Seriously...are you just going to dig up 2-3 articles about your agenda per day to post here? Nevermind this helps no gardener here. What gardener is on this forum wondering whether they should plant organic or GMO soy? NO ONE. You just want to circle-jerk about your Hot Topics worthy let's talk about GMOs and chemical agriculture in an organic forum stuff...especially since you're being called out on it. The worst part is you're ill-advised and have ill knowledge of the subject and crutch on Google to counter any point made when you're not ignoring or dismissing facts brought up by others. Your lack of knowledge about the subject leads you on wild Google chases where you can't tell if something is legit information or even applies to what you think it's talking about. Combine that with your "I must always be right" thing you have going and it creates a disservice to science, common sense, and this board a lot more than it should. Here's your activity in the past year on the Organic Forum...all of it... In Press new research - testing of organic and gmo soybeans abc News - Original Cheerios to Go GMO-Free Recent Oregon M.S. thesis - turkey feed New York Times article - organic wine growing (about pesticides in French wine) abc News - Original Cheerios to Go GMO-Free GMO cancer paper to be retracted New Report about dangers of Round UP Another gmo problem? Major Grocer to Label Foods With Gene-Modified Content GMO advocates lost a round Of bindweed and Roundup Monsanto's Roundup Triggers Over 40 Plant Diseases An interesting article (about glyphosate) Spray damage from neighbors? a good meta-analysis of organic vs conventional outputs Interview on Fox News concerning labeling GMOs Article- Why Honey Bees Are Dying A Scientific Bombshell Dropped This Week Spreading GM wheat Link Between Organic Foods and Autism Horticultural Myths removing transgenes More Helpful Fatty Acids Found in Organic Milk ----- alternatives to pressure-treated wood for raised beds Corn meal vs. southern blight (again) Verticulum Wilt II International Organic Fruit Symposium I separated out the 4 on the bottom because they are actually pertaining to helping others with their gardens even though the "Corn meal" one is just you telling someone else to not trust one of their sources because of something you dug up on Google and the "Verticulum Wilt" one is you defining a "biocontrol" and telling them to use Google searches for more information. You want to talk about agendas now? Propaganda? By the way...Food Chemistry is an Elsevier journal and you signed an online pledge (which you were so proud of you posted it here to show it to us) to boycott them on a website that promotes AIDS denial, the power of water to cure disease, and flu vaccines causing cancer/heart disease/etc...because you want your name on that for some reason. You can't even keep you hypocrisy in check. You should search Google for "hypocrisy" in case you need someone to tell you what it is. This post was edited by nc-crn on Fri, Jan 3, 14 at 20:52

Looking great reagent! I couldn't help but notice your comment 'My morning is not complete without sitting out by the garden with the sprinkler on sipping my coffee. :)' Funny I do the exact same thing, minus the sprinkler! lol Look into a drip system for next year; there are MANY benefits: even/consistent watering, minimizes risk of bacterial diseases due to a sprinkler splashing bacteria/spores onto plants, minimizes fungal issues due to over head watering/wet leaves.. The best approach for a new gardener to build up an unknown soil is by way of compost, and PLENTY of it! Compost helps to introduce/grow the bacterial colony of the soil - which in turn breaks down organic matter, and helps the plants to fight off other less desirable bacteria/microorganisms.. Manure is also your friend, but be wary of your source, as it can be high in salts, contain pesticides etc.. You could also start researching Mycorrhizal fungi - a really fun rabbit hole that goes down pretty deep.. The possibilities are endless with organic gardening - welcome aboard! Here is a link that might be useful: drip systems This post was edited by michael723 on Tue, Jun 24, 14 at 10:41

The single most important thing to do, organic program or not, is deep infrequent watering. Next is mowing to get the most dense turf. Then when you stop using chemicals of all kinds, the bugs, birds, lizards, and toads return, in proper proportions, to help you manage the place. I've never had zoysia but I've seen it get extremely lumpy (for lack of a better word). I've been told it gets that way if you don't mow it at all, but I wonder if it is thatch building up that makes it lumpy? I'm digressing, but I was going to suggest you don't dethatch and see how it looks mid summer with your new plan. The reinvigorated microbes might handle that thatch for you. You might also consider spraying some molasses or sugar water. The Dirt Doctor in Dallas usually calls that a cure for thatch.

This is an example of some very recent research from mainland China: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048357517305916 They report that a chemical can be used to activate the plant defense system against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). In the full paper they state the following: "Acknowledgment The work was supported financially by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31160374), the Scientific and Technological Planning Project of Guizhou (No. QKH-JC [2017]1141), and initial funding of PhD (No. YBH-J [2016-7]). " H. Kuska comment: Please note that they are producing a new PhD with their funding. ------------------------------------------------------------- This is an example of how the University of Florida is planning on training a graduate student in the use of systemic acquired resistance to control rose rose virus. "The graduate student will study the use of systemic acquired resistance inducer in synergy with predatory mites to control the spread of the disease. The student will also investigate plant, vector, and virus interactions as well as the changes in rose physiology due to RRV infection and systemic acquired resistance inducer." https://www.entsoc.org/graduate-student-assistantship-0