Just to throw something else in here on how ignorant we as Americans are and how with out question we will buy and consume products just because we trust the source or we just do not care. Thankyou to those concerned about this issue who have posted here. I am proud to be a certified Organic grower therefore I want nothing to do with GMO for me, or my familiy ,or my customers. The link below is an article on GMO potatoes. I tried to find another article about a law suet with Mcdonalds but I couldnt'. Bottom line Mcdonalds and Burgerking have been serving GMO potates for nearly 10years in America till it came to light thanks to concerned groups which sued. Mcdonalds as a settlement in the suet to squash the issue before it became too public decided to stop using GMO potatoes rather than have a public backlash. If it were not for those who are concerned you would still be eating GMO potatoes. GMO potatoes that contain a herbiced tolerant gene (roundout) and a bacterial pesticide(BT). It is one thing to spray or coat our food with a toxin. I use BT the organic natural bacteria. But I at least have the option to wash most of it off, But to put that same pesticide in each and every cellof the plant I intend to eat I can not handle. I have not eaten at any national fast food chain in over ten years and am proud of that fact. I also will not and have not shopped at any big box store in nearly two years. I will not be a hipocrit and say one thing and do another. I want to know what I am feeding to my grandchild and family and I want to support my country by buying American and local grown food. and products. Rodger

Hi, everyone! great news is that the Rosarian couple were very nice. I actually tried calling them last night but couldn't get through because they had their fax machine on. Then tonight they explained that they couldn't return my call because the number I had left them had been cut off by their answering machine. They too have not grown tree roses because like Karl had feared, rose trees do terrible in Kansas. Stupid me should also have thought far ahead about our tornado problems as well. I didn't think about this issue before the terrible winds this past weekend. Flower2sew, in Overland Park we got hit real bad. There is still debris from knocked over light poles on Hwy 69 from people crashing from the ice... But the snow lasted just one terrible day, it was very thick snow,and we were blasted with both ice and snow at once and in some parts of Overland Park, the cable lines and phone lines were down ...then argh, it shot up to near 60 degree warmth right the following day, then dropped down again the following evening. The rosarian couple agreed that they would never leave out the tree roses at this point because of last weekend's extreme swing of temperature (including this week) but they too felt I really needed to speak to a Master Rosarian, so they gave me the emergency helpline for the Rose Society. The nice rosarian couple I spoke to explained that they themselves have never grown tree roses because of how erratic Kansas weather can be in the spring and they said that the people they know who had rose trees all had either greenhouses or would go to a nursery and "rent" out a space for the winter. In other words they wouldn't know how to advise me on how to keep my roses indoors in my particular situation. They did feel that since my rose trees still have buds sprouting, that keeping them in a completely dark, cold, poorly insulated garage at this point is a question that only a master rosarian could answer. It is a tough call because no sane person/gardener would ever be in the crazy predicament that I am in now... I am doing crazy stuff like lightly spraying my roses with warm water in the morning and when I come home, then again before going to bed to keep them as close to a greenhouse effect and reducing my house temperature from 68 degrees to 65 so that I don't shock the roses when I bring them outside to 58 degree sunshine (but that makes me super cold indoors and I end up having to wear a few layers of clothing in the house and shivering under the covers when I try to sleep LOL). So hopefully I can reach the helpline before I get "outta control" and do more crazy outta control guesswork. Anyway, thank you EVERY One and All for your help and ongoing support! Hugs to each of you... P.S. forgot to say that to me the membership dues for the American Rose Society is very reasonable, and wouldnt have hesitated for a second had I not been so broke from all the training with Eluane and house payments but in due time if I can just make the baby steps and get both trees to survive.

I'm afraid I might be a bit more confused now than I was before. Lazygardens, that idea sounds wonderful and very easy. This project was started in the spring and my husband has weedwhacked the area several times already when he thought I'd have time to follow up with my newspaper/mulching but then didn't. I've also gone out and dug the roots and weeds up a couple times, but none were so bad as it is now, and the job was a touch easier then. Floral-- yes definitely oxalis, and there some w reddish leaves too that I assume is a different variety of oxalis because it's the same size and shape and it's roots really hold on like the green one. Out lawn is full of it too, along w like 10 other kinds of weeds (we had a lawn company come out for a report and estimate, sheesh--nothing we're going to be able to afford for quite some time so I'm going to work on it myself but that's for another post). As for turning it all over, we did that too. In spring my husband removed 6 40-year-old yews that left gaping holes and the area was full of large roots and rocks so we turned it all over best we could to get out the biggest stuff, then I leveled it out. I even sprayed it all w vinegar before posting for help here and then felt like an idiot when I learned I killed all those "valuable nutrients". Well I didn't have to fret because they came back, about 3 weeks later. Then I watched a video recommended by someone here on another post, that made me question how much turning over I want to do. I have to admit, when I first started this I spring there were a lot of earthworms out there and now I barely see any. Maybe that's because I'm not digging down far anymore but I didn't used to have to-- hope I didn't kill em all off w the vinegar or too much turning over. Anyway now I'm trying to avoid stupid mistakes by asking here first but it seems like there are conflicting ideas so I don't know what to do. The area may be small compared to most but it wraps around the house on the other side and over that way there's a good bit of lawn I'm pulling up first still to enlarge the bed and the truth is, whether it's small compared to most or not, it's more than I have time for. The luxury of spending even a few hours out there all at one time isn't something I have often with the little ones around. The other day when I posted was the first day I was able to stay out there that long in almost 2 months! So what I'm beginning to think is, maybe those nutrients aren't important enough to warrant chancing all these weeds coming back. The soil must be good enough if it keeps growing them back so fast right? And as another poster commented when I was beating myself up for the stupid vinegar mistake, good enough to grow 40-year-old yews? Perhaps removing the weeds and tossing them will suffice. After all I'm still laying down a little lime and the bagged compost/eggshells/coffee grinds. Sigh.

i think fiedlermeister has the most effective measure....however, i think his method (scissors or garden shears) along with the beer method (with a variation in normal slug and beer wars)makes an excellent solution. this is the way you do it:---1'st-- at dusk, you grab two beers(maybe 3) and your scissors/shears---second,--open one of the beers, with the other beer on standby, and start pounding that sucker---third---find some slugs and begin slicing them in two.....continue this process until the 1'st beer is in your gut---4'th----find a nice ripe hot pepper and eat it---5'th--open second beer and consume while continue slicing the little intrusive ^%%#$%^#@@!'s until your whole garden has been erradicated of slugs. now you've done a great job......for today......but have no fear, the next evening they will return in force, so tomorrow, grab those shears and beers and go play in your garden. the good thing is, while doing said activity, you get to really get a close up look at how your garden is doing and even a bit of weeding on the side. of course this method works just as well at dawn, but might not be socially acceptable for many and may need to be just done on weekends and days off. good fricking luck from one who gardens in slug haven---maritime washington MUST be the birthplace of these scoundrels and my nemisis. i have no problem grabbing one and playing "pitch to the tree trunk" as hard as i can throw. yes you're hand might have a layer of slime you can't wash off, but just do some weeding and it will be better. thats all from lopez island washington---good luck