Kelthane is an older miticide that people use. I haven't priced Avid but I know that Cape Cod Violetry sells it in small quantities. It is very expensive but at the recommended use rate of 1/4 teaspoon per gallon, a very small amount will last for many years--like one or two oz. For most indoor growers a pint of mixed spray is all one needs to eliminate an infestation on a multilevel lightstand full of plants (hence, what??--a sixteenth of a teaspoon of Avid!!). The characteristic of cyclamen mites that I have come to recognize on episcias is in the center of the new growth. It turns brown and fuzzy, and the plants stop growing. The stolons show this brown fuzziness too, as it spreads. It takes a month or so for the infestion to get really bad. Then the plants get really bad looking and begin to die. Once when I didn't know what I had, I didn't treat the plants till really late, and yet I saved almost all of them. The episcias recovered by initiating new growth from the stem, as all the growth points on the crown and stolons were quite dead by then. People have tried to see these mites, using magnification and microsctopes and often they can't find anything. Its one of the invisible pests that only shows itself by its pattern of damage. It sounds like you don't have them. In small collections c-mites are pretty rare. It took me many years to finally get them and now its been over two years since the last time. Avid has a distinctive smell that isn't that terrible but is pretty distinctive and can last a long time in a terrarium. Anyway, last summer at the AGGS convention (warning:story) I bought a plant of rare rare Kohleria allenii. As I was carrying it around the plant sale in my box, I noticed that it had quite an odd smell to the foliage. Hmmm, I guessed it was one of those few gessies with aromatic foliage. After I got the plant home, via my carry-on bag on the airplane and about a week later, the odor was gone. Then I realized it must have been sprayed with Avid. I had finally recognized that smell. The very same plant grew on a sunny windowsill and now it is in full bud. I am anxious to see this species in flower for the first time. (PS, several months after I got back from the convention, I discovered I already had a plant of allenii, which had gone dormant and resprouted. So, now I have two, but the show differences in foliage so I shall see if I have two seedlings as I suspect or if one is mislabeled. Yes, Johnnie B. at least one of these is from you ;))) Jon

Hello everyone, i have been so busy have not had time to write. I finally finished the second bed,and spent the weekend looking for different types of compost. I only found three,all the rest are basically the same in Florida at least around here. I did find one Blueberry bush ,YEAH ,seems healthy... I changed the soil and transplanted to a bigger pot I have it in the morning sun and afternoon shade we will see. I planted some watermelon in 2 of the block cells as an experiment they are growing quick and seem happy.. I planted some tomatoes in containers and have them next to the blueberries.I also planted an herb garden in 2 containers i had for awhile they contain, Rosemary,basil,parsley,thyme,oregano,also some spearmint and peppermint. Within 2 days the Bugs have located and began thier attack,whiteflies and mites i belive..... i have been holding them off with palmolive and water. A friend told me ivory soap 2 tblespoons mixed in 1 quart warm water or liquid castile soap same mix,works well I'll try it.... I have to get the soil in the beds this weekend and finish mulching around the beds...I kickin around with idea of micro sprinkler sytem on a timer.They are fairly inexpensive and would work well with my goofy schedule. I have not recieved my worms yet but the compost pile seems to be doing well.Guess i'll have to call uncle Jim's and see what the delay is.. Almost forgot i ordered my muscadine grapes they will be here in Oct,along time to wait but i need to prepare the soil anyway so it worrks out well.. Glad i got the time to share and be part of your gardens Good luck to all and Happy Gardening...

Yes, Redcurls, I've received Eylea injections and I can't say that they made my sight worse...but...I stopped the injections well over a year ago. I either had an bad reaction to the last of nine shots...given every thirty days contrary to manufacturer's recommendation...or the doctor giving the injection scratched my retina and elected not to own up to what he'd done. Either way...I will not volunteer for any more injections. The entire experience for me was dreadful which may have been due to the actual clinic itself....assisted by the fact that they never succeeded in desensitizing my retina so I always felt the injection. I have wet macular degeneration in my left eye. The first few Eylea injections succeeded in stopping the bleeding of the blood vessels and my sight improved. Then, because no one had warned me not to, I went back to taking my 80 mg aspirin every day that I'd been taking for many years on the advice of my GP. My eye took a nose dive. The bleeding returned and I spent the next few months trying to stabilize my vision. The injections were successful to a great extent but my vision will never been completely unimpaired ever again. I'm very lucky that my impairment now is only a small, light grey cloud rather than the initial complete blackness. And, also, fortunately, my right eye remains unimpaired. When I refused further injections, the doctor threatened that my improved eyesight would rapidly slide backwards. It has not. I take OTC Lutein...40 mg/day...and find that, if anything, my eyesight has improved with this intake. And...no more aspirin...ever again. Getting enough sleep and trying to keep stress out of my daily life has also helped. Personally, I have very serious doubts about the medical advisability of multiple Eylea injections. I feel that the nine injections given to me were not all necessary and the retina clinic issuing my injections was abusing the system. I'm a senior on Medicare. The cost of my shots was completely covered by Medicare and what little doctor application involvement that wasn't covered was picked up by my supplemental insurance coverage. I'm very surprised that your post indicates that you must pay out-of-pocket for the Eylea....but...I don't know if you're a US citizen or from our neighboring [and beautiful] Canada where your insurance coverage may differ. I'll end this contribution by offering that I am not a fan of medicos on any level. I've had too many bad experiences to reverse that opinion...including the Eylea application. But...it was helpful in the beginning and if I ever had a recurrence, I would consult a different specialist for advice. I hope your experience becomes more positive. It's very frightening to lose ones eyesight....especially at my age and living alone. Anne

It doesn't have to be the night before. The crystals build up which is what causes the pain. I don't drink either, for me it is the veggies I eat. I had 5 shrimp the week before, ate pureed cauliflower, ate a bunch of asparagus during the same week and a package of mushrooms. My Doctor told me I just have chronic high uric acid in my blood as does my sister. Before I was diagnosed years ago I went to the Doctor because I thought I had skin cancer. I had these black crusty round spots on the top of my left thigh. I think my Doctor called it tophi or something like that. They finally went away after I started taking the medication. My uric acid level at that time was so high I had 2 Doctors call me after I had the blood test to come back in right away.