Hello Tony, I want that recipe for your bug spray. Especially with it being organic. I hate the idea of eating fruit sprayed with chemical pesticides! I don't have problems with bugs except for on the gardenia and very occasionally on a plant here and there. I am pretty lucky. I know the gardenia is not happy in the winter because I keep it warm in my house and i know they like it cooler. Hey Mike, Will I still need to ad Epsom Salts if I fertilize with the foliage pro or the epsom salts? I thought I read something about not using epsom salts if using a fertilizer with urea. The turface is sold under the garden section. I can't imagine it not being the right size for gardening but if it is larger couldn't I crush it to make it smaller, or will that make it to small? I have to make it work but i will ask first before I go over there. Now are you saying that I need chicken grit AND the crushed granite? I must have a diffrent version then you do. What stuff do you use to make yours. I would rather make it your way since I know that you have had great success with it. I wonder why I got this variation then. Yours doesn't call for the sand then? If you could just list your "ingridients" for me and the amounts, that would be great. Do you still need epsom salts with your mix? Would my citrus fertilizer eliminate the need for the espsom salts? I asked you about the salts before but I didn't get an answer back from you on that one. Not a problem, I know I have been shooting tons of questions at you but I really need to know if I need this or not. If your mix or my citrus fertlizer eliminates the need for it, that would be great. As far as that nut job nextdoor, your absolutly right, and it enfuriates me that my landlord gives him special treatment just because they are friends. She has told me that she has threatened to evict him because of his BS, but because there friends it won't happen. Mike I apologize for the urgency with getting the stuff for the gritty mix but it is necessary for me to get it this weekend since my tree should be here by early next week. Can't wait! Andrew

Yup, Mike, it's a double edged sword for us. Perfect weather to grow citrus, and my extremely neglected Meyer Lemon is a perfect example. I stopped counting the fruit on the 8' semi-dwarf at around 150-200. This is Lemon Country for sure, lol!! But, people aren't the only critters who love to live here :-) Because we don't have any hard freezes, bugs proliferate all year round. Rats hang around, too, along with ground squirrels, pocket gophers and rabbits. I have to put snake fencing up to keep the rattlers out, but that also keeps out our wonderful San Diego Gopher Snake, that is the #1 predator of all the rodent varmits, unfortunately. So, I have to take a multi-pronged approach to keeping unwanted harmful vistors from my trees, and without excessive harm to the environment, bees, hawks, snakes and my dog. I'm going to have to set up bait stations in my trees and on my chain link fence, and hope that the rats go under a bush to die. If a hawk picks up a dying rat or a snake nabs it, they'll also succumb to the poison. Not so great. And the water issues down here make it really expensive to have large yards or run a commercial orchard (hence the demise of the orchard behind me - they were fined out of existence by the Water Authority). My water bill is between $400 and $600, and I'm on drop, have water wise landscaping and almost no lawn. And, our entire neighborhood, every home having at least one citrus tree (more like 3 to 10) is battling CLM. I had to laugh about a the definition of serious infestation being at 40% of new flush. Mine is 100% as is everyone else in the neighborhood. But, regular spraying every 3 weeks with Spinosad and Volck Oil will get this under control. I'll have to do one round now, and then again, in spring or when I see a flush, which can happen if we get a little heat wave in the winter. I have complete respect for commercial citrus growers out here. I don't remember it being this bad growing up as a kid. Not sure why we're having all these issues. I'm sure it's linked to climate change in some way, and that stuff like this is cyclical in nature. So, "this too shall pass", I'm sure, eventually! Until then, it's sure a lot more work to grow a citrus tree in the ground out here. But,I could be hauling in trees to a greenhouse, so I really can't complain too loudly!! Once I get everything in and set up, I'll post a pic. Patty S.

The LED lights are from Ebay from a company called LED wholesalers INC. This will be the first time I use the lights for an application other than supplemental light. The lights come in varying wattages but I use the least expensive panels because I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars and I really don't need lights that are that powerful. A 90W LED light is the equivalent of 400-600W HPS light. A mix of red and blue LED's is the best for growth and flowering while white just adds extra brightness. The colour of the light is not very noticeable unless it's in a dark room and the lights run cool/warm instead of hot and are very slim and light which makes them easy to install. I also found some really cool LED aquarium lights that are a strip of lights sealed (water tight) in a tube and are used to simulate moon light at night. I may add two small strips to the inside of the tank to boost the blue portion of the light spectrum under the white panels. I want to see how things grow first but if they look like they need some more light I will invest in some aquarium lights. http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380108250821&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT I think people could be upset with what they get if they don't do some research. If you want an extremely bright grow light you will have to spend the money. There are 1000W equivalent daylight panels out there but they are really expensive although prices are starting to come down slowly. So far I am pleased with my single red/blue panel and my Hoyas have been growing very well under it although they do get some light from a south facing window that is about five feet away. You do need to keep the plants as close to the panel as possible to maximize it's effect. My panel is quite high above my plants but I only wanted it to provide light to the taller plants as they climb their supports. What exactly were the negative comments about LED grow lights? I can always post my experience with these lights after a few months or some time during the winter. If my plants don't bloom or grow well we will know that they are not bright enough. Mike Here is a link that might be useful: LED Wholesalers INC on Ebay

Good Morning Good Afternoon and if I don't see ya later Good Night I have nasy nasty weather and the day off WHOO HOO gonna try to run out in between showers to get s few things potted. The Jasmine tea last night was great and very relaxing that paired with a good painkiller and I woke up on the couch this morning still in the sitting position...LOL Oh I was also tired from working all day I used the massager/File last night works great on fingernails too. There are so many great gifts bring sent how in the world will we choose a winner?? maybe a message with all photos in it with a number?? How are you gonna chose? V