Thanks for encouragement George. I used to "liberate" artichokes from the UCLA test gardens when I was an unreconstructed teenager. Would cook them in my coffee pot in my dorm room and feast away. Try them again. Soil amendment is what we do instead of read books! We have a turkey plant in town; all the turkey doo is bought up by a smart lady, mixed with her veggie growing compost, and marketed by the truck load. First year I used it, I didn't wear gloves, and forgot to wear a mask. Got the worst case of salmonella anyone ever saw! But it was great for the garden. We can also drive up to San Saba and get pecan shells; they sell them at $1 for an old 50# feed sack load, or $7 for a pick up load. You dig, and you fill up yore container. Almost as good a deal as the old rice hulls we used to get near Houston; free, if you wanted to face-off the rats and bag your own. We once took our Siamese cat with us to protect us. He took one look at the local wild-life and left! Took us an hour to find him and his previously lilac color points had turned snow white. We need to meet, George. Come on down!