empty() & texarea

I can't seem to get empty() to check if someone has left a textarea unanswered in an online form with code like the following: <textarea rows=8 cols=50 name=open_why_good_consult> <?echo $open_why_good_consult?> </textarea> if(empty($open_why_good_consult)) { print "Please fill in why you would be a good consultant"; } Any ideas? It seems to work for things like this: <input type=text name=user_name size=8 value="<?echo $user_name?>"> if empty($user_name) { print "Please fill in a username"; } I suppose it is because the variable is not getting posted. Is there a way to post the variable? Thanks. John