Egganddart49, We both are using almost the same kind of leaves, thus we have a great example of what the leaves are doing and how different zones interact with basically the same kind of leaves. To me, gardening is about "point of view", how you look at it if you will. When I look at what you are saying this is what I see: Your zone is cooler than mine, thus you will have slower decomposition in your garden. The leaves you put down in the winter sat there due to low temperatures. What the leaves did is act like a security blanket for your garden. When rain or snow piled up on the leaves the water seeped through, not flowed. As the water seeped in it took some of the nutrients from the leaves into the soil with it. Because of the limiting effect of the leaves you suffered less leaching in your soil, this causes you to need less amendments for your plants. As well, you added nutrients from the leaves all winter long, this is a very good thing. When spring came you had to move those pesky leaves out the way, but what did you find underneath? You discovered soft tender soil, moist and happy that you are the owner of the garden. They proved their gratitude by giving you a good crop, and paid you back by making sure you did less work in the process. Shoot, if you stopped concerning yourself with how many leaves are still there and focus on what you want to better improve next years crop who knows what you will end up with. Now ole Blutranes on the other hand lives where it is mild in the winter. His mulch gets chomped on by the microbes the minute it gets warm enough outside. By spring most of his leaves are gone, but his soil is ready to go too. Blutranes enjoys the same benefit you enjoy, water seeps into his soil too; he gets those minerals from his leaves as well. Blutranes can plant earlier, but Egganddart can still grows just as good as Blutranes can in less time. They both are given extra time for other things due to some leaves they put on their gardens. Blutranes is sitting at his computer looking for more wisdom from others to use that extra time on. Egganddart can now make a decision what Egganddart wants to pull outta Eggs' hat next. Work in the garden is good, less work even better IMO. I conclude that you have discovered a way to do more with less and save some money, and get a mater or two out the deal. Sounds like a plan over here Blutranes

I think hummingbirds would be sensitive to the sour taste and avoid it. I also think that if there was a preservative effect, there would still be times you ran up against the expiration date and got spots of mold.

Unbelievable! I'm just learning now the reason why my 11 yr/old female Westie almost died in March of 08. I'm in central FL and my second Westie's been treated for allergies to just about everything (didn't need an expensive allergy test to figure that out either). The usual treatments with prednisone and sometimes antibiotics were VERY temporary. Being my 2nd Westie I already knew to go as natural as possible with food and flea treatments. But sometimes you have to use the big guns. Back in March 08 I ended up at an expensive skin specialist. She did a skin biopsy as opposed to the useless skin scrape done my most vets and found she had demodectic mange and flea excrements. So she gave her a Comfortis pill and gave me Ivermectin liquid. After 2-3 days my dog was falling off while walking and totally disoriented and clingy. I took her to emergency clinic (of course she gets sick on a weekend). Vet said stop all meds and call specialist first thing Monday morning. I don't think the specialist knew about the interaction problem then, but she put her on Interceptor for 5 months and my Westie was perfect for 2 years. I never gave her Comfortis monthly (vet don't like this). Only at first sign of scratching(always cut in 4, mixed with can food). Our heavy flea season coincide with pollen season; Oct (trees shedding) and Feb through May (pollen etc) Whenever the temperature hovers between 70F-85F day time. I also spray my yard and surroundings with the inexpensive flea/tick citrus shampoo from Hartz for $2-$3 at Walmart. Use hose attachement container, pour whole bottle of shampoo plus water and spray. Pray it doesn't rain for a few days and don't water your lawn either. Don't let your pets walk on ANY type of pesticide for 4-5 days. Also, get rid of your carpets. Best is laminate floors with disposable/washable area rugs. My Comfortis dilemma is, I've been trying to narrow down on a new situation that started to occur with my Westie. At those time of the year mentioned above she has a YEAST overgrowth flair up. Her skin gets greasy, smelly and full of brown debris and dark areas where the most greasy. I've been doing extensive research on Yeast Imbalance here http://tinyurl.com/24792su Turns out MANY dogs diagnosed with allergies have actually Yeast overgrowth and whatever treatments used to treat allergies actually PROVOQUE a yeast overgrowth which cause more scratching, biting and paw licking. What a catch 22! Main causes of all this is, a weaken immune system caused by immune system suppressants like vaccinations (I only vaccinate this dog when younger), pesticides (who can avoid them totally?) and prednisone (which the specialist said never to give her again) among other things. Did Comfortis (dose of insecticide) suppressed my Westie's immun system so much so that it triggered a yeast overgrowth AND/OR pollens and other allergies caused the flair up? In any event I ordered natural Flea Treats and may or may not give her Comfortis again unless a bad flea infestation. Also looking into this new food by Wysong Epigen; it's starch free. My conclusion on Comfortis is; every dog is different. If a dog's immun system has been compromised in anyway shape or form by other triggering agents mentioned above, proceed carefully. Ordering online is cheaper but now vets tell me "Oh well it's been a while since we haven't seen your dog and would like to do exam (take my money again) before we can allow the prescription." Also very useful to treat skin ailments; most effective for me are: 1)Bathe with Malaseb shampoo (DO leave on 10 min), rinse thorougly, then pour over dog (and leave on) a suiting solution of 2-3 tbs of baking soda diluted in a gallon of warm water. DO NOT submerge dog, the parasites will gather around the neck area. Best is a dog rinsing hose in a shower. 2) Apply ANIMAX ointment on hot spots. (best ointment out of many) cheapest at vetdepot.com 3) Add immun booster supplement to dog food. Solid Gold Seameal is good but proceed slowly with SMALLER dosage or you'll come home to a house full of diarrhea. Keeping finger crossed, for May is always the worst for fleas that I won't have to use Comfortis but since she'll be on Seameal let's hope and pray for no adverse reaction.

