Interesting article thanks for posting. I've been wondering about sugaring my lawn and garden for some time. Tried it in one place and the following year got a rare mushroom called a phallus on the spot - coincidence? I wanted to quickly build my sometimes sandy sometimes calcified clay into a living soil and thought of the dark soil under the wild apple trees. This story reveals what the sugar is actually doing. I thought sugar would increase nitrogen and humus. That it would indirectly feed the worms but I worried about a yeasty over bloom. At one pound per yard without damage I see I can be very generous with the sugar. It strikes me as very useful. The microorganisms that fix nitrogen do so best in a low nitrogen environment. Therefore soil once treated can help nitrogen fixing plants and their fellow bacteria get back to work sequestering carbon. For myself I think I will try sweeting some compost tea + nitrogen because I want to get life deep into my ground. The real down side is sugar is the energy and inputs and subsidies that went into producing and transporting it. As far as weeds go - its the grass that is the weed. I have a grass that grows roots down more than a foot and infiltrates my perennials. With the exception of dandelions I like all the broad leaf plants in my lawn: johny jump ups, lupin, clover and crocus please.

They don't get offered that big because the price would be too high. They cut them up and sell the pieces. 3 years ago, the Grandi I described earlier was in full bloom with 14 spikes, won 'Best Dendrobium of Show' at our modest little spring show and had 14 fewer canes than today. Someone offered me $1,000 which I declined in a nanosecond. If I wanted to sell it today however, I would be hard pressed to find someone with the ready cash, I'd be better off selling $100 pieces. I harp at our society sessions and at lectures I sometimes give at our shows about taking the plunge and paying way too much for what seems like a young plant with 3 to 5 canes. 4 to 6 years from, you'll be glad you did when you look at the spectacular display these guys put on. At every major show there are a few for sale, seemingly way overpriced in relation to what you pay for beautiful Cattleya types etc. If you take the plunge you'll probably wait a few years for first bloom. You can admire them at the spring shows only. Off the 'small' varieties I have a v capricornum with 18 to 20 fat canes which has yet to bloom and a v pedunculatum of equal size which finally bloomed last year. I heard that one of the two has a reputation for being a slow starter. Does someone know which one it is so Sue can be forewarned in case she jumps into the deep end. I sense she is tottering and needs just a little nudge. If and when you are ready contact 'Down Under Native Orchids' and order up exactly the type and size you want. He may go to a show in Canada all though I don't think so. I could pick it up for you in Santa Barbara next spring and mail it to you at a point of your choosing this side of the border. Check on the import requirements, I believe you can bring a bare-root house plant in without difficulty. I see Canadians in Santa Barbara every July who combine a summer vacation with orchid buying, who seem to have no problem bringing them over. You could always hide it in your bra. As you can tell by now its my favorite plant. One Aussie enthusiast wrote once that if they hybridize orchids for another 50 years, they may come up with something as beautiful and grand as a well grown D speciosum. Maybe a little exageraton there, but a point well taken. If you get one, it will be with you for the rest of your life or until you need to get rid of it because of size. My family of descendants is made up of 6 children, 5 and 8/9th grandchildren at last count, the D spec v grandiflorum , a 130 lbs Sulcata tortoise named 'Big Bob' and a mutt named 'Whiskey'. None are for sale. Nick

(Casuarius casuarius) Cassowaries are a large flightless bird belonging to the "Ratite" family. The family name is derived from the Latin "Ratis" meaning "Raft" which describes the flat breastbone or sternum which lacks the keel that acts as a extra anchorage for the large flight muscles of flying birds. The name Cassowary is from a Malay name [kesuari] for the birds There are 3 species of which the "Southern Cassowary" is found in North Queensland Australia. Normally Cassowaries are very shy but when cornered can lash out dangerously with their claws - Population A realistic population size is thought to be 1500-3000 individuals, though some sources claim up to 10,000. About 40 Cassowaries are kept in captivity in Australia

g'day artvanderlay, oh i don't know cestrum, i've been a qlder all my life and though the middle part of summer say from mid dec' to late feb can be tough with heat (i don't think humidity does much to plants not like it does to us), i still get good summer tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums you name it. summer beds are best placed on the eastern side of the house so they get some shade from around 10am onward, i use raised beds and heaps of mulch, and give the root zone areas of the plants a good watering early in the morning, and i don't worry too much about any heat wilt on the hotter days as that is just the plant conserving itself. i have had very little problems with nematodes, or wilt or even fruit fly for that matter, ou need to start you fruit fly program now and keep it going all year. wherabouts in brissy (roughly) ie.,. eastern bayside, northern bayside?? are you moving to artvanderlay? if you are generally in the eastern to nrothern suburbs you should be able to gorw tomatoes all year round i have 2 healthy plants going that i put in when we moved here, ok they take longer for the fruit to mature and ripen but hey!!?? also invite you over to ausgarden to further your knowledge base. look at this as a new challenge and a learning curve one i'm sure you will succeed in. len Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page