Personally, just the mention of Dr Phil Callahan is two strikes against you, kimmsr. I used to think you were a smart guy (heh, heh). But really, I think Callahan had some wrong ideas. This is not to say that his suggestions were not worthwhile, I'm saying that his reasoning as to why they worked was incorrect. I don't know what the answer is, but I'm convinced he doesn't either. I'm not familiar with the others you mentioned but one with the book is up on my browser. I just need to find time (maybe after taxes). Generally I agree with kimmsr that healthy soil is necessary for healthy plants. If you don't have healthy soil, you are fighting an uphill battle. I've lived in Riverside, Downey, Hawthorne, and Pomona. When I lived in Hawthorne (1975-1979), there were still agricultural fields in Torrance back by the malls. Bet those are gone now!! But any of the soils in any of those places would be vastly improved with alfalfa pellets or corn meal applications. Simply stopping the use of chemicals for control of fungus, weeds, and insects goes most of the way toward good soil health. Proper watering, mulching or mowing the grass tall, and organic fertilizer is all you should need after that. And kimmsr will say you don't need the fertilizer. That may be a goal, but I continue to need it to get the dark green in the grass and fruit on my lemon.

No chemicals or pesticides for years and as of the last two years, no tilling... and my garden gets better every year. The only things I use sparingly (so sparingly that I haven't used any so far this year) is an organic fungicide and some BT for controlling caterpillars (also have not used this so far). The only scary thing about using no pesticides and no herbicides is that things will always get worse before they get better. Basically, detrimental insects are the first to show up, they are opportunistic feeders and when presented with tender and delicious garden crops they will begin feasting. Their numbers will likely grow large assuming they have enough to eat and ideal conditions in other respects. Only once their numbers are fairly significant will the beneficial predatory insects begin to show up because their food (other insects) is now readily available. For my garden, the first on the scene are aphids, then come the flea beetles... Their numbers grow large, my plants leaves begin to look like they're part of a shooting range with holes all over the place. Then the ladybugs show up, then the hoverflies, then green lacewings and I get treated to the site of a praying mantis every now and then. The aphids nearly disappear, the flea beetles reduce in number so as to become non-issue and sometimes they disappear completely. Organic gardening without pesticides and herbicides is easy, once you figure out what works in your area - that's where the research and trial and error begin. The biggest thing I learned is that gardening without pesticides and herbicides means you need to plan things out and do things differently, generally at different times of year. I was always taught (non-organic) to till and add fertilizer in the spring, give your plants some "blue water" once they’re a certain size, and some more at regular intervals for the rest of the season; When the bugs show-up, spray them. For weeds, I was always told to use block material or landscape fabric, it’ll keep weeds from coming through. What I do now is no-till with mulching about 3-4 times a year using locally grown hay (preferably alfalfa hay - though it's more expensive and I generally go with a mix) maintaining a 4-6" deep layer for most of the year. The hay mulch smothers just about every weed, retains soil moisture, protects the soil life, and feeds the soil as it breaks down; It's great stuff. In the fall I top-dress my amendments: Compost made from kitchen scraps, some manure (free) from a local horse farm, chopped leaves and grass, and then hay over the top - It rots over the fall, winter, and early spring. Then (early spring) I add more hay and then I plant directly into it. By the time plants go into the soil, they have everything they need for pretty much the whole season. Mid-to-late season I'll pile on some more mulch to maintain about 4-6 inches in mulch thickness and keep the flow of food into the soil. No spraying for bugs involved in any of that. It actually works out to also be a lot cheaper since I have no real need to buy any fertilizers and to mulch 400 sq ft. of garden costs 16 dollars.

There is mounting scientific evidence that the use of compost tea can help suppress some diseases and insects that affect plants. When looking for real evidence on compost tea, or any other product that you have heard about don't forget that Google has a feature under the more button at the top called scholar. If you use this feature you can filter out the sales pitches and read the science. Here is an overview of what I know and have learned about compost tea. Compost tea is not a miracle cure for all diseases or pests. Evidence does show that it can suppress certain diseases, insects, even root nematodes and possibly within an acceptable level in some cases. Most fungi infect plants when the leaves are very young and vulnerable so applying compost tea, or for that mater any chemical control, after the symptoms are seen is usually not going to give you any control. Even if compost tea does not give you the desired control, it can do no harm and will supply your plants with nutrients. Compost tea seems to work better the fresher it is. There is still a great deal of research to be done on compost tea to determine how it works, on what, timing of application, production methods, how to keep it from loosing its potency over time, and a lot more. By all means add compost tea to your arsenal of things you use to protect your plants under an integrated pest management approach, but don't expect it to cure all that ails. Remember that healthy plants can grow and produce fruit with a variety of diseases and insects, depending on the pest and the level of infestation. There are also new organic fungicides such as Actinovate that use beneficial bacteria to control fungi that are showing promise, but the jury is still out on how good they are. Again do your Google scholar research on these. Also Oil(Neem or Horticultural), Soap, Bt, and Spinosad, for insect control are all accepted as organic.

No such source exists. Commercial pesticides are typically in larger size packaging than those for home use everywhere. Further, it's illegal to buy and divvy up -- share -- any such product.