Just spent 2 hours as a volunteer pulling ivy (mostly Irish ivy) off trees in a local park. The extensive and frequent patches it forms are a real headache. Where there is chipper access and time available (October to February) the involved parks department is cutting off the also abundant infestations of English holly and English laurel, grinding them up and blowing them onto the ivy patches. They are backing off of herbicide applications and using this method instead (the layers they are putting down are pretty thick). This particular park is 48 acres, I figure I will go back each week all summer and keep pawing at the stuff. And that will be effective as long as I or another come back every year and do it. Meanwhile the ground patches will continue to spread, wherever the smothering has not been undertaken and been successful. Wooded parks and other properties here in the vicinity of human concentrations are well on their way to becoming woody Eurasian weed ghettos. A percentage of local land already is. Absolutely never plant these anywhere they are able to reproduce: Acer platanoides Clematis vitalba Cotoneaster rehderi Crataegus monogyna Hedera helix and subspecies Ilex aquifolium Prunus laurocerasus Prunus lusitanica Rubus armeniacus Rubus laciniatus Sorbus aucuparia Stranvaesia davidiana

PAN seems to be mainly saying that very little testing has been done. Some seeweed probably is contaminated with heavy metals so I would not recommend using it in beds used to grow food. I used to buy Cytokinin sprays sold for apples. It was relatively inexpensive. http://home.roadrunner.com/~kuska/sprayingthehip.htm --------------------------------------------- The Horticultural Myths link is not documented. I suggest that rather than accept undocumented information that each reader do a Google Scholar search. ---------------------------------------------------------- Here are some results of a quick one that I did. "PROMOTION OF "BOTTOM BREAKS" IN ROSES BY SPRAY TREATMENT WITH A CYTOKININ-RICH SEAWEED CONCENTRATE Author: M. Raviv Abstract: Application of "Seamac 600", a cytokinin-rich seaweed concentrate, on roses of CVS. "Mercedes", "Jaguar", and "Gabriella", produced 14%��"47% more "bottom breaks". The higher rates of increase were obtained when foliage was comparatively sparse and more light penetrated to the graft area, and the lower rates of increase corresponded to denser foliage and lower light intensities." http://www.actahort.org/books/189/189_25.htm ------------------------------------------------- "Title: Efficiency and selectivity of four natural products against powdery mildew of rose. Authors: Pommelet, A.; Stapel, O. Book Association Française de Protection des Plantes, 9ème conférence international sur les maladies des plantes, Tours, France, 8 et 9 Décembre 2009 2009 pp. 601-610 Abstract: In this study we evaluate the efficiency and the selectivity of several biological and chemical products against powdery mildew. The products tested are a product C containing seaweed extracts, amino acids and fertilizing elements NPK, a product B containing dark seaweed extracts, a product C containing peel citrus fruit extracts, a product A containing fermented plant extracts and an alternated application of product C and product D. A treatment with water and a chemical control allow an adequate comparison to verify product effectiveness. The products B, C, D and the alternated application of C/D, presented a partial efficiency against the powdery mildew. However, the efficacy of these products was inferior to that of the alternated chemical treatment. The three natural products B, C, D may nevertheless offer a solution to reduce the use of chemical products in potted rose cultures." http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20103037096.html;jsessionid=05F359BB0083FFD8D008AC0552F1B7F0 ------------------------------------------------- Full 1999 scientific paper (for some reason it would not cut and paste for me). http://docsdrive.com/pdfs/ansinet/pjbs/1999/1274-1277.pdf --------------------------------------- "After three applications of compost tea, both drenching to the soil and leaf spraying, there were some improvements including reduced water use for irrigation. The vegetation appeared greener than plants in the surrounding area, the presence of beneficial insects in the garden was noted, and black spot was suppressed. Problems that persist are the presence of black spot and fungus in the garden and population levels of beneficial bacteria and fungus in compost tea is lower than expected. Improving the quality of the compost tea has been studied. Removing synthetic chemicals from the Rose Garden is going to be a challenge and it is not going to happen in a year. Justin expects that it will take at least a few years of an organic approach before we start to really see a truly healthy rose garden." H.Kuska comment: The compost tea included seaweed. http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/arboretum/pdf/Rose_and_Flower_Book2012.pdf ------------------------------------------ Here is a link that might be useful: 2013 straberry study

Hi All; Worms can and many species do live completely submerged in water. The oxygem these worms breath is the gas form of air in the water. Water is the vehical in which the gases carry the air to the worms skin. It is also the the vehical that gases leave the worm same process in reverse. The slime on the worms body is the first thing oxygem goes through to be taken in and the last thing the gases go through on the way out. The gases produced strickly by worms in their motablizium is expelled in their castings for the most part. Anerobic conditions do not exist in a worm bin that has sufficient airflow. It is not created by the worms themselves it is created by microbial activities and the gases from that activity being captured by water and the air in the water being exchanged for the captured gases. The osmosis porcess of breathing that worms use allow the muscle activity get fresh oxygen directly and the blood pics its oxygen from the muscle tissue and distributes the oxygen from there to the internal structures of the worm that need it. Worms activities (digesting organic material)do not require any oxygen the process is breaking down complex material into simplar molecular combinations or the elements that make up their castings. Worms themselves produce little green house gas. The other organisms far exceed the worms generation amounts. As I said I know of no studies that have seperated worm from the microbes so that only worms contribution can be measured.

We did look at McGill briefly (web site) but his GPA isn't quite enough to get him into their business major. I also think, perhaps, with only about 13% (I think that's the number I saw) US students, that may be a little too far outside his comfort zone. He is really a homebody, hasn't even gone to sleepaway summer camps except for a week during two separate summers...which is why I can't quite believe he's looking at Syracuse! Of course, he IS growing up and seems determined to spread his wings to some extent. Perhaps not all the way to Canada, though? Virginia...he seems determined not to go south. At the moment, he is really loving both Northeastern and Syracuse. Really, if Syracuse had the coop program that NU has, he would be done looking and he'd apply early decision to SU. But he really likes the idea of that coop, especially because he's working as an intern at an investment firm this summer and really liking it. We are visiting both schools, for the second time, within the next few months, and he may yet decide to apply early decision to Syracuse. At least that's what he's thinking right now. We are visiting UVM in a few days but he says he is only interested in UVM if he gets into the honors program there. It's an exciting time but also stressful and a little sad because I can't imagine DS not being here every day!