Thanks, Bob. I'll bear that in mind. *********************** Bboy, thank you for your nice post. Yes, no-till farming relies heavily on herbicides. For awhile, that was all the rage but don't hear that much about it anymore. I was an organic home gardener for many years and I've heard all the arguments on both sides. I am now part of a group project with several other growers who have chosen to adopt policies that rely on conventional methods approved by the TX A&M University Extension Service. I have come to trust our academic people and no longer (I once did) garden by rules based more on ideology than practical reality. I have an open mind on the subject, and choose organic pesticides (bt, Spinosad, copper hydroxide) whenever feasible - as do our other growers. We plant genetically modified cultivars when available, such as Attribute corn, to minimize insecticides. We always choose the least toxic product that will do the job, wait double the labelled days to harvest and thoroughly wash all produce under sanitary conditions. I've accepted chemical weed control and fertilizers, though, as an unavoidable reality and avoid products that are known to have direct health risks - such as Vydate nematacide for example. Most importantly, we "religiously" (it is a church project LOL) follow label instructions to the letter and use nothing that's not approved first by our extension agent and tech adviser. It seems to me that most certified organic producers cater to an upscale market clientele that is willing to pay extra for organically produced vegetables. It's just a business decision and our customers are not oriented that way at all. It's mostly an upscale suburban market and we are in a very rural area with a lot of poverty. They won't pay us anymore than WalMart prices - except for tomatoes, that is. Our tomatoes taste like tomatoes! :-) Jack

Red, after you cut it off the next time, can you pour boiling water on it? I might stick a long screwdriver or other similar object in the ground right around it before doing so also, to help it penetrate around the root while still hot enough to be lethal. Will make a dead spot in the grass, but that's easy to fix, much easier than trying to dig something out of a fence. Killing something by the method you describe requires doing it often, daily for some things, and can take a long time. You have to remove any growth faster than it can be reproduced, so the roots eventually run out of stored energy. Anything large and woody enough to move CL fence is not going to die from occasional beheading. I share your frustration. I thought I'd killed a Mimosa stump *in* our CL fence and then planted a rose in front of it. Then the stump kept growing, so I can't pour boiling water or I might kill the rose too (or I wouldn't be surprised if it killed JUST the rose, this stump is determined!) I pull/rub the foliage off of it almost daily and it won't die, after 3 years of doing that. I know I could take other measures, but at this point I'm kind of fascinated and am just seeing how long it can do that. I can keep killing it, I don't mind. Natural, if you put a pic of the plant that's troubling you, someone should know what it is. Are you having trouble with this weed in a lawn or bed? If you have just a few, sometimes a large rock can be the demise of a weed. Sometimes that just makes it come out of the side eventually. Check often because if it does, it can start producing energy again. If it pops back out, know it spent a LOT of energy finding the light again, and is now weaker. Move the rock, 'kill' it again, put the rock back. If it sounds like something you'd like to try if few enough plants (and plentiful enough rocks,) sometimes works the first time, sometimes takes a few tries to exhaust it, the bigger/flatter the rock, the better the chances. Feel free to start a new discussion, many who already looked at this and couldn't diagnose the original pic might not return to notice a new pic from a new person.

Thanks for all the input guys...now I am even more confused than I was before with all the talk of surge, strains, flywheels, etc. :) Anyway, I looked at the generators that the supplier has for sale in the box. I copied the website down. The supplier has the TG7000 & the TG8250. TG7000 is $550 wholesale. When I go to the website of the manufacturer: http://www.easterntools.com/product_cat.asp?CategoryID=1 In the picture they show the TG7000 on the website, it is not the same as the TG7000 I looked at in the box. The one on the website says TG7000 but the picture shows TG6700. The one pictured is not on wheels on the website. The TG7000 I looked at in the box is exactly the same as the TG8250 I looked at in the box except it is rated a little higher. What I am saying is that the TG7000 is identical to the TG8250 except for the output--they are both on wheels, same looks, the 8250 is slightly bigger in size. Why they are showing a TG6700 not on wheels in the picture on the website as the TG7000, I don't know. I guess they have "upgraded" the TG6700 to a TG7000 and just haven't updated the picture. Anyway, yes the generators are indeed made in China. Company supplier is ETQ Eastern Tools out of Ontario. The supplier here in Texas is getting more in a couple of days. I just don't know whether I should or should not buy one now. Honda & Coleman are all sold out within 100's of miles of Ike's path. The supplier of these generators has sold 100's of these in last few days for wholesale customers to resale and is getting 18 wheeler loads in Thursday. I'm not wanting to resale them, I just want to buy ONE for my house and since I can buy it wholesale, thought it might be OK for my limited use... I'm still confused... Thank you! Jeanie Beth When you're hot, humid, hungry, and gonna be out of power for at least a few more weeks, I guess you get desperate and buy anything.

Oh and the organic solution for creeping Charlie is to dig it out by hand. Here's the process. Start at one corner and dig out the grass down 2 inches deep. Move through and throw away everything that looks like grass, creeping Charlie, or roots. You will not finish this very quickly. Wait a week for your back to heal. When you start again, start at the same corner because something will have grown back in. Likely it will be the creeping Charlie. The area you already dug up will go much faster this second time. The keep pressing on out into the grassy/weedy area. The next week when you start again, start at the same starting point again. This time it will go even faster because you'll be able to see fewer and fewer sprouts of anything. It is very tedious, but it's organic. Once you decide that being completely organic is a great idea in theory, you can spray the Weed-G-Gone CCO or Brush Killer. Remember you aren't saturating the soil with the herbicide. You're really only wetting the leaves of the weeds themselves. When you are satisfied the weeds are out and not coming back, then restart your organic fertilizer routine. Sometimes a chemical spray is needed for your sanity.