In addition to our having a genius administrator (Mary Sue) and the most efficient and effective board members I have ever seen, we also have some very expert chemists on our forum along with our resident plant experts. With all this expertise, perhaps someone(s) can help me to understand more about growing bulbs in garden soil, in particular certain elements of soil preparation. In much of Southern California we have clay soil. In certain parts of our lot in San Clemente, most notably those areas closest to the house and garage, most everything below about 6 inches is pure clay. Not clay-ey, but pure grey clay (no soil). In the front yard the people who put in the sod applied some gypsum, which did seem to help. I am now working on the beds and they need a lot more work than was done to sod the lawn. I bought a bag of gypsum today. Customarily I just dig out all the old soil and have it hauled away. I am going to try amending some of it but there aren't very many instructions on the gypsum bag and no explanation at all on how it works or why it works or whether it 'wears out' over time and I will have to re-do the whole job again in future. Anyone interested enough in this issue to discuss this topic? In particular the gypsum issue? Thanks! Cathy Craig President PBS Maritime zone 9b