i wish my wife would show an interest in the garden period. i have so much fun all things plant related especially roses. i don`t buy her flowers; i just planted her a whole rose garden instead;) there is nothing like sitting back on a warm summer afternoon with a glass of terrific local wine, watching the birds and smelling the roses wafting in the breeze- somehow, she doesn`t get it... however, when company comes over, she will stop at nothing making sure the backyard is spotless and will even go as far as scrubbing the patio and making sure there are no traces of fallen petals , etc. if she ever saw the light it would thrill me to no end.

I'm just reading this thread for the first time. I've never seen cyclamen mites but I, personally, see no reason to ever look to see them. They show themselves by their damage. On gesneriphiles, some years ago, someone posted that they searched and searched for them, and finally found them under the skin of the plant, inside rather than outside. I don't know if this is the case, but I certainly have heard lots anecdotal commentary that they are very hard to see with magnification. So, my methodology is to concentrate on damage, as that is much easier to diagnose. African Violets are notorious for cyclamen mite susceptability. A late friend of mine, who for a while was commercially growing mini violets, found he had to spray frequently to keep them under control, although thrips were probably even more difficult to control. Now, in a greenhouse mass-propagation situation bugs become much more of a chronic problem than in a small collection. They come back fast whereas in our collections we can get rid of them for a long time between infestations. But, what I have noticed, having a mixed gesneriad collection with a small part being AV's, is that cyclamen mite damage has always made itself apparent first with episcias. In fact I noticed that episcias will get quite a bit of obvious damage before I see anything on the violets. So, keep your episcias happy, so that when they get mites, you will be able to quickly ID the situation. Once you suspect or actually know you have an infestation, then treatment is simple and effective. I have had three or four infestations in the last five or more years. Each time I sprayed with one application of Avid, and had complete and lasting supression of the mites. The badly damaged episcias showed recovery by putting out new crowns from the axils of the leaves. Stolons sometimes were dead, and sometimes recovered. Violets that didn't show damage, did not later develop damage. They just regained normal vigor. I would go as far as to suggest, that if you think you have mites, you have two options. One--you can wait until you are certain that the conditions you are seeing are from mite damage, and then spray. This methodology will result in more damage, and a longer period for recovery; but it will teach you first hand what the damage looks like, and what the pattern of damage and time frame of development is like. Then, at least, the next time you will know more about what is happening with your plants--whether a problem is mites or something else. The second option is to spray if you suspect damage. Then if the problem continues you will know that it isn't mites. But, if the plants soon begin to show increased vigor, and lose the problem foliage that concerned you then you can suspect that mites might have been at fault. Either way, you will have dealt with mites and succeeded. I found Avid was very effective. It has an odor, that is apparent and not too dissimilar to some natural plant odors--Kohleria allenii comes to mind. It is something like the natural scent of Nematanthus albus too. It shouldn't be objectionable unless you are especially susceptable to changes in room odors. A small quantitiy of Avid will last a long time. One shouldn't need to use it very often (less than once a year, mol), and a quarter teaspoon will make a gallon, which is about four times + what one would typically need to treat two or three multi-level lightstands. So, that is my methodology, Jon

