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

mary's comments above are very much on point. This is NOT something you need to be concerned about. Because this is an organic gardening forum, you will get all sorts of heated replies about the "dangers" of RoundUp but the truth is this is one of the most innocuous of any herbicides, which accounts for its extremely wide use and popularity. Anything can be toxic if applied in sufficient dosage. A highly organic soil - that is, one that has adequate levels of organic matter in it and therefor healthy populations of soil organisms - is extremely effective in reducing the half life and residual effect of glyphosate in the soil. And it is important to understand how the stuff works in the first place - it must be applied to actively growing plant tissue. It does not translocate from the soil to plant roots but rather from the plant tissue through the roots. Planting anything where RU was once used will not affect new plantings, either by killing them off or contaminating the plant. And yes, Dan is correct - the development of RoundUp Ready seeds was intended to build resistance to the herbicide in specific farm crops so that the herbicide could be used without concern for crop damage.......it has nothing to do with soil persistence. I'd also not be overly concerned with RoundUp or any glyphosate product leaching significantly into groundwater - the fact that it does bind to soil particles reduces the risk of this significantly. Who knows what obscures studies kimmsr is alluding to but a three year study of agricultural fields demonstrates that less than 1% of applied glyphosate was leached into groundwater or lost as runoff. In one case, a loss of 1.85% (a BIG number....NOT!!) was indicated from a field in which the product was applied at twice the recommended application rate and 99% of that total runoff occurred during a severe rainstorm the day after application. (EPA, 2003) Here is a link that might be useful: environmental fate of glyphosate

Start by contacting your county office of your New Mexico State University USDA Cooperative Extension Service about having a good, reliable soil test done and then dig in 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. 2) 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 your 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. to see how good that soil is. These will guide you in what to do. Here is a link that might be useful: NMSU CES

The word of the day is "Let the buyer beware" . How many here would call someone and say "I want a new car. Get me one and I will pay you what you want"? Why do we do that with soil? So often we see here someone bought some soil and it was not what they wanted, or expected, because they relied on the seller to give them what they wanted and that happens seldom. Someone wanting to purchase soil needs to determine what they want and go and look for it., same as buying that car. Do not rely on someone's description of soil as "topsoil" (a meaningless term), or "garden soil" (also meaningless), but go and look at what is being sold. Look at the soil, smell the soil, feel the soil, ask for a one cup sample of the soil for testing as described in "Soil test for organic matter" above. A good soil mix for a garden is one with about 45 percent sand, 25 percent silt, 25 percent clay and 5 percent organic matter, soil some maintain is improbable to get. If we all demand that mix it will become available if those selling soil want to stay in business. If we, as buyers, demand quality we will get it. kimmq is kimmsr