We had/have a similar problem with St. John's Wort. It's dig, pull, repeat. The ground is likely good right now for doing this -- it looks like a total weekend project. We did this to our bed, but now I have planted grass in it so that I can mow any straglers. By the way, I have used the newspaper covered with a thick layer of mulch, etc. to smother nasty weeds in my veggie garden and it seems to have worked. This is just the second year so I'll see if my nasties return.

Ripening of tomato and some other fruits AFTER MATURITY is an internal biochemical process in the fruits. Have you left almost green starchy banana on the counter for a while? they will taste sweet. The sugar was produced inside the banana. How about pears ? Hove you left them in the basket when were hard and tasteless and after a while they soften and become sweet and juicy ? Have you left some Jalapeno or Serrano pepper , with tiny bit of color suggestion and after a while find them scarlet red? I have done that many many times, The bottom line: certain fruits ripen without assistance from the plant. The key is MATURITY. In tomato it is the start of color break. Sey

Schoor- in what way was your puppy sick? Vaccine reactions ARE preventable. The vet can pre-treat with an antihistamine and steroid, administer only one vaccine (not the same as one shot) per visit, and not give her the lepto vaccine if it is not a problem in your area. Distemper and parvo are much worse than vaccine reactions, and not being near other dogs is NOT going to protect her! Parvo lives quite well outside by itself. Maybe not through a harsh Canada winter, but certainly all summer. She probably won't need another distemper or parvo vaccine for several years. I get titers for my dogs and will vaccinate if the level is too low, but not before. You should check on the rabies vaccine in your province. I'm not aware of the rabies laws in Canada. But most places are doing a one year rabies first time, then every 3 years after that. Two2go: ask the vet if the type of Lepto found in your area is included in the Lepto vaccine. In many cases, it is not. And getting vaccinated for the other types will NOT protect your dog if she gets exposed to the Lepto that is found in your area. CNVH: my titers for distemper/parvo vaccine cost about $80. My vet uses Antech diagnostic lab, which is very reliable. I was not aware of any in-house vaccine test kits. There is a test kit for parvo, but that is to detect the virus in the feces of sick dogs, not for vaccine status. GWA- I wouldn't call the vaccine titers "concrete" evidence of protection. We don't know at what antibody level every dog would be protected. We do know that antibody levels and protection do not always correlate; in some cases an undectable antibody level is still protective and in others a sky-high titer doesn't help. That's because of innate immunity, the variation in immune response from individual to individual, and a host of other issues. Titers can be used as a guide, but there is still risk of under and over vaccinating. Here is a link that might be useful: Lepto info

depending on circumstances, etc., could you leave your kids in someone else's charge to finish out the school year--or for a month or two of whatever's left so you can travel to the new place (without them in tow, and WITH them safely ensconced in Grandma's spare room, or their best friend's bedroom)? That might make the whole transition much smooth for all of you. The grownups would have time to look for work, housing, and summer-camp programs (that would help them make friends) without worrying about childcare, kids' bedtimes, regular meals, etc. The kids could get just a few more weeks of school at their old school, and could move perhaps shortly before the year ends. They won't miss much in the last month of the old school, and you can pick WHEN you want them to leave, based on how things are playing out--you'll have flexibility. But if you move just before the school ends in the new place, they could meet a few new kids before the summer, and then fall wouldn't feel as stressful. Not everybody's willing to do this "park my kids with someone else" thing, I know. And not every kid would cope. My oldest would be GREAT, she'd think it was a hoot; my youngest would be OK but he'd miss us a little bit; I have friends whose son would be miserable. I'm fortunate to have grandparents here who'd be willing, and I have also occasionally found friends whose judgment I trust, that I'd be willing to have them serve as substitute Mom or Dad for a short while.