I wonder what would happen to the ph of the rivers and streams if everyone used acid on their lawns?? Probably everything would improve because vinegar is a carbohydrate that soil microbes need. Currently a lot of people in the east use lime on their soil. Is that similar to what you're asking? "Organic"....yea whatever. A much abused word.... If you want to see a fight rage, go to an organic forum and start a discussion on the definition of organic. "Hey look at me I'm so good I'm trying to save everyone by using my enormous knowledge to save the environment." And...this is a problem...why? But trust me, there is no enormous body of knowledge in the world of organic gardening or farming. Simply stopping the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides requires no knowledge at all. The alternative to chemicals, using organic fertilizer, similarly requires no knowledge. Possibly the biggest problem with converting is forcing yourself to forget everything you thought you knew about gardening. No matter who you are in this country, if you have any knowledge of gardening, then you have an NPK mentality. With organics, NPK really has no meaning. Yet organic gardeners still talk about applying so many pounds of nitrogen every year. Why? Because NPK is drummed into your head in every book, magazine/newspaper article, advertising, college course, and government pamphlet.

Well, I think that clover is more desirable than grass, but it's not _my_ lawn. But unless you feel the need to get rid of every last leaf of clover, I would recommend establishing conditions in your lawn that are favorable for grass and unfavorable for clover, so that the grass will outcompete the clover without you having to do the work of trying to kill the clover plant by plant. Nitrogen fertilizer is one strategy - grass likes it and clover dislikes it. I also seem to recall reading that clover and grass like different mowing heights and different watering practices; I'm failing to find that source now, but it could be a worthwhile area to research. As one other concern, is your lawn a suitable place for the grass that you're tring to grow? For example, has tree shade increased over the years, so that it might be worthwhile to seed with a shade-tolerant grass?

Whiteflies! I'm an organic gardener in zone 7. I've been gardening for many years, but the last dozen or so I've gotten a lot more serious (and had a lot more challenges, and fun.) At the beginning of June this year, I discovered whiteflies (for the first time ever) in three distinct garden areas of our property, each area separated by a good deal of lawn (well, the yard has SOME grass, but it's mostly weeds & clover.) One area was very active with whiteflies, the other two somewhat less so, but it was clear they were dispersed throughout the property. I read and read and read and came up with this protocol, which I hope will help anyone else who runs into the same pest. First, I suspended my weekly spray of a gentle foliar feeding solution (spray n grow & bills perfect fertilizer) to slow down the plant growth that whiteflies find so appealing. Then, every evening for a full week, I sprayed every plant and shrub in my gardens with the following blend: 1 gallon Ivory soap water 1 gallon water 8 tsps take down concentrate 2 cups commercial concentrated deer repellent (primarily garlic/clove/mint/egg centric) (We live in a VERY high deer pressure area so I was already spraying my .66 acres of gardens & shrubs with a rotation of deer repellents every evening, two gallons a night.) For perspective, I used three batches of this whitefly action brew (so six gallons total) every night. The Ivory water wasn't carefully measured. I took a large bar of Ivory soap, left it in a gallon of water overnight, and used that. Then I used the same bar in successive gallons. That one bar lasted the whole time I sprayed. I sprayed the outsides of everything, of course, but also shoved the sprayer nozzle into the middle of each plant/shrub, doing my best to get to the undersides of the leaves & stems, too. Five evenings into my spraying, I noticed no more whitefly activity. Interestingly, the pollinators remained abundant, active, & happy throughout the entire spray period. This may be because it was relatively early in the season. This may also be because I sprayed in the evening, after most of pollinators had gone to sleep. And lastly, this may be because I used the mildest but still effective takedown solution -- just 1%. (And maybe all the clover in the yard helped too, by giving them a consistent alternative food source.) After the week of whitefly brew spraying ended, I did nothing (other than my nightly rotation of deer repellent spraying) for about 10 days. I still saw no evidence of whiteflies. Then I released beneficial insects: Ladybugs, which start eating right away; Lacewing eggs, which take a few days to a week to hatch & start eating; And, praying mantis eggs, which take weeks to hatch & start eating. I purchased enough beneficials to populate our entire yard and followed the directions for timing, conditions, etc for their release. A couple of notes: I opted not to use neem oil on the property because I had previously used it and it does not like begonias, bleeding hearts, fuscia and other somewhat delicate plants, all of which were liberally interspersed amidst my perennial beds and containers. I was VERY reluctant about using the takedown given my love of pollinators but I realized I had to make a tough call and decided the best course was to save my garden for the pollinators who would come by later in the season. I truly didn't expect so little impact on them during my spray period. I was very relieved to see them thriving the entire time! In addition, everything I read suggested it was best to use multiple beneficial insects so I opted to include praying mantis in the mix, despite the risk to some pollinators, concluding, again, that saving my garden overall was the better course. I also bought a bug blaster nozzle (Amazon has it) and a watering wand. The bug blaster delivers a 360 degree forceful spray of water. I'm not going to use it now, but it's here for next time. I want to see if alternating washing the plants during the day and spraying the plants in the evening will let me solve the problem using even less takedown. Stopping whiteflies takes real diligence, but it's doable! Good luck!

ive seen it pop up and the other side of a cement sidewalk ... you arent going to barrier it into submission ... Houttuynia has certain proclivities to world domination ... and i spent a decade trying to kill it with round up at the parents old house ... i lived an hour away at that point.. so i cant say i did a thorough job of trying.. lol ... i eventually convinced her to sell the house.. and leave it there.. lol .. of course she was 85 by then.. so really.... there were other reasons .. lol .. digging it up alone wont work ... you dig .. and then 6 weeks later.. spray what pops back up .. and then 6 weeks later.. spray what pops back up ... for what will seem like forever ... good luck.. you will need it ... ken