There's a good article here: Cultural/Physical Controls Flea beetles are favored by stable warm spring weather and hampered by alternating periods of hot and cold temperatures with intermittent rains. Seedlings of crops are most vulnerable to flea-beetle feeding when stressed, particularly by inadequate moisture. Providing good nutrition and favor- able growing conditions aids in shortening the vulnerable early-growth stages and helps plants survive flea-beetle attack. The literature suggests that organic fertilization may make crops less attractive to flea beetles (3). Because the pest is so mobile, and because so many genera and species are involved, crop rotation, by itself, has little effect as a control strategy. However, living mulches or polycultures are known to reduce flea-beetle damage (3, 4). One reason for this is that the individual crop plants are not silhouetted against a bare-soil background and are less obvious to the pest (3). The ATTRA publi- cation Companion Planting elaborates further on this subject. Trap cropping, in which attractive plant species are planted near the main crop to draw the pest away, offers some possibilities for flea-beetle management. Apparently the most practical trap crop is Chinese Southern Giant Mustard (Brassica juncea var. crispifolia), seed of which is widely available. Research has shown that planting this trap crop about every 55 yards between rows of cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower (or as a border around the field) can do an exceptional job of protecting them. To retain effectiveness, reseeding of the trap crop may be necessary, especially if the pest destroys the first planting. The trap is less effective in protecting crops that are almost as attractive to flea beetles as Giant Mustard is, such as Nappa cabbage, gai choy, and choy sum (5). Another approach to trap cropping is to interplant radishes�"‘Chinese Daikon’ and ‘Snow Belle’ are preferred by the pest�"at 6- or 12-inch intervals among cole crops. In one trial, this measurably reduced damage to broccoli (6). Row-cover materials such as Reema™ can be used to cover seedlings and provide a barrier to adult beetles. It is advisable to get the row cover in place at or before emergence for maximum protection. The covers can be removed once the pest population subsides (7). To be most effective, row covers should be used in conjunction with a planned crop rotation in which the crop to be protected follows a non-susceptible crop. This reduces the chance that pests will emerge under the row cover (8). ATTRA has additional information on row covers, including manufacturers and distributors, in the publication Season Extension Techniques for Market Gardeners. Growers report some level of flea-beetle control using white and yellow sticky traps (6, 9). Refer- ence is made to individual traps placed every 15 to 30 feet of row. Encircling the field with continu- ous sticky tape is also mentioned. Sources of sticky traps include ARBICO (10) and Golden Harvest Organics (11). Since the adults overwinter in plant debris, there is value in sanitation procedures that destroy refuge sites. Plowing or rototilling weeds and crop residues in the fall is often recommended, as is destruction of grassy and solanaceous (tomato family) weeds adjacent to the field (12). Unfortu- nately, these procedures are often in conflict with good sustainable practices that strive to maintain soil cover and field buffers. When such conflicts occur, growers can view sanitation procedures as transitional strategies only, and look for more sustainable practices to use in the future. Anecdotal reports have suggested that catnip might repel flea beetles. Research by organic garden- ers in 1997 failed to confirm this information, however. The gardeners reported that catnip used as a mulch or sprayed as an extract tea did a generally poor job of repelling the pest (13). Here is a link that might be useful: Flea Beetle: Organic Control

Wow, that's a lot of plants! I don't have a list of what I'm growing in my little gardens -- sometimes it takes me a couple of weeks in the spring to realize that that weird looking weed in the corner is something I've had for years. I just assume that more plants than not will grow in this area! One of the more unusual plants I grow is agapanthus. Not a particularly hardy variety, this was simply a florists' plant my mother gave me four years ago. But it's come up reliably every year for the past three seasons in Central Ohio. It's planted against a south-facing brick wall with excellent drainage, and apparently doesn't realize it's not in zone 8+ anymore! One of my mother's more spectacular plants is a 15 year old calamondin orange that arrived as a little "get-well" houseplant. It spends the winter on the unheated glassed in back porch in Cincinnati, and now stands over 6' tall in the pot, and is nearly 4' around. It always has flowers and fruit on it, and we've picked 200 ripe fruits at one time.

