Barbara, I will try to read or at least skim over that book (have difficulty concentrating for too long now) and next time I'm at the hardware store will get a respirator then, oh with glasses, goggles and that, it is not going to be easy. They are a little more helpful and knowledgeable generally than big box stores. I stuffed a bandanna into the masks, know from reading about other things small particulate especially liquid still can get through, but I'm old and if one thing doesn't get me it's going to be another, none pretty. I feel I'm ok for now, feel sorry for people who do that for a living. I know for fact the young guy who I FINALLY got to come in years ago and spray for cockroaches and fleas got some pneumonia-like affliction, and we both agreed it was probably from his work with chemicals. He used no protection other than pants and long shirt IIRC and did it all day, every day, inside and out, much of the year. I've always hated any sprays in my house for anything, one reason I like to stay independent because you have no choice in almost all community living situations. They spray on a regular basis; it's mandatory, and I'm not real confident they have but minimal concern for the occupants or people who do it, just so things "look" nice. Sometimes there is no other way. But it seems they spray routinely as a preventive. In spite of taking so many precautions and doing my homework as best I could w/new equipment and things I've never attempted before, I ran into several little problems. The spray itself once you get it going is easy enough, but anything can go wrong at any time. It's just faith that the dial actually delivers the correct dilution. I'll only mention a couple of things but there were more, that is nasty stuff to work with and hard to clean. I need some longer rubber gloves as found one unused pair left of surgical gloves, and by the time I was done, my hands felt slimy, could be from sweat, but I think some got in, washed several times with soap and water. The other thing was maybe stupid on my part but the way they tell you to clean the dial container. I could work at the faucet with that because there's bare ground, but you have to unscrew it while the spray part is still on the hose, rinse out as well as you can, on the other side of the two-way diverter I have there, and it takes several rinsings to get it out. NEVER unscrew the dial part from the hose connection until you've got it as clean as you can, why later. Then you screw it back on and clear out the spray part and uptake tube, says two short bursts (and even rinsed those other parts under running water, don't think instructions said. I did five bursts and maybe shouldn't have. But either way, when you finally think you are done, turn off the water, start to unscrew at the hose connection, the pressure left in the hose squirts water. And I noticed in spite of my care, there was still slight evidence of milky liquid in the container, much diluted but still there. Being alone, few people or pets ever come into my yard. I let the cat out for the night, he's back, hope he didn't walk through that area, it can take awhile to dry and for things to develop. So it's a good thing I quit when I did and not attempt anything in the front. Maybe from now on I'll just do those several specific plants I did and probably not as often as necessary because I procrastinate anyway. No way could I have suited up and done that if it had been hotter, so that's a future consideration. I don't know how other people deal with this stuff. It was quite the learning experience. If somebody locally could convince me that organics really work and show evidence of clean roses like I see so much here (this was mostly to save my cherry trees and a few other congregating plants that aren't blooming), it won't seem like as much trouble because spraying is trouble, too. Kelp I don't worry about any of it, practiced with that in my pump sprayer. Well, since I've done another one of my diatribes, I was thinking about writing a blog in our local paper about my experience with iminicloprid. The Bayer product for spraying that has evidently flown off the shelves. Here we are with no honeybees, and we want to keep our pretty blooms and kill bumblebees and other pollinators? At least I thought of them and took off the blooms or targeted things that aren't blooming now. Madness. But I think I'll hold off on that because I don't feel comfortable writing on one of those things, few read them anyway. My neighbor across the street says he has no JB's.

I live in SE Oklahoma, and we have enough of a frost to kill off all the pepper and tomato plants... However I dug up three of my best looking Bhut plants, potted them and took them to the office. They have overwintered nicely, and I even have 10 peppers currently in various stages on the plants! I open the windows on the warm days to let pollinators in, this was after my attempts at hand pollination failed. They continue to flower with no signs of slowing down. I think I am going to go this route more often. this being said, I still have about a dozen Bhut seedlings going...

Hi Romcorn, thank you. I make my own awesome mix - same volume of presoaked peat moss, pumice, small orchid bark, Gromulch, and Turface. In the mix I add about 1 handful Osmocote Plus and half Epsom salt for a 25 gallon pot. This mix is working pretty well for my fruit trees and vegetables. I always reuse it after each season so it gets easier after the initial effort. I don't have a regular fertilizer plan for tomatoes, :( I use liquid fertilizer of whatever I have on hand. The first application is when blossom starts and I try to remember to repeat at least three more times in a season. It seems to work well.

I am so sorry for you, Jeri!!! Heat without ample water is brutal on vegetation and bodies!! We get to 96 tomorrow, but down to 50-60's during the night and 79 the next day. In 1972 we made a trip to Las Vegas without air conditioning in AUGUST. On the day we drove through the desert to get to LV, they had record low temps. On the day we drove out of the desert 2 weeks later, they had a ripping rain storm. While we were there, we made a day trip to Boulder Dam, and I was mostly sick for most of the day. UGH!! That has been my only exposure to high heat. I'll take my 6 months of winter with -30F any day. We get 110 degrees on occasion, but we have low humidity, and it's usually for a day or two in July. To me, 3 feet of snow and 30 below is preferrable to getting my brain fried. I guess we all live where we live for a reason. Having said all this, I have air conditioning in the summer and central heating in the winter. There are those that do not and suffer because of it, so my climate can be brutal as well. Rebecca