Fire ants make mounds and not holes. The mounds start out small and become larger as the colony population increases. These mounds look rather innocent until you disturb them, and ALL of the ants boil out of the mound all at once. Again, there is never a discernible hole. I never worry about ants in my yard and garden, other than fire ants. Fire ants can be a problem for humans, pets, bird nests, beneficial insect eggs and larvae, and such.

I solved my stinky waasher problem. I have a Kenmore Eco-Care FL, bought about 5 yrs ago. About 2 yrs ago I noticed that towels smell after one use. (I do not use fab soft only vinegar.)Sheets and clothes also not very fresh. To make a long story short: Tried Febreeze,Vinegar,Smelly Washer, bleach, borax, baking soda, Cascade, Washer magic--nothing changed smell of towels and/or washer. I took all towels & sheets to laundromat and washed in original lysol then used vinegar to rinse. Then did clear water wash/rinse. Spent lots of $ that day. Then took apart washer and cleaned coin trap and hose/tubes in lysol solution. I thought this would solve problem, but it returned. Finally I decided to try a mildewcide (toxic, I know) because I felt that if I ruined washer it was no great loss as I decided to shop around for another washer anyway. I put in 1/2 cup of Zep Odor Control Concentrate (barely a smell to it) in the tub,set for hot water, allowed this to agitate for about 5 minutes--the washer filled totally with suds. I added manually another gallon of hot water. Agitated 5-10 minutes and turned off machine. I let this sit overnight and then in the morning agitated about 5 more times , off and on. I then let it sit until all suds receded and then went to rinse so all drained and then continued until end of cycle. Set it for another cycle with hot water (no additives). No smell in washer. I now do a few things different with all my wash--a bit more time and a bit more water: put 1/4 cup baking soda in tub, HE detergent in tub (bypass soap disp), fill washer with water at desired temp. Stop machine, add laundry. Return to start of cycle, agitates a few minutes then usually adds more water to load(or I stop machine and add gallon manually via soap disp). Complete cycle. Turn to cold water, add vinegar to bleach dispenser section (not fab soft section), complete cycle. Dry as usual. Finally no more stinky washer or laundry. I am still looking for new machine but right now, water bill still lower and I can take my time deciding. Initially I added baking soda in soap disp for second cycle as it took a few loads to get out the yucky smell. I now do this Odor Control "wash" about every 6 wks or so. I also leave door and disp drawer open and have placed a container of Damp Rid in the washer. If I need bleach, I have been using liquid non-chlorine and also add to tub before filling with water. I discovered that with this machine the bleach is not released into the soapy wash but during the 1st rinse. My feeling is that the bleach and soap should work together not separately.Also, the Odor Control can be used in laundry but if needed, I'd do this in the laundromat and not in FL due to suds. Ends my long 2¢ worth.

The common yellow oxalis we have here has tiny "bulbules" (sp?), which lurk 12 -18 inches under the ground. You can easily pull up the plants, of course, but those tiny bulb things stay under the soil, and up it comes again. I once had a gardener who decided to eradicate it from a flower bed which is about 12 feet long and 6 feet wide. He actually dug up the top 2 feet of soil, and sifted it by hand to get all of the tiny bulbs out. That worked for the first year, but by 2-3 years after he did that, back the oxalis came. So, being lazy, what I do is just admire it in the Spring, except where it is trying to smother other plants. Then just pull it out around those plants. By late Spring here it has died down, and I pretend it is gone. Of course, it comes up again the next Spring. It is one of our first blooming plants to bloom (starts Jan/Feb), so I just regard it as such and let it be mostly. One of my cats likes to eat it (we used to eat it as children - we called it "sour grass"). Jackie

I never had that problem. Mold shouldn't grow on planting media and, if it does, it is the manufacturer's fault. What brand/model of planting media are you using? Also, it might be related to organic fertilizer. My advice would be to stop using whatever you are using, start over, and never do business with that manufacturer again. And, if there is a phone number on the bag, I would call and complain. There is a broad spectrum fungicide, Physan 20, that will kill the mold and not hurt the plants much, when used at the correct concentration, but, that is like trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Better to start over and do it right. Incidentally, you should either start your seeds in small cells or final sized pots, one per container, to void subjecting your seedlings to the trauma caused by breaking roots during transplanting. I start my tomato seeds in 4" pots.