Soils that have a nutrient imbalance can contribute to plant disease problems and there is no real test for the pathogen that causes mildew problems. That pathogen can also travel through the air with the wind. A good, in depth look at your soil can tell you if you have a good, rich soil that will grow strong healthy plants that will be more disease resistant. Start with these simple soil tests; 1)Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.

Irisgal, I'll tell you why. The Walnut Husk-Fly. Not a single walnut on my tree is unmolested by this awful pest, and the maggots make the fruit bitter and inedible. I got so mad last year that I picked off every walnut before they matured, just to spite the Husk Flies. Before the arrival of the flies, back in the 50s, my neighborhood was a commercial walnut farm. My parents paid their property taxes by harvesting the walnuts from their trees and selling them to the Nut House. The guy across the street from me still has an original tree. It's a beautiful thing, but it is beginning to lost limbs. I will be sorry to see it go. Renee

If the shell of the egg is hard it's probably not a snake's egg. I think their eggs are sort of leathery, not hard. However, trying to incubate and hatch a wild bird's egg is likely to turn into tragedy, if you could actually manage to get it to hatch. It's not easy trying to feed a baby bird if you're not its mom. I'm sure it would be heartbreaking for your daughter to hatch a baby bird and then have it die of starvation. You made the right decision. Debra

Sorry for the delay in introducing myself (we switched computers and have been without until today). Last fall my husband and I moved to a new-to-us house (1 acre) in San Antonio that literally had 3 trees and a few bushes. I decided to dive into gardening and try to add some color and life to our home. I started flower seeds for the first time last winter/spring and a lot of them grew. Now, I believe I am addicted. When my husband can't find me, he knows I'm out picking the "little grenades" off of my four o'clocks or looking for something to dead head and get the seeds out of. Of course, I've had quite a few failures, but those just get thrown over the fence and we don't talk about 'em. :-) I look forward to becoming active on GW, it seems like a lot of fun! Thanks again for letting me join!