I'm Ania from Southern CA. I live with my boyfriend and 2 of our own little terrier dogs (also known as terrors) and a third foster terrier. We just purchased a house a year ago so this is my second year gardening. Until we bought the house, I was one of those people that would kill every plant that was in my care. I'm trying to change that and I have several houseplants that have lived a year for me now. For me, that's good. I did some landscaping on the property last year and well, let's just say I did it again this year with plants that would actually work for the area. They are working so far. I grew a few things in pots last year with limited success. I started really late a got a just a few tomatos from 3 plants that got attacked by hornworms, some Jalapeno's and Cubanelles and some Okra. My herbs did well and I had a lot of basil and still have pineapple sage and mint from last year. I tried, unsuccessfully to grow eggplant as well. This year, I decided to actually learn how to garden and here I am. This year I'm growing 8 varieties of tomatoes, several varieties of peppers, a couple of eggplants, tomatillos, several squash and zucchini, green onions, lima beans, and a few other things all in containers. I am also just now sprouting chard and amaranth. I also have a lot of herbs growing. I made some big mistakes to start with and got a late start on some things but all is going fairly well. I'm really glad to have found this place so I can learn and maybe I can know what I'm doing with this gardening stuff one day. Ania

If the infestation isn't too severe, you may still be able to get them down to acceptable levels. Sorry for the scare btw, but i don't think people realize how hard it is to get rid of them once they're dug in. !) Yellow sticky cards for detection and to get some of the adults. 2) Diligent spraying of damn near any plant with insecticidal soaps and neem oil. If you prefer, 'inorganic" sprays I'm sure are also available, but I don't know if they do any better. 3) This is probably the most effective and I'm still working on it myself(damn gophers) is to go with integrated pest management. Create an insectary for beneficial bugs to feed and breed year round so when the pests show up, you have the good guys to take care of them. Once you do this, you'll be able to decrease the pesticide use and you'll want to. Because you don't want to kill the good guys also. Read up on IPM(Integrated Pest management) -- also a forum on GW 4) in the meantime(since you probably don't have an insectary yet) you may want to order some beneficial bugs/larvae that you can release. I'm going to order some green lacewing eggs shortly. If you have an ant problem, try to take care of it-- they'll scare off ladybugs and eat the lacewing eggs Here's a couple of links that may be useful. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7401.html http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/quickref/pest management/plants_attract_beneficial.html http://tanishapuchalski.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/nature-gardens-ten-flowering-plants-that-attract-lacewings/ Kevin This post was edited by woohooman on Mon, Jun 3, 13 at 17:48

Jolana, Carla can tell you that there was one or two in Zilker Park about 6 years ago before I got into this site and knew about this stuff. I don't know why "they" quit hosting it? Maybe Carla or someone else will know. I have been to swaps in Spicewood, Llano, San Marcos, San Antonio and I hosted two here in Bastrop. The swap is closest to whoever wants to host it. Fishermans Park was $25 and Lake Bastrop North Shore pavillion was free to the first person to occupy it. That was where we had a monsoon. It was originally scheduled for my front yard until the gully washer showed up. Carla was there as well as a guy from Temple. I think 6 people showed up. The one in Spicedwood was at a private residence also. They had put up tarps for shade and had a fireplace and a big pot of beans on it. You could host one in your yard and you wouldn't have to travel at all. lol. madentheshade - check out the thread called FAQ for the SA plant swap and you might get some ideas. There are a few responsibilities the host has like fronting the money for the pavilion if necessary but there is normally a "pass the hat" to help recoup that expense. Also, the host might provide the paper plates and plastic ware for a pot luck if one is planned, what a great tiem to get to sit and talk. The swappers are responsible for everything else pretty much. Even if you have a pavillion it is a good idea for some folks to bring their card tables and chairs because we don't know how many folks will show up and some folks bring LOOOOOOOOOOOOOTS of stuff.

Garden inoculants are often sold in combinations to cover the most commonly-grown species. I realize time may be a factor, but if you are unable to find inoculant locally, a couple mail-order sources are linked below. True-leaf market inoculant Johnny's inoculant True Leaf shipped an order to me in 4 days; Johnny's is experiencing delays. There are other sources too, which might be nearer, depending upon your location. "Plants need not only nitrogen in a soluble form to grow. They need other nutrients as well. I believe there are not much nutrients in sand." Which goes without saying. The fact that sand is almost empty of nutrients means that liquid feeding would be required. It also means that the grower has absolute control over what nutrients are - or are not - being added. I suggested sand because nodules can be broken loose if handled roughly (especially with beans) and sand is easy to rinse off with minimal damage to root structure. I have performed this experiment myself both with sand, and with soil-less seed starter. For extensive root systems, the sand is much easier to remove.