Drew, ants and JB;s are just a small part of the battle to get fruit where I live- ants are rarely a big issue and JB's just a problem on a few sites. JB's usually only require a couple of extra sprays in worse case scenarios. Every site has it's own set of problems and being a fruit grower is about solving them for the ultimate reward in gardening- tree ripe fruit. I get better bang for the buck from my orchard than from my "organic" vegetable garden- just not every year. Got a woodchuck problem in my garden right now- but I'll get it. It hasn't bothered climbing any trees for ripe peaches, apricots or plums, but I think its eating some drops. It's my kale I'll be slaving for when I'm trying to trap this pest. All gardeners are slaves for their plants until payday.

Hi cuped..., That is the coolest mix I have heard of in my 50 something years. neem oil is great. It is a vegetable oil and used as a medicinal by itself. By itself it is just a repellent. It can be placed into pesticides and that changes the effects. It is highly useful by itself in a mix of 32 oz. of water with two small cupfulls of the neem and a teaspoon of Ivory liquid. I have had nothing but good luck with this and the organic gardener/garden nursery here in the area swears by it as i do also. I have checked many websites and it is said to be non-toxic to animals, people, bees etc. My bees thrive and so do my lady bugs. Thanks for the tip, Happy growing, Rosa

I just discovered that my beautiful pink-blooming brug, which is in the ground (San Diego area) and is several feet tall, suddenly has got a lot of leaves damaged by what seem to be spider mites. It's my first encounter with this pest, and I think I'll try the oil mixture spray and possibly the garlic one as well. I don't want to use chemicals because the brug in question is near a precious fig tree. MY QUESTION IS, do you spray both the tops of the leaves and underneath them? (Sorry for caps. I used them in case the length of the first paragraph might turn off someone's interest in continuing.) My brug is so big that that would be quite a chore, but I'll do it. So. Cal. has been in a drought and our use of the irrigation sprays has been limited to 5 min. for any one area of the garden and that only 2 days a week, to boot. Although we do give our non-succulent plants dish water and the water that would have been wasted when waiting for warm water for the shower, that is nothing like the amount we used to give the garden through the automated irrigation system. I suppose that is what brought on the mite attack.

Now the experts are saying that the chemical that is used to treat seed corn against root worm is one of the big culprits in the killing off of the bees. When Bayer first came up with clothianidin they assured all the powers that be that there would be no harm to the bees because the seeds themselves would be coated and buried underground when planted. Ummmm Hmmmm. Except that it didn't work, the coating is rubbed off during shipment, packaging, planting, etc. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (May 30, 2003): "Clothianidin has the potential for toxic chronic exposure to honey bees, as well as other nontarget pollinators, through the translocation of clonianidin residue in nectar and pollen." [In the same report] "The fate and disposition of clothianidin in the environment suggest a compound that is a systemic insecticide that is persistent and mobile, stable to hydrolysis, and has potential to leach to ground water, as well as runoff to surface waters." "Clothianidin is highly toxic to honey bees on an acute contact basis (killing 50% of tested populations at greater than 389 mg/kg). It has the potential for toxic chronic exposure to honey bees, as well as other nontarget pollinators, through the translocation of clothianidin residues in nectar and pollen. In honey bees, the effects of this toxic chronic exposure may include lethal and/or sub-lethal effects in the larvae and reproductive effects in the queen." So, thanks to big agri-business and their "better living through chemicals" mind set, they are contributing to the death of the pollinators the farmers need for a crop. Anoither culprit could be high fructose corn syrup. Studies have shown that bees fed HFCS have compromised immune systems and cannot fight off infections. So, in the interest of saving money and using a cheaper alternative to feeding the bees in the winter time, HFCS instead of honey, it appears that beekeepers are contributing to the demise of their own hives. I've been doing my homework, you see, because Elery wants to put some bees out at the farm this year. Although I am allergic to bee stings and probably shouldn't actually handle the bees, I'm excited, but I want to make sure we do it right. Annie