I don't really get the square foot garden mixture. I don't think peat moss and vermiculite offer much in the way of nutrients, and in high concentrations are going to dry out fast. I've been filling my beds with what a local quarry calls "veggie mix", which I think is a mix of top soil and compost and maybe something else. But a reputable quarry in your area is going to provide the best soil mixture for growing, IMO. I top my beds off with it every couple years. Alternate years, I throw in composted steer manure, and I continually turn it into the clay soil underneath to get the mixture deeper and deeper every year. Rarely do I fertilize during the growing season, I only water every few days, even when temps get up in the 90's, and I get good results. When it comes time to top off your beds with new soil, I would really consider trying something different. You might find you don't have to water so much and will get better results.

Hi all, let me try to clear up a few things. I'm not really looking at the carnivorous plants as an control measure, just want to have fun and try some interesting plants. The cutworms I have are leaf eaters not root eaters but there are different types of cutworms and some may well eat roots. They are the larva of certain moths and grow very fast. I have caught some at the first sign of leaf damage that where less then 1/4 inch long, put them in a jar to study them and fed them leafs from my tomato plants (I cut the leafs with leaf miner damage - not good leafs) and in a few days I had this! Nasty things! Another thing they seem to really enjoy is finding young seedlings and cutting the plant at the soil line. This kills the plant and to really piss one off they don't eat the top of the plant. They cut it just for spite I guess. The one at the top right is about as big as they get, too big for the fly trap? I will research the sarracenia. I would love to try and get away from using pesticides to control the darn things but so far the only thing I have found that works is Sevin. I try to use as little Sevin as possible so I will find the cutworms from time to time when looking over my plants. I have been smashing them with my fingers - yuck. It sure would be fun to drop them into a carnivorous plant instead. Just for spite ;-) Take care, DC

The most common "eater" of rose leaves in California is the Bristly Rose Slug, the larvae of the Rose Sawfly. The sawfly is a pudgy little wasp. It lays its eggs on the UNDERSIDES of the leaves and the caterpillars feed on the UNDERSIDES of the leaves. The rose slug is tiny, no more than 1/4-inch long and very slender, and it's the exact same pale green as the undersides of the leaves. Talk about hard to see and find! It's the critter that "skelotinizes" rose leaves. It's pretty easy to get rid of, actually. Almost any good spray will do the job: insecticidal soap, Neem, pyrethrum. The trick is to spray thoroughly UNDER the leaves. Not stand back and spray all over. You have to get UNDER the leaves. By the way, a commonly suggested spray for rose sawfly is BT. It doesn't work. It doesn't work because it's meant for the caterpillars of moths and butterflies. The rose slug is the larvae of a wasp. And I'm not sure of any beneficial insect that preys upon it. As for your rose buds, Applenut has a good idea. Go outside late at night with a flashlight. The critter most likely is an earwig, sowbug or pillbug. It also might be a slug or snail. Joe

Yeah Aphids like to try and disguise themselves so you won't know that it is them. But it normally doesn't work any more since we have figured out all their disguises. LOL There are a few ways to hand them their eviction notices. 1. The hard blast of water as mentioned, where you put on the adjustable spray nozzle and put it on full jet power. Then turn the water faucet on full throttle. Make sure to evict the ones that are hiding out under neath the leaves as well. 2. The insecticidal soaps, NO NOT THE DISH SOAP! The insecticidal soap purchased in the garden department at Wally World. LOL Regular house hold soap can be very harmful to some plants and it is harmful to the environment. 3. Is to purchase beneficial bugs such as the Lady Bird bug (Lady Bugs) or Praying Mantises. Plus more depending on your bad bugs. Below is a link to a page that not only has links to website stores that sell the beneficial bugs (which at times (normally early spring) you can purchase at your local garden shops) but information on how to keep them there. They don't just eat insects but need nectar also. So you should plant to attract the beneficial insects and birds when planting your gardens also. Here is a link that might be useful: Beneficial insect and bird information.