D, I'd be shocked if my broccoli was already up....I just sowed them yesterday LOL! Hi PV :) No, I was getting a late start this year (didn't start until mid Feb.) but was ok with that since I mostly was going to do annuals this year anyways. I'm running out of room for perennials. I made some more room the other day though after pulling out some 5 year old Blue Flax; they are short lived. Also if they soil every dries out some I have a new small bed to work on :) Sowed some more today: Sweet Pea 'Miss Willmott' Nicotiana alata Datura inoxia (white) Venidium-mix Not sure if I'm done yet today...hmmmm LOL! Vera

Ann's idea to contact your county agricultural extension agent sounds like just the ticket to me. We contacted our county extension agent once a long, long time ago, in trying to find out why we were having a problem with growing azaleas and rhododendrons in one particular area of the yard but not in others. With all the budget cutbacks they might not still do that, but it's a wonderful service. Someone actually came out to see the problem here onsite and didn't charge us anything to do it. The fellow who came out was extremely knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with. He almost instantly guessed what the problem was, semi-confirmed it by shifting a few plants within the ground from pushing gently on their stems, and sent some soil samples off to the state lab for confirmation: a moderately heavy infestation of nematodes (the bad kind of nematodes) that were eating away at the roots of the plants. I know this isn't your problem, but your roses might have something that a local county agricultural agent can diagnose just as quickly there. Our service was free, and I assume yours would be too, or at least not too expensive. Even if your agent isn't quite so sharp as ours was, you still probably wouldn't lose anything by spending a few minutes with him/her. We've had two (very mild) cases of downy mildew here. I double-checked those photos and the roses didn't have any ridges on the canes. But perhaps ridges might have appeared if the disease had gotten worse, so telling you this might not be especially helpful--unless you can look or have pictures of the plants in different stages of coming down with the disease. If the ridges are there from the very start of noticeable symptoms, then it likely isn't downy mildew. Your county extension agent is just the right contact for checking out Ann's other ideas regarding the potential for verticillium wilt and sudden oak death. Since they affect plants other than roses too, he might have had a better chance of hearing first about the presence in your area of those diseases before someone mainly concerned with growing roses would have. (I hope it's neither of those diseases. Fingers crossed for you.) One other obvious thing to think about that I didn't think to mention earlier... Try analyzing in every respect the locations of each of the plants that have come down with the disease, and be sure to tell your extension agent about the locations of the goners and whatever connections you might be able to come up with from an analysis of those locations. Example: You have your 180 plants spread among 6 different beds, but all the plants but one that died recently were located in the front beds as opposed to from the back of the house (maybe more likely something like a gradual spreading of chili thrips?). Or, you have losses in all your beds, but they all are located near the new stone edging you've given your beds (maybe too much reflected heat added now?). Or, your losses are in front and in the back, but started out only in those beds that you added some extra bags of ___ to last winter to improve the soil (maybe the bags' contents weren't insect/disease free). Or, your losses are all in places less protected from an especially cold winter that might have set up the roses for succumbing to the first disease to come along. Or, the losses are all close to the swimming pool (spilled some chemicals intended for a pool there?). One other suggestion that might help would be adding mycorrhiza, though it's some trouble when you already have the rose planted, and if it's something like verticillium wilt it might not help enough anyway. I once added mycorrhiza to two ailing established plants and I don't think I'd ever bother with that again, though I do still think mycorrhiza is overall a good idea and we use it when planting a new rose, when it's relatively easy to use. Those two roses I was hoping to help were virused and no amount of adding anything would have changed that. With this kind of (extensive and serious) problem that your roses are having, it might amount to a situation such as ours was. Or maybe not; it's hard to know, especially since the problem is still unidentified. In favor of adding mycorrhiza... would be the firm conviction of someone very knowledgeable in organic gardening circles that plants with this added boost actually can more easily repel disease, and that it's not simply a matter of additional pathways for more water and nutrients (that's a good hedge during droughts and also especiaally severe winters). You can't know whether or not a plant thus reinforced can repel something as serious as verticillium wilt, but if you are willing to go to the trouble, it's unlikely to cause harm. At least what I did in adding it to our already-planted roses caused no harm at all that I could see. For adding to established plants, use something like an especially large and long pencil for punching holes in the ground. (I had an extra knife sharpening steel that was about the diameter of two and a half pencils and it worked perfectly.) You want to punch 4-6 holes in the ground all around the rose, starting from maybe 6 inches out from the center of the plant and directed at the center of the plant maybe a foot down. Pour a small amount of mycorrhiza into each hole, and then spread the dirt back into and over the holes. You're counting on at least one root making contact with some mycorriza, either directly from the hole placement or soon as it grows some more to that spot. If you do decide to try mycorrhiza, be sure to never use any fertilizer that is higher than 1 or 2% in phosphate, as this will harm the mycorrhiza and might end up killing the plant that will have become somewhat dependent on the mycorrhiza working for much of its water and nutrients. One last thought: I still think it's a good idea to water very deeply every now and then if you can, because of the potential for a soil PH that is too high in a low-rainfall climate. This would be true even if your roses have enough water available for takeup; what you want is a flushing of the soil downward to get rid of any salt buildup, if one might exist (though it sounds as if you're giving a good bit of water). In a desert climate, there ought to be plenty of dry soil underneath the plant to take up the excess coming from a heavy watering, and a system flush is unlikely to make matters worse. If this summer was a bit hotter there than in the previous years where you've not had these problems, a higher-than-ideal PH might combine with the main problem, whatever it is, and make it worse by creating extra stress overall. If you are able to fill some watering cans for spreading water around while doing some deep watering, it wouldn't hurt to add a tiny bit of cider vinegar to the watering can, just on a guess that your soil's PH is very unlikely to be too low already and that adding a tiny bit of extra acidity probably won't do any harm. Big beautiful roots likely means no severe root-eating nematode problem. That's all I can think of. In spite of lots of people thinking about your problem from afar, I doubt that you are going to figure this out via internet suggestions. But if possible, do post pictures. The county extension agent idea is probably by far the most important suggestion to try. Best wishes, Mary