When planting my very first rose garden bed, I planted 30 roses in four rows 2' apart from each other and about 2 1/2' between rows. So, I had a row of 8, then 7, then 8 , and finally with 7 again. I thought that was pretty good until the second year when they really started growing and discovered that it was nearly impossible to do good work with the roses planted in the middle two rows. I now only plant two rows in a line so I can get to all the roses much easier. Another time I was getting ready to spray my dormant spray in late Fall of Lime Sulfur and Wilt Pruf in the tank. After just a couple of squirts the wand plugged up because the LS had lumps in it and clogged it up. Without thinking I immediately started unscrewing the brass nozzle and all the backed up pressure made it fly off and it hit me squarely between the eyes at the bridge of my nose and the spray mixture came gushing out all in my face!! That was very painful in many ways. The nozzle left a gash and a heckuva swollen bruise and the stinking Lime/Sulfur & Wilt Pruf spray got all in my eyes,nose, and mouth. It was very painful as it was burning all the mucuous membranes in my eyes, nose and mouth. It was also so sinfully smelly it made me start gagging and retching immediately. Luckily the water hose was at hand and I managed to get it on and spraying my face off even though I was temporarily blinded at the time. At the time it wasn't funny at all and it scared the crap out of me. Later--much later--it was funny but until this time I hadn't told anyone what happened except my DW. They laugh at my expense and I just keep my mouth shut and consider it a hard learned lesson. Luckily I didn't have any long term affects except for a small scar on my nose that probably should have been stitched up!! Now I know that when I use the Lime Sulfur to shake the holy h--- out of it and strain it into the spray tank so that the lumps of the stuff don't clog my sprayer wand!! Actually I am glad this posting is out at this time as it is now about time to do the dormant spray routine for this year!! I WILL REMEMBER!!!! John

Carol: One can inoculate with L. Rhamnosus (a strain taken from a healthy person) ... with Culturelle probiotics, or make your own pickled-cabbage. If you scroll up, you'll see the research which listed many good bacteria in pickled cabbage, one of them is L. Rhamnosus ... which suppress other bad bacteria such as E. Coli, Samonella. One pill of Culturelle before bed helps me to sleep better than melatonin, thus help with weight-loss. Innoculation with one pill per day isn't enough ... the good bacteria are constantly killed off by the antibiotics added to beef & milk and poultry, plus junk food like sugar promote yeast, while suppressing the good bacteria. To feed the good bacteria like L. Rhamnosus, one need to consume pre-biotics daily, such as beans, oatmeal, wheat bran, asparagus, or best dandelion greens. From actzqn link (THANK YOU, actzqn for that Scientific American link): http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-gut-bacteria-help-make-us-fat-and-thin/ " In studies of twins who were both lean or both obese, researchers found that the gut community in lean people was like a rain forest brimming with many species but that the community in obese people was less diverse. Lean individuals, for example, tended to have a wider variety of Bacteroidetes, a large tribe of microbes that specialize in breaking down bulky plant starches and fibers into shorter molecules that the body can use as a source of energy. Blaser has shown that when young mice are given low doses of antibiotics, similar to what farmers give livestock, they develop about 15 percent more body fat than mice that are not given such drugs. When Laurie Cox, a graduate student in Blaser's laboratory, combined a high-fat diet with the antibiotics, the mice became obese. Studies showed that the mice carrying microbes from the obese human had picked up some of their lean roommates' gut bacteria—especially varieties of Bacteroidetes—probably by consuming their feces, a typical, if unappealing, mouse behavior. To further prove the point, the researchers transferred 54 varieties of bacteria from some lean mice to those with the obese-type community of germs and found that the animals that had been destined to become obese developed a healthy weight instead. Transferring just 39 strains did not do the trick. A diet of highly processed foods, for example, has been linked to a less diverse gut community in people. Gordon's team demonstrated the complex interaction among food, microbes and body weight by feeding their humanized mice a specially prepared unhealthy chow that was high in fat and low in fruits, vegetables and fiber ... Given this “Western diet,” the mice with obese-type microbes proceeded to grow fat even when housed with lean cagemates." http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-gut-bacteria-help-make-us-fat-and-thin/ *** From Straw: My flu-shot reaction led to pneumonia and led to antibiotics. After finishing antibiotics, I was 119 lb., then I took Culturelle (with R. Rhamnosus), stayed between 118 to 119 lb. for 2 months, plus eating pickled-red-cabbage daily. The minute I stopped Culturelle, finished pickled-red-cabbage, plus stopped magnesium .. I gained 4 lbs. I suspect beneficial bacteria plays a role in deep & good sleep which helps to suppress ghrelin, the "hunger hormone". I notice the night which I take Culturelle plus magnesium before my night-snack .. I sleep really well, and eager to exercise in the morning. I sleep way better with that combo (culturelle & magnesium) than with melatonin.