Nitrogen availability is dependant on soil temperature and that is the major reason soil test labs no longer test for it. In addition there are other things that the "soil test" kits sold in garden centers don't test for that are important to know and affect the availability of soil nutrients. Contact your county office of the Kansas State University Cooperative Extension Service to find out about where to get a good, reliable soil test. Soil pH can affect nutrient availability as can the level of organic matter in your soil and both affect the Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) of your soil, all things a home test kit will not do a good job testing for.

1. Middle of August is generally the earliest overseeding date, though people have had success all through the year. If you can keep it irrigated you should be fine, but cool season grasses prefer cooler soil. 2. No fair asking 3 questions in one. :) I'd say your plan is sound. Milorganite might not be the best starter fertilizer, but it won't burn the seed with the compost. 3. Preferably the weeds should be killed before you start overseeding. The process of seed germination favors weeds and anything to rid what you have is a step ahead. If you are against any herbicide, then I believe vinegar or hot water or burning are organic approaches. 4. Your phosphorus level, which is important for seed germination. You may want to search the regular lawn care forum for the overseeding posts. There are a couple that give a very detailed step-by-step guide that is very handy to have as a checklist.

For those following that have not seen her new post; link is below. Posted by emeraldisle624 (My Page) on Mon, Feb 11, 13 at 18:34 Hi everyone, I know I haven't posted much lately but I am here at least once a week seeing what you are all up to. I feel like I have been wishing the days away, trying to keep my mind busy and letting my body and medicine do it's thing. It's been a long 7 months since the endometrial cancer was first diagnosed. I had my 3rd and final d&c last week at MGH in Boston. Everything about the procedure went like clockwork, unlike the last time. I was the FIRST patient allowed into pre-op in what seemed like hundreds that showed up at 5:30am. The lobby at MGH was seriously like a bus terminal, never seen anything like it. I wasn't the first one to show up nor was I the first one to see the people in the surgery check-in lobby but somehow I got to be the first sent down to the nurses in pre-op and get a room/prepped for surgery (everyone else had been told to take a seat and they'd be called soon). Then I was the first one wheeled to surgery and then the first one discharged! I swear God was holding my hand and making things as easy for me as possible, I had an aura-type feeling about me all day. If it was just my imagination, it's ok I'll take it! I never saw or talked to my doctor, I think it was because everything was on schedule (or maybe even a bit early as my husband got the call at 8:30am that I was on my way to recovery) and they had me knocked out when she arrived. Breezed through recovery, out in record time just to go home and wait 7-10 days for the results. I had such anxiety leading up the surgery that my whole body hurt. I swear I hurt even more in this past week waiting, like I tensed up while sleeping or something. I didn't feel too stressed during the day while awake as I have been pretty good at going with the flow and trying to put my trust in having everything work out the way it's destined to. Since tomorrow is day "7" of the 7-10 days I was going to email the nurse and ask if any results were available yet. She knows I am anxious and that I would be waiting every last minute. Depending on the results, I'd either be scheduling an appointment with the fertility specialist or to have my inevitable hysterectomy. I got a call this afternoon that said "blocked" on my cell phone. My stomach dropped as I knew who it was going to be, the doctor or the nurse with my results. I just wanted to update you all that I will be calling my FERTILITY SPECIALIST to make an appointment to get in there as soon as I can for the next step. All of the pathology came back with no malignancy found! I even had her email me a copy of the report because I was so afraid that she called the wrong person and was giving me someone else's information! I have it in black and white, NO MALIGNANCY FOUND, in 2 different places next to my name! I of course couldn't stop crying and I was waiting for my husband to get home. He got home and the dog ran outside with him. He's getting the mail, chasing the dog, all these things while I am just patiently waiting for him to come in. And I told him the doctor's office called and quickly went to add that the cancer was gone, I am to stop my meds and get in touch with the fertility doctor tomorrow. I felt like I was dreaming. I thanked God so much for answering all the prayers that were said for me and for giving me this opportunity. I still have a long road ahead of me and there are absolutely no guarantees of anything. But I am going to try my hardest to make our dreams come true. I am so very thankful and humbled by everyone in my life (online and in person) who have reached out to me and helped me more than they will ever know. Please continue to keep me in your prayers, I hope there is a miracle in the making. I am on a short timeline and I should have a better idea after seeing the fertility doctor again soon. (I think the meds have to be out of my system 30 days but I don't recall exactly.) Sorry for the long post, I didn't want to leave a word out in case this and my other posts ever help someone else. I hope you are all doing well and please know I think of you all often. Your prayers and healing messages changed my life and today is living proof of that. I am by no means cured of cancer, in case anyone just diagnosed finds this thread by googling or whatever. The only thing that happened is the medicine counteracted the hormones and, in my fancy medical terms, chased the cancer cells down and ate them. So, slowly but surely, since I am no longer taking the hormones, the cancer will slowly grow back and there is no way to know how fast or slow that could happen which is why time is of the essence to get pregnant now. When/if I get pregnant, my body will naturally make huge doses of that missing hormone and actually protect me from the cancer during pregnancy. I will have to have a hysterectomy within a few months or after pregnancy no matter what due to the cancer risk. I can't grasp how remarkable our bodies are. Thank you again. emeraldisle624 Here is a link that might be useful: Just a quick update!

I think you may be surprised about the answer to which ones would die first. I'm not sure why you are posting or what questions you are asking... but if you seriously need answers for your play, I'd talk to a nutritionist... maybe even a nutrition teacher at a college. I think your play maybe cute but you may need a twist...like the candy kid being the only one that can survive, or the kids secretly sneaking the other ones food's group or something, and how they start mothering each other and sharing their food.. because of the lack of parenting from their sick mother or something.