For vegetables, I would be inclined to turn in lots of good compost and quality soil rather than lasagna layer over the top of it. You want nutritious soil at least a couple feet down, particularly if you're planning on growing things like tomatoes which have deep root systems. The lasagna method, you're just putting stuff on top, which is only going to give you a few inches of nutrient rich soil if your underlying soil isn't healthy. However--and this is a big however--I didn't realize the grass you're going over is crab grass. I've been blessed never to have to deal with it, but I've heard horror stories. Maybe those with experience could chime in with whether or not turning over crab grass is a good or bad idea. My thought process was the turning would happen in the fall, cover with a heavy sheet of plastic from fall through to spring to sufficiently kill whatever wants to grow back. But in the case of crab grass, that might not be good enough.

i think i see the remaining spikes of cones.. if so.. it is severely overgrown for that pot ... most likely needing the TLC you can provide ... we really should not see a plant mature enough to cone in that small a pot.. dont you think ... [excluding the early coners ... of course] if it lives.. its the bargain of the century .... this plant has a nomenclature nightmare.. as seedlings were sold under the name.. so theoretically not all are exactly the same ... regardless though.. its not yellow in any terms... so that is a pot and/or fertilizer [or lack thereof] issue .... and its supposed to be bluish [not like a candicans blue.. just a suggestion of blue] with white undersides.. and the key is the curling needles that show the white undersides unlike the species ... the blue and the white are due to a glaucous coating on the leaves... a wax that reflects the blue sky ... it rubs off easily .... similar to any blue conifer.. and all blue hosta ... otherwise its a green tree underneath ... so that is probably what you are seeing .. on confers.. many things affect the wax.. like hot weather.. followed by hard rain .. winter.. sleet.. snow.. etc ... so by spring.. in my z5 .. its coloration is dullish ... as perhaps yours is ... as are mine.. until budding ... you know how to plant it properly.. etc ... just do it ... depending on what root structure you are left with after surgery ... it should prevail ... and.. if you have a warranty ... then it is a bargain.. as you have nothing to lose ... if you can plant it in very bright area.. but with some late afternoon shade.. the hot part of the day.. then you should be all set .. though i see no reason it cant handle full sun... the shade just helps that wax last longer .... i am bothered by saying it is bluish ... perhaps.. in curling the white undersides to the sky ... it is an optical illusion that it SEEMS to give it a blue hue on clear days ... i will have to study that in the yard ... if, after surgery.. there are sufficient roots.. there is no reason it should be hard to grow .... ken

Yes! Leaf-roller it is! Thanks for that suggestion! Surprisingly, I couldn't find much by Googling "leaf roller caterpillar" and "tomato," but I did come up with the GW thread below with a pic. The monster in the pic is much larger than the ones I squished this morning! The ones on my plants were even slightly translucent, mostly dark green. -Bruce Here is a link that might be useful: Leaf roller thread

I haven't seen enough of the new shows this season to notice yet, but I'm sure you're right Flamey. It would be a darn good time for some of the actors to get a "job" done and have time to recoup. I'm just sick to see what some of them have done to themselves. Those Sturgeon lips and plastic looking cheeks are horrid.