I have been gardening as long as I can remember.  My first memories are of playing under the bean poles while Mom and Gramma picked beans, and I think I had my own (weedy) garden plot by the time I was five.  It has been my obsession ever since.  

I have tried to take Master Gardener classes, but I'd usually barely get started in a class when my DH would get transferred and we'd move cross country again (military family).  I've had to revamp my whole gardening style for each area we've lived in, so that required more and more research. I've gardened in Missouri Ozark stony soil, Washington rock and monsoon weather, Biloxi heat and sugar sand, Nebraska drought and hardpan clay, and Illinois humidity and black dirt.  Vastly different gardening styles in each area!  You could say I have a plant in every port!

I have always enjoyed eating garden veggies, but never liked the taste of store bought foods, and I am too cheap and terminally lazy to use traditional chemical methods for gardening.  Why waste my time fighting mother nature when I can put her to work for me?  I've worked in yard care, nurseries, and as a landscaper.   I study online and in books, and am graced with some very knowledgeable friends, including published horticultural authors from around the world who are willing to share knowledge with a fellow obsessive gardener. 

So, I'm going to start at the soil and work my way up!  Come along with me and lets look at the dirt!  After Soil without Toil, learn how to Suck it Up (Phytoremediation), and go Beyond Manure!

Witch Hazel