Beth, actually, I don't like any insecticide..The first thing I'd do is clean off entire plant, (in sink) washing leaves w/dish soap. Then, spray coleus w/rubbing alcohol..any additional mealy can be swiped off w/Q-tip or cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol. You may need to apply a few applications. Place Coleus in cooler location..Or as Justaguy stated, if you have a garage and your area isn't freezing, place there. Yrs ago, when I first started growing plants, I used an insecticide called I-Bomb..don't know if they stil manufacture it, but it worked great.. BTW, if you decide to use a spray, do so outdoors, even if it says safe for inside use..The main thing is, isolate your Coleus before AV's catch these awful bugs..Toni

Pam - I see you saw my comments on the rudbecka Rustic not-really-dwarf mix on the other thread. For folks who missed that, the 1/8 oz pack at Swallowtail (in their annual seeds section) contains about 3000-4000 seeds so that actually beats the prices on most of what they offer in their bulk section. The Swallowtail bulk section is always worth checking, but sometimes they also have wickedly huge seed packets at low prices in their regular section. Some of my faves there include: California poppies at 4500 seeds for $2.49 - $2.95 depending on type. Strawflowers, 5000 seeds for $2.49 Cosmos, 1300 seeds for $1.95 Foxgloves Excelsior hybrids at 20,000 seeds (yes, no typo) for $2.95 but currently out of stock. (But you could get 2500 seeds from ValueSeed.com for $0.99 if you need a bunch right now.) They've got some other bargains in there too but those are my favorites. Their xeranthemum and paper daisies have bargain packs but I wasn't impressed with the flowers or plants - especially when compared to their tall strawflower mix. That tall strawflower mix is a real winner. I didn't know they were as hardy as they were - my plants were green and flowering into the beginning of December here. In your area you might still have them blooming at Christmas. Another of my favorites is Helenium Autumanale - especially after seeing it as Bluestone's Perennial's cover flower in last year's catalog. I bought a pack from the bulk section at Swallowtail - 1000 seeds for just under $10. I got those in late May last year. The germinated fast (and with a very high germination rate), transplanted well, many bloomed the first year and I got a nice seed farm level of seed out of those. Helenium flowers are gorgeous with a lot of variety. They blow in the breeze in a super pretty way. I don't think it's possible to take a bad photo of them. I ended up hositing a photo group on Flickr just for helenium flowers because they are so beautiful. They are even super easy and fun to seed save from - seeds pop right off without fuss. AND they are long lived and perennial to zone 3. Oh, and they propagate easily by division so that once you have a favorite color you can divide it and make a garden full of clones if you like. I also think that they are likely to be a hot item for gardenweb seed and plant trading. Unless everyone who reads this ends up growing their own. :) Lynda Here is a link that might be useful: Slideshow from Flickr Helenium group

I only freeze these veggies, sugarsnap peas, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, greenbeans, corn, both on cob and cut off. I both dry and freze okra, the latter for stew. I also freeze fruit: strawberries, blueberries, peaches, apples and elderberries. i also make fresh juice--beet-carrot-apple-cabbage is my favorite--and freeze it in pint jars. I also make my own beef and chicken broth which I freeze in pint jars. I mainly use my dehydrator to dry jerky and make yogurt. After I blanch the milk at 160 degrees cool it to 120 and add the starter which I buy at the health food store, I put it in the dehydrator at 100 until it thickens. I can pickled veggies. okra, green "dilly beans" jalapenos but not cucumbers. They always go mushy on me and I won't use alum. I also make saurkraut in a five gallon crock and can that. We have an unheated storage building that we don't allow to freeze. I buy bushels of apples and sweet potatoes in the fall and store them out there. And this year I have a basket of butternut squash that I raised. Potatos go under the bed in the house when we dig them in July and usually last until the next Jan. Onions I dry and braid and hang on nails on the glassed porch. They usually last only til Sept or Oct. Wish I had a root cellar, and a greenhouse, but I make do. Dorothy

I wasn't even sure they made Cinch anymore Jannie! I always liked that cleaner. One of the few multi-purpose cleaners that did a GOOD job on glass and mirrors. I guess it's a retro brand now owned by the same company that bought Spic-N-Span. I like using bleach, multi-purpose cleaners and if I get them free or super cheap, the wipes. And sometimes I'll dip a dishcloth or paper towel in clean soapy dishwater and wipe things down. And I like to have a can of Lysol around. I now have a can of Oust Surface and Air but I'm hearing that it's not as good as Lysol. But who knows. Could just be advertisement. I read about sanitizing with a spray bottle of vinegar and a spray bottle of peroxide. They specified a certain order but I don't recall which.