I do think that folks further south than we are (in Florida, along the gulf coast through Texas, and in California) wash their milkweed leaves because OE is more prevalent there on tropical milkweed (A. curassavica). It is recommended that they cut their plants in half by mid-summer to allow new, uninfected growth on them as well. However, that said, I still rinse off my milkweed leaves, and I try to get enough so when I do it, I can refrigerate some of them and they'll stay fresh until the next day's feeding. It's a pain, but I didn't have any OE last year at all. We CAN have it develop on plants, but it is less likely here than in the deep south. That's from everything I have read about it. If I'm in a big hurry, though, I will just throw some leaves in the containers after cleaning out the dirty paper towels and frass. So far, so good. I did have about 5 that for some reason died as caterpillars or died in the process of forming the chrysalis, or didn't emerge at all (but then, nothing emerged, so it wasn't tachnid flies or anything else). Out of approx. 100 Monarchs, that's not too bad. I always tried to wash them to get rid of the oleander aphids, too. But, now I hear it is okay for them to consume the aphids, because the aphids are eating milkweed and consuming the cardiac glycosides they are deriving from the plant as well. So, I may try some without washing this summer, and with aphids, just to see if that works. A. curassavica is higher in cardiac glycosides than other milkweeds, and I personally believe that is one reason the Monarchs prefer it over the other perennials. Yet, I am also providing perennial milkweeds as well, including cynanchum laeve (milkweed vine), because as a "last gasp" food for the Monarchs, they will eat it for lack of nothing better. It is one of the milkweeds with the lowest concentration of cardiac glycosides. I have noticed lately that the aphids are fewer and further between, since the relentless rains have moved on from our state, and it is hotter here now, too. Oh, yes, I still have them, but for a while, I thought my milkweeds had been painted, painted orange! LOL! Susan

i think you're right- you'll be in the swing of things before you know it. it's really not dissimlar to having gone through pregnancy or changing diapers! :) good thing bees don't scare you- that would make gardening tough. in all the years i've gardened i've only been stung i think once by a bee and that was from stepping on one accidentally. not sure ow that happened since i rarely go without shoes as an adult. i've rescued countless ones, with bare hands no less, from drowning, or moved them from one flower to another if i was picking a bouquet or whatever. they are very gentle so long as you don't startle them. wasps are another matter, but are still valuable pollinators. i just give them and their tempers more room to work. usually, unless you startle them they don't sting either. hornets and yellow jackets are another mater and i leave them as far away as i can. i really think that all the 'maters attract bugs equally (hornworms are the biggest problem- get some BT and spray or dust and you'll be fine). as for diseases, i tend to like the older types of open pollinated tomatoes because of the flavor and the issues of keeping old varieties going, so i don't plant a whole lot of hybrids. the hybrids, however, do tend to be easier, especially where diseases are concerned. one that i can wholeheartedly recommend is sungold cherry tomato. it is a hybrid, is quite disease resistant and the tomatoes are like candy. it'll give you lots and lots, too. your kids will love it. the nice thing about cherries is they are very carefree and they will bear faster and better with less than perfect conditions. it is indeterminate, which means it grows and bears the entire season, so you will need some form of sturdy support for it. i've not grown any better boys, but have heard that's a reliable beefsteak kind for our area. celebrity is another easy hybrid that does well and is typical tomato size. not sure about sungold, but celeb and BB will be available about everywhere in spring when the cell packs come out. it's a lot of fun to start maters from seed, too and they are easy enough for kids. just poke 1 seed each into a foam or plastic cup with holes poked in the bottom, water and set on a windowsill or under a lamp. they sprout quickly and grow fast. i'd wait a few more weeks before starting them- they really appreciate warm soil and will do better if planted out after may 1, even though you can plant as early as april 15th. we have such along season, that i've started plants around the 4th of july and had plenty of fruit to show for it by fall's end, so no rush at all.

Hi Steve et al, (is that right by the way, or did I just pull that out of a hat?) I had no idea that I was bringing up the question at all in my remark about A. tuberosa. I was only mentioning that I heard that A. tuberosa was not as toxic as some of the other popular milkweeds and that I had never been able to get it to grow anyway so I gave up on it years ago. I wondered whether you had it growing yourself or whether you might have been confusing it with curassavica which I have all over the place. But the question you raise is interesting though I have no knowledge of the subject and never thought about it until you mentioned it above. At this point I wouldn't lose any sleep over it at all since it seems to be used by so many people successfully with monarchs for years. But monarchs are not as easy to rear for me and I think they are susceptible to so many forms of predation that I often leave them outside when I find them because I hate to see things die. But if there is truth to the allegations about native vs. non-native I would definitely like to know. I grow two species of native milkweed but to be honest with you they are a real pain because they appear too late for the spring migration and often go dormant before the fall migration. So what good is that. So I just have at least five or so species and let the adult butterflies pick out their own choice. They definitely choose the physocarpa and curassavica over any of the others. As far as the notion that A. tuberosa might be invasive out here in CA, I seriously doubt it because tuberosa likes rich and well-drained soil and the only place you would find that out here is in bags at the local nursery and it's quite expensive. I doubt most tuberosas could afford it. On top of that tuberosa does not do well in pots or so the mail order catalog indicates. At least it never worked for me.

I don't think Conium maculatum is native.Must have made it here as a stowaway. Can't imagine anyone bringing it here intentionally. I've been watching it's rapid spread in my local area the past few years. It even seems to be outpacing the alien, invasive Teasle,Dipsacus . I thought that some years ago the Illinois road commission planned on planting native wildflowers all along our highways. Don't know what happened, but all I see is Teasle and Poison Hemlock. I read that in England they are asking people to pull over, and pull out any Impatiens glandulifera plants they see. That's funny because I wanted to get seeds for that one for a long time. Wasn't too impressed with it's performance once I grew it. My I. glandulifera plant's never got anywhere near the twenty foot tall ones reported causing environmental havok in the U.K. I wouldn't be surprised if this plant is on some noxious weed lists over in the PNW ! All living things decended from the same one celled creature. No matter what species, and no matter what kingdom you are discussing it is still relative, and still on topic, albeit the far outskirts of topic.