A treatment for aphids, and don't use dishwashing detergent. The recipe isn't new, but a lot of people have damaged their plants by using the wrong soap. I found several bars of Ivory Soap in the linen closet. They're old, and nobody likes them because they leave a scum on everything. I used a potato peeler to shave enough of the soap bar into warm water to make it cloudy -- it shaves off in tiny white granules, maybe because it's so old. Note: Ivory bar soap does have fragrance added, but only a very small amount. So use with care. Ivory Claims - The soap that floats. - 99.44% pure. - Simple. Naturally clean. - Leaves skin feeling naturally clean. - Contains no dyes or heavy perfumes or lotions. Ingredients Sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate or sodium palm kernelate, water, sodium chloride, sodium silicate, magnesium sulfate, and fragrance. Here are the directions: To prepare this soap spray you'll need the following ingredients: Pure, white soap Use our Original Oatmeal Soap or a store brand like Ivory. Make sure the soap has no dyes or fragrances since they can damage plant foliage. Also DO NOT use detergents such as liquid dish soap. Unlike soap which is organic, detergents are chemical cleaners and are toxic to most plants. Light Vegetable Oil Canola, corn, and safflower are all good examples of a light vegetable oil. It's important to make sure that it's a light vegetable oil, and not a heavy one such as peanut to ensure that the oil evaporates from the plant's leaves before they're smothered. Water Plain old tap water will do just fine. Spray Bottle or Garden Sprayer To apply the soap spray. Making the soap spray Drop the bar of white soap into a container such as a small bowl and add two cups of water. Allow the soap to sit in the water overnight or until enough of the soap has dissolved to make the water white and cloudy. Once enough soap has dissolved, remove the soap bar from the water and pour the soap solution into your spray bottle or garden sprayer. Add 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, seal the sprayer and shake well. Application You can use the soap spray on all types of indoor or outdoor plants, including vegetables. Spray the infested plant well enough to thoroughly wet the leaf, making sure to get both the top and the bottom. For light infestations a single application should be enough. For heavier infestations (especially on outdoor plants and trees), apply the soap spray every day for three days. Then once a week to control re-infestations. How does the soap spray work? Soft-bodied insects such as aphids breath through openings in the sides of their body. Pure white soap contains large molecules of fatty acids and glycerin that will clog those openings and essentially suffocate the pest. The vegetable oil is used as a sticking agent that allows more of the spray to stay on the leaf without dripping off. The soap spray that does drip off decomposes in the soil without affecting the plant. The spray that remains on the leaf evaporates after a day or two. Super strength spray For tougher insects such as cucumber beetles, Colorado beetles, various caterpillars, and similar pests, you can make a super-strength version of this spray by adding ground hot chili peppers. The heat of the peppers repels most chewing insects. (Note, however, that this spray can burn the leaves of some tender plants. Make sure to test it on a small area before dousing the entire plant.) Here is a link that might be useful: Homemade Insecticidal Soap for Aphid Control

Still doubt you actually have read many of my posts. If you had you would see my tenants actually recomend me to potential tenants. When I show vacant apartments I give out applications and references from other tenants. Every year tenants fill out surveys anonymously. I have also posted about my wedding and having many past and current tenants attend. We even took a few group pictures of past neighbors. I know I come of as insensitive to many posters. I actually agree with many of the posts but like to show other points of view to get people thinking. I have been a member of multiple boards, (buisness, non profit, and government) I would many times argue for the other side and still vote the majority, just wanting people to understand the entire issue. To many times everything is blammed on the landlord. People need to see things from the LL point of view. What are they going to do if they move out to a house? Someone vandalizes their car, breaks into their house, peoples pets use their yard, loud neighbors next door, etc. On their own they won't be able to call the LL! I rarely have many of the problems posted here because I let my tenants know up front I am a very strict landlord. That is obviously what many tenants want. Someone that will crack down on bad neighbors, and keep the building quiet. Besides how much fun with this forum be if everyone just patted each others back and agreed? Also no one HAS to do anything including renting from me. I learned a long time ago their are no needs only wants. This includes living.

I dont think anyone doubts for a minute that there are some really sick and twisted people out there who do prey on children. The problem with this type of allegation though is that it's very hard to give someone the benefit of the doubt, what if you're wrong? so once an allegation has been made the person (usually a man) is branded and everyone will assume he is guilty and it can take everything from them even if they are innocent. But on the flip side there are women who do this, what better way to punish a man than to see his world crumble, to lose visitation to his kids, and to have everyone think he is scum. I think there is a bias in society and the legal system that feels if the allegation is made it must be true, but there needs to be much more scrutiny of these allegations and everyone involved (not just the accused) to try and weed out the false claims from real victims, and there have been studies done that show young children especially are very open to suggestion and an idea or an event can be planted in their heads and they will recount the incident with total belief that it happened, that's how suggestable they are and some people use children as pawns to make these type of allegations when they never happened. If a man is truly guilty of child abuse I'll be the first to suggest they should string him up and cut off his privates, but a small number of woman do use this as a way to get back at someone or punish them for other things and that is the really sad part about it. I mean, when did putting sunscreen on a child become sexual abuse? when did it become a crime for a man to hug his daughter, or his neice, or the child of a good friend, it's all so screwed up

SJN, back before our red algae problem in FL, I would scavenge seaweed from the beach and put it under the mulch. Never rinsed anything off, because I wanted to retain all the minerals. Algae is great fertilzer too! I used to dump it in the compost bin and the earthworms loved it. Sean, thank you so much for posting your experience with organics in containers. I’m glad to hear you are successful in your methods. I’ve always tossed a few composting worms into my pots, and then fed them the same way. They rewarded me by renewing the container mix with their castings. Once I realized they were escaping from the pots via the drainage holes, I started putting down a circle of window screening in the bottom. Now they are staying in the pots! :-)