Pnbrown: Who says it's ok digging Forrest soil? In the other thread I mentioned that I do take topsoil out if the woods for my garden, but my garden I never till.. I am taking small amount of topsoil maybe a few buckets full.. I am not digging up the whole forest for my garden... Maybe large farms it is unrealistic... But for us small gardeners i believe it is superior! If the large farms had the money I'm sure they would do it as well! Most farmers do till in manure and other amendments.. So they already are importing large quantities of amendments.. The only difference to my method is you aren't tilling it in, you are leaving it on top of the soil and planing in that.. Now you mentioned covering sod with soil is a gold idea is you planned ahead, but it is unrealistic for someone wanted a garden in April/may.. I cannot disagree with you more.. Tilling is much more labor intensive and inconvienent than merely piing up soilnandbcompost in a raised be and planting? Why couldnt you use my method and and plant in April/may? In fact i think my method is alot easier, quicker, convenient, better for the environment and better for the soil.. Joe

Thanks! As a hypothetical question, how do wood chips suppress weeds? If I had wood chips, should I be putting down newspaper/cardboard/landscape fabric under them too? I thought they supressed weeds by creating a surface, an upper/top surface, that any seeds that blew onto it couldn't grow on, because the surface was wood. But I wonder if you're saying that the weeds I need to worry about are coming from underneath, up through the mulch? In which case, is there anything about wood chips that stops that better than compost? Like the robbing-nitrogen-from-the-soil stuff I've heard about wood chips?

I saw the potting mix when we were there and plan to get some next time. Probably a half a yard to keep in a pile somewhere. They were pretty amused at the number of times we came back today. I didn't till the compost in much but used a hard rake to mix it in a bit. It is right on top of mostly fine builder's sand. In a few months when we go to plant I'll rake back the mulch and take a look. I'll mix it up a bit more then if it looks like it needs it. Sure, I'll take the anise. Thanks. It is what I plan to plant on the north side. I'll probably end up buying some too but can mix these in with those when I plant in the spring or just keep them a while in pots and plant them somewhere else. Lord knows I have the room. I am off of work for a whole week. I'll email you about when to pick them up. Are they potted or do I need to get over to get them quickly to pot them? M

Despite various opinions to the contrary, ANY kind of organic mulch will help the situation, some better than others. I personally prefer using compost for this purpose because A) it has a better visual aesthetic for my purposes; B) it offers faster and more complete nutrient delivery than most other choices; and C) there are no problems associated with the compost becoming incorporated into the soil, either intentionally or accidentally. The same cannot be said of wood-based mulches. I've never found compost to form a crust or be water repelling in any sense and it has a greater water retentive ability than most chip-type mulches. It does make a much more accommodating seed bed for weed seeds that may blow in however, even if it does work well to suppress existing weed seeds. Compost is not as long lasting as wood-based mulches and that can be a plus or a minus, depending on how you look at it. Since I like a 'freshly applied' look, I generally apply twice a year. 2-3 inches is generally considered adequate for any mulch type and this is often reduced for certain shallowly rooted plants that prefer a freer oxygen exchange. Avoid piling up around trunks or woody stems. Reapplying the same amount with each application may not be necessary - apply only enough to achieve the intended depth. No dispute on removing the landscape fabric -- it seldom achieves the desired intent very successfully and it is a PITA to work around....or through :-) Hardiness of various plants is highly variable depending on their specific location, exposure and general well-being before entering the winter months. Ensuring they are unstressed and in the best health manageable before encountering cold weather will certainly improve their chances coming out on the other side of the season in good condition. I would not necessarily recommend one pull and replace all plants that suffered damage this past winter unless they are indeed dead. Often, winter cold damage is limited to only foliar issues and tip dieback that can successfully be addressed by some careful pruning.