Outsmarting the tree rats (squirrels) around my house is a full time job. This past spring I hit on a new idea. When I plant a container I invert an empty wire hanging basket over the container and the plant gets sun and can be watered but the squirrels can't dig in it. Another idea: I bring in a lot of plants to "over winter" under lights in my garage. I have so many that it is hard to reach my hand under the lights (4 shop lights) to the middle for watering. So I bought a pump sprayer with a long wand and it works great! In late winter I add a little liquid Dawn detergent, few drops, to each gallon of water and not only does the soil get wet easier but the worms that are waiting to hatch into distructive pets just don't hatch. Don't know what it costs me to run those four shop lights all winter but I don't care. It is a small price to pay to be able to "garden" every weekend in the garage. Many people have mentioned that they mark their outdoor plants with a "permanent Sharpie". In my experience there isn't a "permanent Sharpie", they all fade and quickly too. A grease pencil/china marker or expensive "no fade" garden center marker are the only markers I have found that won't disappoint you by fading. Eight years ago I decided to learn about gardening so I tapped into my local library. I checked out nearly every book they had on gardening and learned so much. The Gardenweb forums are also a wealth of information and entertainment. There is always something new to learn and I appreciate all of you who take the time to write in your ideas. One last idea from me...I keep a small notebook on my computer table and jot down any idea I find that's new and I will want to try. Little pieces of paper get lost but I always know where my notebook is and also use it when I order "on line" so I will remember the name of the company and the order date. Tina or Trowelgal

I have been working to kill Wisteria in my easement since I bought this place in 2010 and it's still here. When I bought the place it covered the back fence and hung from the trees. I spray the leaves with 2.4.D (you can buy concentrate at Southern States), then I take a saw to the large pieces. If it's in the trees, all you have to do is cut the piece that roots to the ground and the rest will die (that's a great feeling watching that stuff wilt) I had several trees that had been girdled and used a bow saw. You can paint the raw cuts with the concentrate. Look along the ground and find the long runners and clip those too. I go out in the easement twice a year now to maintain it. I'll never completely get rid of it because I have neighbors that don't care but the stretch behind my house is almost completely clear. I did sneak over this morning into my neighbor's patch and hacked down a vine that was as big around as my upper arm. All this time I thought it was a sapling. You may not be able to completely get rid of it if your neighbors aren't helping but you can get it to a twice yearly management. What sprouts up in my yard from seed, I just mow down. If you can find the source plant, you can do a lot of damage by hacking that one to bits. It gets less and less each year. It's hard work, there's no way around that but it will get better and better. Do be careful with 2.4.D, as it will vaporize above 90 degrees and kill lots of other unintended things. You have to spray early in the morning or late at night so the spray will dry before it gets too hot.

I was thinking about this thread as I was doing some reading in various places about humus. Even wikipedia puts it this way about stable humus: " this is organic matter that has been protected from decomposition by microbial or enzyme action because it is hidden (occluded) inside small aggregates of soil particles or tightly attached (sorbed or complexed) to clays. Most humus that is not protected in this way is decomposed within ten years and can be regarded as less stable or more labile." It also refers specifically to lignin being one of the main precursors to humus, and that black carbon (e.g. biochar) also seems to contribute a lot to stability. Interesting the way that OM gets attached to clays. I don't know if this is actionable information or what it tells us exactly about what to do in this case; but I'd be tempted to place an emphasis on woody/pulpy inputs (or composts from them) in adding organic material, or at least plant material (stems? corn cobs/stalks? etc) or paper/cardboards that have fair amounts of lignin and get some charcoal/biochar in there too. Just speculating somewhat, but hopefully logically. This will have implications for nitrogen and other nutrient availability - i.e. it might make growing some types of plants or getting good yields harder, at least in short term - but might have benefits in getting there to more stable soil in long term. FWIW.

I've been battling snails for years! They de-head and kill all my seedlings grown from seed. I tried Sluggo and other products like it and didn't like it's side effects on my plants. The plants tend to turn VERY dark green and get crisper and wrinkled. It doesn't kill the plants, just mutates them for a few weeks before they recover and grow normal again. I wonder if it's the iron in the sluggo product? Last year, I tried several holistic methods and had success with a couple. They sell little tiny shot-glass sized plastic cups and I buried them to the rim and filled with beer. I bought beer and also made my own mash with yeast, water and honey. The store-bought beer worked pretty well but some plants were still being chewed off. I tried surrounding the seedling stems with sand paper and that worked until it rained. The grit washed off the sand paper quickly. I tried putting leaves from mint plants surrounding each seedling stem. I sprinkled garlic and cayenne pepper on the ground. Those 3 things did not work at all. But placing pennies vertically around each stem worked 100%. The pennies placed horizontally worked too, until it rained and soil washed over the copper and the snails crossed the barrier. It took 3 or 4 pennies placed vertically in a square around each stem to ensure the seedling survived. My garden is 150 feet long and it will be annoying as all get out, but I will be planting pennies this year, along with each plant. I'll use Sluggo outside the garden, a couple feet away from the perimeter.