velvet_sparrow: Thanks, always wanted to be "freakin' evil" (tough to get a sarcastic tone typing, that's my intent). Maybe I should have said that the VAST majority of the birds in my tree are starlings, not sure where you live, but here they are rats on wing and 'push out' our native birds, an invasive species. Frankly, I could sit w/ my 22 and 'pick them off' if I wanted to, starlings have no protection in my state. I have had noise makers, cut open pop cans for the shiney side to show and strung them up, silver ribbon, stuffed animals, plastic owls, whirly gig things, jingle bells on string, wind chimes, and for the netting.....It isn't feasible, this tree is over 30' tall and about that wide. It was old and neglected when we bought this place. Frankly, I can't afford the netting it would take to cover it. I also have known of cats that were hurt badly from being tangled up in the netting in trees, thanks, no thanks..... BBs are nothing but irritants to the birds (although if the crows continue to frequent my tree, that may change, gotta see when the season is for them) They are NOT 'terrorized all day' Good gravy! When I am shooting @ the tree (NOT birds, they would be dead if I did, I'm an excellent shot) that is causing sudden movement and noise to startle them, isnÂt that EXACTLY what the purpose of your suggestions? Difference is, my way is random takes maybe 2 minutes at any given time. In the 4 yrs that I have been doing this, it has stayed consistent, the birds take flight out of my tree, unlike other methods tried that didn't, because unless I move them frequently (which takes considerable more time and energy) the birds become sensitized to those methods. What I didnÂt say is every couple of days, I take my big magnet out and pick up my BBs as well (did that before I got my girls) and will continue to do it. For you to call me evil and sit in some holy judgment is unfair. I have asked some other questions here and have recommended this site to others as very helpful, specifically your answers. Your knee jerk reply is making me rethink my position, sadly.........T

I have probably a different view on this. It is quite possible that you don't know what is in fact eating your veggies. I have found that most insects are feeding on plants at night. Go out an hour or so after dark with a good flashlight and check out the nightlife. Chances are you have some earwigs that are feasting. I have almost never seen them in the day but they sure are active at night. I squish em between 2 popsicle sticks. Do this for 4-5 nights in a row and you will notice a vast drop in your plants being eaten. I generally don't bother with pillbugs except when plants are at the seedling (most vulnerable) stage. I have seen them feasting on plants but I am pretty sure I don't have high concentrations of them. But in the early stages I squish em too. I avoid all pesticides like the plague. We used to use Sevin early on when we first started the garden some years back but hey man, we're eating those veggies ! We also decided to grow mostly exotic varieties of melons and veggies since when I add up the time, water, and other expenses we're running something like $5 per tomato. It sounds like you have a fairly limited space. You should be able to maintain it as I have described above without pesticides. Something else I have found that works wonders is DE -- Diatomaceous Earth that is used for swimming pool filters. Sprinkle it around your plants in a ring and it will eliminate many of the crawling bugs that cause trouble. Wayne

