We are getting off the topic, but I remember the lush yard of my childhood w/ all the clover and watching the honeybees, and the exciting days when we would take the honey out of the hives... I planted clover and I wish all the weedy grass would go away! (No neighbors are going to care here as our lots are set in the middle of woods, and we are out in the country.) My clover has had a tough time (doesn't like sand?), but there is one low-growing weed that I am encouraging as it does not need to be mowed. No mowing is my goal. As for my clems (many of which you all enabled!), they are doing fairly well. I was most impressed w/ Arabella- the best bloomer! I have mostly watered from my rain barrels this summer and it is not very satisfactory because the sand soaks up the moisture so fast (great for watering pots and small areas though). I too have to figure out where to plant the ones I stuck in pots in the spring. Most are going into the rose garden (if the roses don't make it maybe the clems will). I have planted several to climb up my deck railings. I know there is a lot of controversy about adding soil amendments, but I am with the other readers who see the fence as a prime planting ground. Maybe someone who knows more about amendments could help out? I wish you the best of luck in finding them a good place, and would appreciate it if you will wish me luck as well. Thanks, Brandy

B., I was excited when you described the wings because I knew such a distinctive feature would make it much easier to ID this critter. And then you went ahead and figured it out pretty quickly which is great. I'm still not sure they're a problem, though, unless you have tons and tons of them. Lots of the little critters that visit compost piles actually help the materials break down. Since they are flies, and they like decomposing material, I think it is likely they may be using your compost heap as a site to lay their eggs so the larvae can hatch and grow in your compost pile. If having the flies in your compost pile concerns you, or if you are afraid they'll move to something else, you could use an organic product that disrupts the life cycle of the flies. Honestly, though, I think God made each and every creature for a reason, and they all have a role to play in the balance of nature and the circle of life. So, I feel like Mother Nature works best if I leave her alone. The only time I take action against one critter or another is if, for one reason or another, the population of any given creature is out of balance. Even then, I try to figure out WHY and correct the conditions instead of trying to eliminate the insect. For example, spider mites on tomatoes. Spider mites are virtually everywhere in the summer heat but MOST of the time the beneficial mites (different from spider mites) prey upon them for food and keep them under control. If something has happened to the population of good spider mites, though, the bad spider mites can get out of control. At this point you have 2 options: (1) address the situation by trying to kill the spider mites, or (2) address the situation by purchasing and releasing good mites so they can take care of the bad mites. I would choose option #2 because it is a better long-term strategy. It is more important to me to re-establish a population of good bugs, than to wipe out a population of bad bugs. Why? Because a miticide cannot and will not wipe out all the red spider mites and I am still going to need good mites in the future to wipe out the surviving bad mites. Just a little food for thought. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Nematodes for fly larvae control

as a tree .. it should be allowed to nearly dry between waterings... you should insure that the root ball has gotten water... and then not water again until it begins to dry ... more water can actually be more harmful than to little water ... and ... as in the dahlia post.. its fall .. its shutting down for the season ... i would suggest its the effects of fall .. plus the abuse of the seller who sold it for one dollar [heck.. the pot was probably worth more than a buck] ... lol ... and the transplant ... you have done what you can ... put away the chemicals ... turn off the hose.. insert you finger about 3 inches.. and only water when it is needed ... as for the chemicals ... i have perennials... annuals ... hundreds of conifers.. trees.. and thousands of hosta ... and have used chemicals once in 7 years ... please ... cut back on your chemical use.. it just isnt that necessary ... good luck ken

Are you growing these indoors or out? To be honest, they look perfectly fine to me - I don't see any obvious sign of disease and a few insect holes in leaves are insignificant. The peppers look like they are starting to develop fruit....are the tomatoes and others flowering as well?. Might still be a bit early for zukes. You may have whitefly, especially if these are growing indoors. The plant extracts like your current spray are decent enough repellents but they don't often control pests otherwise (little kill potential). You may want to try sticky traps for the whiteflies or graduate to a contact insecticide like insecticidal soap. btw, it may be helpful to go back into your member profile and adjust your location to reflect Australia. WA is the abbreviation for Washington State here in the US and it could be confusing :-) I was trying to figure out how you had tomatoes looking that good coming up on November!!