I do have allergies to mold and mildew. I also had fibromyalgia diagnosed some years ago -- having nothing to do with mold or mildew. I still say that most of the issues were hyped and sometimes severely hyped. That doesn't mean that no one had or has legitimate health issues, but it does mean that a form of hyesteria developed. I also suspect that anyone with fibromyalgia, CFS, Lyme Disease or MCS has issues other than mold and/or mildew to be concerned about -- even if those problems are or may be made worse by excessive exposure to mold and mildew. And I say excessive because you cannot live along the Gulf Coast and not be exposed to molds and mildew most of the year -- indoors or outdoors. You can control them by not giving them places to flourish in or around your home, by watching for any water issues and by promptly fixing them. I'm not attacking anyone or their experiences -- I just know what I saw in near hysteria here in the Gulf Coast, both among home owners, then insurance companies, then the real estate market. I saw people with no problems who couldn't sell their home. We were told that because of a hail storm and a roof claim, we would not be able to replace the coverage on our home -- and we could have had an issue selling it if the person buying it had a problem getting insurance. We didn't even have to have a leak-- we had fixed the roof so we wouldn't have a leak. We avoided the problem by renting for a year (takind a different kind of property damage) and then selling. And that's with my BIL as my insurance agent and the company one my dad had been a major agent for since I was a child. I saw people who did have problems who couldn't get them resolved for years. I saw several neighbors replace bathrooms and or kitchens -- full upgrades, because they had ignored a water leak and filed a claim. They made no bones about the fact that they wouldn't have done it expect that insurance was paying for it. And so many other problems. I am also certain that if the problems were as severe as some hyped them to be, there wouldn't be a healthy person within 100 miles for at least half of the summers. We have mold and mildew spores in the air all the time and moisture makes them come to life and grow. And we get plenty of that. Life in the subtropics. Sandy, real estate and insurance issues vary from state to state. I would suggest she talk to the realtor -- they should know if there are insurance and issues regarding slaes of homes that have had mold remediation. It took and insurance and housing crisis here to force regulatory and legislative changes about 4 or 5 years ago. I just had my policy renewed, so I have the documents here, and they specifically state that any mold remediation is limited to $5000 (where before, people were spending $500,000 to make repairs on a $200,000 house -- they would also list as a claim a phone call asking about a damage issue even though no payment or request for payment ever occurred). It also states that you cannot be denied coverage for mold or water damage claims unless certain criteria are met or not met. That being the case, certifying that corrective work was done and done properly and having thorough inspections before buying should address the concerns. I can understand that your daughter would not want to call and ask her insurance agent for fear of creating the very situation she wants to avoid, but I would also not take only the word of those doing the work. They may be 100% correct and accurate -- they may also have issues they want to hide and don't want anyone tipping her off. Maybe there are still places that are as crazy as it was here -- I just wouldn't take their word alone for it.