Buy a good hand weeder. I don't know why they aren't more readily available. I was able to replace my recently lost one with a $9 tool which is ok. Blade is offset but essentially it's "L" shaped. You can hack up the soil if needed but mostly you run the blade about a half inch below the soil to uproot weeds. One garden writer recommends a cobra headed weeder. If there are a lot of smaller weeds, I used a swirling motion to bring weeds to top and round up in a small pile. If they are very small, just pull the blade through the soil. If the weed has a long root runner, hold the top in one hand and drag the blade thru the soil as you gently pull so the long root comes up and doesn't break off. I've been having very good luck with building raised beds using the lasagna method which doesn't not require a rototiller. Best to build the bed the season or year before. Advantage is usually very few weeds the first year. I am protecting some plants until flowering with garden fabric, Agribon from Johnny's which I was able to buy off Craigslist. I have bee successful using an animal repellant spray which I bought at the farm and feed store. It contains coyote or fox urine. Doesn't stay stinky for long. Deer are around but haven't been visiting. I think they are eating other things. Although before the spray they ate some of my hosta. You might try putting black netting over your garden. Hope your next efforts are more successful. Keep trying.

Hi Red, If you started your seeds in late February, they should be about 8 inches tall and a little leggy by now. I usually wait until the night temperatures stay above 40F before putting them out. They can handle a night that goes down close to freezing but don't let them stay outside if you know its going to freeze. If you have a garage or a shed, you can give them some cover for one night, then move them outside again. I just noticed that the temperatures in my area are gong to be above 40 at night for the next week, so I plan on moving them out today. Just make sure that you place them in a shady spot out of direct sunlight (under a tree) the first few nights and the temps are above 40F. Also be careful they don't get rained on too hard. I put them under a lean to and cover them with a tarp if it is going to rain. You can tell they are getting too much sun if the tops of the leaves bleach out. Just keep them moist and let them enjoy the outdoors. If the plants are so tall they and falling over, I give them a hair cut. It won't hurt them to be cut back to 8 inches tall. I will let them harden off a least two weeks before planting. They can stay in the seed pots for some time until you are ready to plant. Right after I plant and application of Preen will hold down the weeds. Good luck with your seedlings! Mike