Jay, Allow me to extend my condolences on the KState-Butler game. I flipped on the TV and caught the last minute but that was enough..... It is NOT too late to start seeds and you know it. But, if you come to the Spring Fling, I'll bring you all you want and you can use them as earlies or back-ups or whatever. I have started seeds in early May and had ripe tomatoes from those plants in August. Even when I transplant in late March or early April into soil that is just barely warm enough, I'll often see a late plant that was transplanted in late April into warmer soils catch up with those planted earlier, so I don't buy that whole 'too late to start' routine. The truth is that when the soil and air temperatures hit the "exact right temperatures", tomato plants will grow an average of 1" per day and get to bearing-size very quickly, and it doesn't matter if those plants are 6-weeks-old or 12-weeks-old when that rapid growth period begins because they'll all make great growth and zoom into production. I ignore people who say its too late because it never really is. Carol, We can and maybe we will. We loyal subjects of Tomatoland have to support our King, especially when we're growing seeds he sent us. We should coddle our little baby plants and whisper to them that when they grow up maybe they can go to Jay's place to live in the land of endless sun and wind and no rain. Seedmama, It is funny how becoming an avid gardener changes your perspective on weather. When we lived in Fort Worth, it warmed up a lot earlier and we just did not have these lingering cold nights that lasted forever and forever. In early to mid-March I'd set out my tomato plants with no one iota of concern that a late frost would get them because it just didn't happen. Not ever. We only moved 80 miles north so you wouldn't think there would be much difference, but there is. It is hotter here in summer and colder in winter than in Fort Worth and we have more drastic swings in precip. In Fort Worth, we were astonished if we had a 2" or 3" rainfall in one day. Here we have had 5", 6", 9.25" and 12.87" in single-day rainfall. Who would have expected that? Here in southern OK we've had 90 degree days in February and 40 degree nights in June. I'll never understand the weather here. As for when to plant the tomatoes....ha! If you think you can figure out a good, safe planting date, let me know. I never have any idea when to plant mine. I've planted as early as March 9th in a warmer-than-average year and have finished up as late as mid-May in a very cold, very wet year. As far as I'm concerned, I'm mostly just guessing when I pick a planting date. My average last frost date here has proven worthless for planting purposes. I might as well just flip a coin and plant. Dawn

Thanks everyone. mikerno_1micha and Just Started(Sydney), I am not new to growing roses, I have large containers which are fabric pots (offering a cooler root zone and lots of aeration as well as air pruning, plants do not get root bound). This study of grow bags shows that roses grown in these containers grew much better than roses in plastic containers: https://smartpots.com/shrub-rose-responses-to-production-in-smart-pots-and-conventional-containers-using-two-contrasting-substrates/ I do have Foliage Pro which I use for my indoor plants, but did not think of using it on Roses. I will add that to the rotation. However, in my understanding roses also need a fertilizer that encourages bloom, and I am trying to follow the regime recommended by the American Rose Society, which alternates 4 types of fertilizers, but adapting it to containers - hence my interest in rotating a few kinds of fertilizers. William Cohen, great idea! Cheap and effective. I'd rather not eat Miracle Gro, but for my rose rotation it will be perfect. fungus thank you, that's what I was wondering. mblan13(S.C. PA - Zone 7a), THANK YOU! You hit it right on the head! FP for all the micros, and the (non-organic) others for the rest. I also get annoyed by websites that do not include labels, as I don't like standing in the summer heat at Lowes for hours reading labels and I often prefer to order online. About the Recharge: I don't know if it's helping or not, but the roses are EXPLODING with growth. I got 5 from Roses Unlimited which were small (compared to nursery roses), 1 year old plants, they did nothing for a month. However, after a few waterings with Recharge and a couple rounds of Peters they are going bonkers. Because I am using both, I can't isolate the effect of Recharge from the effect of Peters, but the soil looks great, water retention and drainage are perfect, and there is a weird fungus growing on the outside of some of the fabric pots that seems beneficial as the roses are thriving. Since I added some organic amendments at planting (Bone meal, Fish bone meal, Bloodmeal, etc), I can only conclude the Recharge is helping. After I planted them this way, I considered in the future switching to a more inorganic soil with inorganic only fertilizers, but seeing these results I'm quite happy. I expect some compaction in 1-2 years (although less than with normal potting soil since I did use Al's mix - but more as a 4-1-1 because of the Smart Pots study described above). At any rate, I too cringed at the cost of Recharge, but I use so little each time that I suspect the tub I got (the smallest they sell on Amazon) will last my 10 roses, Jasmine, and 5 bonsai at least a year. Thanks again, everyone! With your help and seeing how happy the roses are, this is my final plan (at least until I need to repot in 1-2 years): - diluted Recharge 1-2x a week - each watering, rotate, at 1/4 strength: Peters 20-20-20, Foliage Pro, Miracle Gro Rose, and Epsom Salts. Maybe occasionally the Alaskan fish emulsion since I'm using recharge. My Dr. Earth says on the back the ingredients are derived from organics (e.g., bone meal), so I will give that to my mother-in-law for the climbing rose I planted in the ground for her.