, especially the younger ones. And because this is a small town, by the time I arrived at school for the concert today, the music teachers already knew. When I get teary about it, I remind myself that not everyone is sad - there will be a couple of neighbors doing the happy dance when I go (this is true, and not a huge deal :))!