I've been appreciating your excellent information and advice as I regularly research the best practices for my organic garden. I'm currently looking into neem to control aphids, spider mites and saw fly larva on my climbing roses, ornamental plum trees,and fruiting plum trees. For the past four seasons I've just used water spray for knock down which has had limited success. I just live with the damage as a trade off to not using any pesticides while I build up my garden to attract benificials, and add oceans of organic matter to build up my soil health. This year I've decided to try neem to minimize the stress from these pest attacks to the plants which are doing well enough but could be better. After the initial attack and water spraying it's a constant battle for the rest of the season as the plants obviously weaken and become more susceptible to other pests and diseases such as on and off aphids, warm season spider mites, rose slugs and midges, powdery mildew, and black spot. I think a neem treatment or two now may increase their disease resitance for the rest of the season by minimizing the damage being done right now in early spring. Tapla (Al) has posted he uses a dilute mixture of cold pressed neem, a few drops of soap, and rubbing alcohol. Please comment on the addition of rubbing alcohol, it's purpose as well as it's possible photo-sensitivity damage or burning to leaves/buds/flowers/fruit. I know to spray late afternoon to avoid bees, and will follow neem label directions to avoid any other possible plant damage. Thanks, Cheryl

A lot of people mistake other beetles for the Japanese Beetle. There is one beetle in particular that is very similar with similar feeding and appearance and is commonly mistake for them in Oklahoma. The Japanese Beetles are not widespread in Oklahoma and have only been here for a few years in the counties that have them now. There is a regularly updated list of counties and states that have them but I cannot recall the website name right now. I will look for it. After seeing some (I thought) I contacted the expert at OSU a few years ago and he told me that we very likely did not have them near me at that time. He provided a picture of a nearly identical one that is the one usually mistaken for them here and it turned out that this was exactly what I had. Since then they have turned up in a couple more Oklahoma counties and in larger numbers but still the northeast is the only area confirmed with them in this state according to the official national JB monitoring page.

Hello Kime. First of all, welcome to the Lawncare forum. Although I rarely post here anymore, your enthusiasm and desire for a nice eco-friendly lawn cries out for answers to your thoughtful questions. It appears that you have done some research, gained knowledge and experience, and probably have a pretty descent lawn right now. I will proceed from that assumption giving opinion based on my experience with a similar lawn in similar soil and climate. No doubt, you will receive conflicting opinions and will have to decide for yourself what may work best for you. To begin with, your plan for 2009 is good but needs a little tweaking to optimize it for the first year. Lets start from todays date. You will want to start preparing you lawn for Winter dormancy. On your lawn spread 50 # of soybean meal. Start with your spreader ¾ wide open. You may have to open it up all the way. If you spell any, then clean it up. You donÂt want any piles of it on your lawn as it may leave a dead spot. This is a light application but you should see results in 3 or 4 weeks as the soil temperatures are good for microbial decomposition of grains. Repeat this process again October 15th. Always leave lawn clippings on your lawn with your side discharge mower. Mow all your Autumn leaves into your lawn even if you have to rake them into rows in remote areas of you lawn. A good soil requires lots of organic material. Do not throw your leaves away. Thanksgiving  forget alfalfa meal or pellets, itÂs too cold for quick breakdown of organic material. Instead use urea (the only deviation from a purely organic fertilizer program) 45-0-0 at the rate of 2 # per 1000 sq ft. This will encourage root growth and nutrient storage and provide a great green-up and initial Spring feeding without excessive top growth. Urea, as you probably know naturally occurs in urine and nothing could be more "natural" than that. That 8 or 10 lbs of urea could be diluted with 20 lbs of SBM as a filler to enable an even distribution. At this point, your lawncare is done for the year. April 1  Corn meal or cracked corn  low in protein (nitrogen) but encourages beneficial fungus to aid in lawn disease. CGM is good, but do not expect any pre-emergent herbicide qualities from one dose as it takes time and more quantity to build up in your soil to be effective as a pre-M. May 15  Soy bean meal- the first real feeding of the season, takes 3 to 4 weeks to become effective. July 1 Alfalfa pellets  low nitrogen but high in micronutrients. August 1  corn meal. September 1  SBM - October 15 SBM and youÂre done for the year. This post is getting long so IÂll move it along and just say that compost is really really good but optional. You can spread your grains everywhere including gardens, beds and shrubs. Grub control? You probably donÂt need it unless you have a severe infestation. A healthy lawn can support a large and diverse insect population which will become balanced between predators and prey. Up to 10 grubs per sq. ft. is acceptable. Bill Hill

You should go to the Lawn Forum or Organic Gardening. Lots of knowledgeable people there, and lots of information about what you want to know.