Thanks, Dave. I attached a link to the other post. I seem to have some replies now. You hit the nail on the head - I'm thinking I've either overfed them, or neglected something. The peppers showed the yellowish rims on the leaves before I ever touched them with a fertilizer, and I've never applied fertilizer during the heat of the day. I'm in North Florida and our tomato planting season was to get them in the ground NLT 9/1. I ended up getting them in the ground about a week before that. The peppers have been in the ground since 8/13 or so, and were planted from seeds saved from a container pepper with no deisease. The rest planted on schedule according to the UF planting guide site. I read that Neem was anti-fungal, and thought the yellow spots could be some infection in the plants, and therefore the spraying would help keep it under control. Could the compost tea have burned them? I don't think I have seen any additional effects after spraying the tea, other than them getting taller. Should I scrap the pepper plants, and plant beets or carrots, and cut off the lower yellowing tomato branches? Thank you SO MUCH Dave! I wish you had a TV show! Could the compost tea Here is a link that might be useful: Other post with Pics

You're right, Nan, surfactants are found in lots of products. Soap and detergents are all surfactants - it's actually the surfactant molecules that surround and float dirt/grease molecules away. Guess it also floats the frog's protective slime coat away. Not surprising really. One way the issue around amphibians surfaced was when commercial herbicide was used to kill invasive exotic plants in ponds. The amphibians died - but not because of the active herbicide ingredient, but from the 1ppm surfactant in the herbicide formulation. For this reason, many people would like to see unadulterated herbicides (without other ingredients like surfactants) available to regular folks like us. At this time, for big bucks, professionals can buy the active ingredient in bulk, but smaller, affordable quantities are not marketed. No worry that toothpaste, shampoo, or any surfactants will be banned or limited - we don't ban the fossil fuels that are destroying the ozone layer, so what's a few frogs? In general, we ban things long, long after catastrophic results are obvious, and then we ban specific chemicals only when we have a method to detect that chemical - which is not trivial. Drinking water can legally contain like 2mg/L Total Organic Carbon, but virtually all the EPA monitors is volatile contaminants, which are testable in a GC (found in most labs), and make up typically around 0.2mg/L. So what are we drinking in the other 0.8mg/L? Mmmmmmm. And this attitude, my friends, is born not of a nuts-and-fruits birkinstok-wearing flower-child. It was born of too many years in a chem lab plus working with chemists at EPA labs 20 years ago, and finally standing in my own garden today, looking around and wondering what in the world we have done. I know there's harmful bacteria and fungi in the soil I play in, I eat fast food on occasion, and I know that loving strawberries means I injest a lot of pesticide, so i don't get carried away with all the dangers - if one thing doesn't kill us, another will, that's for sure. i just wish I weren't leaving such a mess for the kids to clean up. Want to get scared of your shampoo, look at the ingredients and then read http://www.ecsu.ctstateu.edu/depts/env_saf/msdspdf/sodium_dodecyl_sulfate_BP166100_Fisher.pdf#search='sodium%20lauryl%20sulfate%20msds' Here is a link that might be useful: one article from many

I can't believe no one has mentioned two things... the fact that hostas will grow in clay soil and that its probably the trees starving the ground of water/nutrients... I deal with an acre yard shaded mostly with mature silver/water maples... I think I only have two other varieties of trees and ones a cherry I planted this year when my son was born.. I live in southern kentucky and my soil is also primarily red clay... Two things hurt clay soil... the fact that it holds too much moisture and that it compacts and hampers root growth... I have compensated for this by amending with our "cattle- hay feeding- manure compost" that makes itself in the field where we feed the cattle...go to an old feeding spot about three years old and dig... it will be black loamy soil...then just apply a thin layer to the top of your beds... you may have to raise your plants....ride out in the countryside and stop by a farmers house... they're friendly people... and see if you can get permission to dig you up a few boxes of soil... I also do not use any in ground fertilize close to the trees... If I have plantings close to the trees... I use something that can be applied foliar and high in phosphorus to help the plants roots compete better with the tree roots...We've just moved to our new home two years ago this november..so I've only had two gardening seasons... granted I moved a lot of mature plants into the garden... I really have impressed myself with what I've done in two years... Basically what I'm getting at... is just alter your approach.. and lift your chin up a bit... I would say quit mulching or amending with anything thats not broken down yet... the breaking down process will cause you more fungus and rot than you are happy with....removing all leaf litter in the fall and mulching with a good mulch in the fall is a great gardening practice...definitely remove all old hosta leaf litter... water more often around your trees...check out www.pinestraw.com... you can order pinestraw in bulk shipped to your door... nothing else better to mulch with...slugs hate it....Good Luck... gardeing and nature is a challenge... especially here in Kentucky where the weather and seasons change daily... but the rewards are wonderful... John

I think I'm going to move a couple blueberry bushes from their large pots into the ground in the new bed, near the top of the slope (where they'll get the most sun). The tree can go a little farther down the slope; as it grows I can limb it up if I need to. Decisions, decisions, those seed and plant catalogs are mighty tempting. I'll have to keep wintersowing to fill in the remainder of the bed. Laurel