Wow, what an exciting thread. From reading your post, toyon, you could work with me on the border. I'm an Agricultural Inspector at the Truckee Border Station. You've given a lot of, and good advise here. For the most part, the plants named at the beginning of this thread are not resitricted, but as has been said earlier in this post, it's mostly about the soil. If you can bare root the plants, they should be o.k. to bring in. That being said, if you enter CA, and an inspector notices signs of disease or other pest, the plants may be confescated right there... We always try to encourage any new resident who is transporting plants to CA, to contact their County Agricultural Commissioner, not just for inspection, but, if you can begin discussion with them, they may be able to help you with future plant/pest questions. I did want to respond to the cactus question, however. The only restrictions on cacti from AZ...and interior regulations in CA, is the type of cactus. There are endangered species of cactus in our surrounding areas. If the cactus is purchased by a reputable dealer, and has an accompanying certificate, there should really be no problem, the problem comes from digging up potentially endangered species. It is great for me to read a thread that has so much support for the border inspectors and our purpose. Sometimes we feel that much of CA doesn't really know what we do out here, or why. Thanks for your support, and good luck with the move and everyone else... Happy Gardening, -S

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Wow, great responses!!! Thank you all! I do apologize about not being good and responding quick, I'm getting ready to enter into my Nursing program in April, its just as much "prep" as it is being a gardener hahah - with immunizations, doctor checkups, drug tests, background checks, list goes on from there! So I just planted my super young citrus meyer lemon tree in the corner of my yard, I've decided to plant the tomato plants about 4 feet away from the lemon tree, my lemon tree is about 4ft tall right now with about 20 leaves on it, if that, won't expect huge amount of growth for awhile, so I won't need to worry about it shading my tomato plants. Has anyone used kellogg brand? Maybe they have a type of soil i could mix into the existing dirt... or maybe Ill just head to my local nursery for some compost, I don't know why, but I just seemed so sketched out about it because I feel that they could put some stuff in it to make it not as organic as it could be maybe like putting human manure compost in it (worse case scenario) .. Ill check it out this weekend! As for the companion planting, I've gone ahead and decided I'll be just doing containers and they'll happily sit on my patio next to the future strawberry plants in other containers will be. OMG! thank you for just going ahead and reminding me of the whole blossom end rot, I looked it up and so many people suggest different things = watering with lime stone, watering or spraying foliage with TUMS, Oyster shells, or calcium tablets. Bone meal - hmm, wonder how much that costs... Any recommendations on personal preferences to prevent the whole blossom end rot and what you've used?

I do like the desert, and I find it a nice change of scenery to go to Palm Springs from Los Angeles. The Pacific Ocean is always too cold for me to swim in without a wetsuit, and so I like having a pool in Cathedral City that is warm half the year - and I can heat it to 87° during the cooler months. I might have been happy with just a larger house in L.A. with a large pool, but then I do like the change of pace when going to the desert. Since I cannot afford a place on the Italian Riviera, I will have to content myself with visiting Italy when I can. It's going to be a couple of years before I will be able to return, however. I wish my sister would buy property there, but then she does not speak Italian, and so that would be unlikely. Her husband was offered a job in Rome, and I was mad at him for not taking it, but it would have meant that my sister would have to relocate her law practice, learn Italian, and then have to get re-certified in Italy, which might not have been easy. She is not the housewife type, and so that would not be an option for her.