i was inundated w/ the little buggers. i tried mushing them, but then read a post about the beneficials who depend on them and keep them under control. so i pulled off my latex gloves and watched.... and waited... and lo and behold the syrphid flies did their thing, the ladybug nymphs did their thing, and the little wasps did their part as well. it was amazing to watch the boom of aphids then their almost overnight decline, then the slow build until all the predators returned and the resulting decline. amazing cycles, ebbs and flows, all the while i collected and raised over 200 eggs to adulthood :) now, the tachinid wasp 'maggots' those suckahs are a different story :( in nw ga

Stanofh, My hardy cactus don't seem to be afflicted by insects other than stink bugs, but it gets below zero at night for extended periods here so everything that's not planted outside has to come in. Not much insect activity when it's cold, but March is when the insects become active. The plants are still semi-dormant at that point so they have to be spot treated for insect attacks. And those darn spider mites can do a lot of damage before I notice. They really seem to like Lobivias so any hybrid with L. heritage is more susceptible. When I think about it, my logic is flawed because I usually don't put the systemic on them until I put them back outside in April. The conundrum is: Is the systemic controlling the insects outside or are the plants less vulnerable there? I guess I'll find out next year......

My apologies in advance for the length & tardiness of this post. " Out of the 3-5 seed suppliers that are on our shelves there isn't 1 bulbing onion variety being sold. (also known as yellow onion) For sake of argument, lets say there was a variety of a yellow bulbing onion I could actually purchase. Well there's a lot of variables involved, long day or short day? Maybe there's a short day version on the shelf but I needed long day for them to actually bulb, or maybe the strain itself is just limited to a certain size and can only get so big." It surprises me that there is no onion seed available where you are. If you are in Canada, perhaps the seed suppliers locally decided that sets or plants - which you have access to - are better suited. Perhaps past seed sales were so low that the decision was made not to continue carrying onion seed. But if there was seed available, it is unlikely that they would sell something inappropriate for your area... such as short-day onions for high latitudes. The same could not be said of mail-order seed, where the company may offer seed adapted to different climates, and rely on the buyer to make the proper choices. " Another example I'm seeing right now is for green onion. I see a lot of verities that are bunching types that produce small tops and are more for bunching. Well, I didn't want those, I wanted a strain that can grow bigger tops." There are larger bunching onions, some very large... with stalks over 1" wide. Some are perennial in milder climates (I grow several of those here) and some are best suited for use as annuals. I'm not sure what size you are looking for, but I would be happy to send you seed for two of the perennial bunching onions that I grow, both of which are as large - or larger - than supermarket green onions. Send me a PM if interested. I wonder if you have tried walking onions for scallions? They are very hardy perennials, multiply each year, and most (such as Catawissa or Egyptian) will produce green onions as large as those in supermarkets. Personally, I prefer their flavor to store-bought green onions. They are widely grown & often traded by other gardeners in the form of the bulbils which form on the flower stalks. "This might be limited to a Canadian thing or even a local thing but here are some more examples." Perhaps this is the missing context at the root of your OP. If you are in Canada, then chances are that the vegetables you see in stores, and the seeds being sold locally, are widely different. Just as it is here, much of your produce is brought in from warmer climates. There are a few parts of Canada that are warmer than here (in Wisconsin) but for most areas, short seasons would be the rule. That would explain why all you are able to find seed for are small, short-season hybrids for melons & watermelons. The larger watermelons are unlikely to mature there (I can't grow them here either). The same would apply to other long DTM vegetable varieties... I doubt you could find lima seed there either. There is truth to the suspicion that some "tried and true" varieties are being pushed out by hybrids & patented seeds. That transition has been happening industry-wide, and no doubt profit does play a role... but there are other factors driving that as well. Some hybrid breeding programs are intended to improve a vegetable, to increase its disease resistance, shorten its DTM, or otherwise make a vegetable that gardeners could grow reliably in a wide range of conditions. So one of the reasons that so much hybrid seed is being sold is that gardeners, rightly or not, are asking for it. For those gardeners who march to the beat of a different drummer, we might eventually find what we are looking for... but it won't be in the seed racks. ;-)

Boy, always something, now it's apples! There's that pathogen that kills bananas, citrus greening and that destructive olive disease, etc !!