I used the method found on the blackjungle site, expandable foam with coco bedding siliconed over it, I removed the top frame from a standard 30 gallon aquarium and removed the bottom sheet of glass from another (30G)then I stripped the old silicone off with a razor, I then placed a thin bead of silicone to the top of the bottom half and placed the top tank in place, I had no trouble keeping the two tanks together while the silicone dried, then, after the silicone dried, I just pealed the access silicone off the seam with a razor, the dims are 24"long, 30"tall, 12"wide, I used to use an assortment of self made tools but I found that reaching in while standing on a stool or step ladder works just fine! I do have a water feature, a pretty nice one at that, I just thought I would play with the set up first to see what would be the best way to go, if used the water would trickle down the drift wood on the bottom right and drip into a pool, also there is a secondary water feature on the lower left where the gravel is in place instead of coco fiber, you can barely see the gravel in the pics, the heat at the top is due to the ballast, I have two, one running one set of floros and one running the other set, I plan on installing more fans, the humidity is a stable 80/90 at the bottom, 50/60 in the center, and 20/30 at the top, the day floros simulate sun light and I use the actinic blues as they give the tank that "sundown" effect, so they are pretty usefull just for that, I shut down the day light floros first so that the actinic blues stay on for an hour or so, they make the tank look like the dawn, then I switch the blue moonlight leds on and shut down the actinic blues, the blue leds make the tank look like moonlight shining through leaves,I do this so the critters eyes can adapt to the light difference slowly, I read somewhere that frogs cant dialate thier eyes as fast as we do, so I repeat this in reverse in the morning, the floros are two actinic blues 12000K each, and two daylights 12000K each, each floro is 65W, I have a couple of plants in mind and will post them soon as I cannot remember the name right off hand, Thanks much for your comment! =)

I live in Sac and have been "tropical" gardening for 8 years now. It is true that the closer to downtown the warmer the microclimate. I live in midtown and we have not had frost since 1998. These are the tropical and sub-tropical plants that I grow or see in the yards between my place on 23rd and the Capitol Arboretum all year long; Queen palm, windmill palm,date palm, pigmy date palm,blue palm,Kentia and bamboo palms (in courtyards) cycads, philodendron selosium, monstrera deliciosa, many species of shell and butterfly ginger, colocasia and alocasia,cordyline terminalis (in very protected areas) C australis, C stricta, plumbego and false plumbego, princess flower,abutilon, tree ferns, podocarpus, brugmasnsias and daturas, cannas, callas, fortnight lily, jacaranda, dwarf pointsiana, both the regular and giant bird of paradise,blue potato tree, bottle brush, clivia, oleander, crape myrtle, bananas, night blooming jasmine, star jasmine, true jasmines, bouganvillia, Hibiscus sinensis, Rose of Sharon Hibiscus, shooting star Hibiscus, perennial Hibiscus, four O'clocks, dalhias, malvas, acacias, pelorgoniums, erodium, passionflower, rice paper plant, gardenias, orchid tree, cry-baby coral tree, justicas, cupheas, coral bush, sweet pea bush, lavener pea vine, powder puff bushes, yesterday today and tomorrow, perennial morning glory,phormiums, pampas grass, palm grass, naked lilies, crimum, bamboo,flame honeysuckle,lion's tail, all citrus except limes, fuchias (although I can not grow them) ficus elastica, ficus nitida, most begonia species, most of the impatiens species,agapanthus,gladiolas, pentas,freesias, geiger tree,Norfolk Island Pine,natal plum, cassia, magnolias, bilbergia and some other bromiliads, clerodenrums,red hot poker, agaves,kangaroos paws, cyperus, papyrus,pride of Madera, gloriosa lily, lantanas, aloes, grevillea, indian hawthorn, many species of shrub salvia, tradensias like puple heart and wandering jew and many tropical succulents like jade plant,kalenchoe and baby sun rose. I have lived in Hawaii and we can grow about 75% of the common garden plants grown there or at least a close relative as a substitute, (pigmy date palm is the only palm that I have grown in both places, but hey, a palm is a palm) We can not grow many "true" tropicals that won't tolerate temps below 50 that I love like plumeria,heliconias, red and pink alpina gingers, ixora and snow bush without a green house, but we can grow so many warm temperate plants from China and Japan like hydraneas and cameleas that it almost seems like an even trade plant wise (but not temerature and scenery wise:) Good luck on your Sacramento garden