Well, if you aren't opposed to chemicals, Sevin is a relatively safe chemical solution to use when you are far enough away from harvest, just wash your harvest when you pick it. Organic control methods include BT powder, a bacterial byproduct not unlike penicillin which can be found at most competent garden centers, but it IS expensive. I try as hard as I can to be organic, but when there is a gun to my head, and I have a choice between critters and my hard fought produce, I'll choose to save the produce. choosing to use a garden chemical can be a tough decision to make, But I do think that garden chemicals have their place, if used sparingly, and only in emergencies. Usually you will only need an application or two for sufficient control of the pest, and next year you can take all the organic precautions that you need. I know I am going to be skewered by many on here that chemicals are evil, and they will get no disagreement from me. However in certain situations you really are forced to choose between three very unsavory options: 1) mechanical control, picking them by hand 2) using an organic control like soap water or BT powder 3) resorting to using a farm/garden chemical control in the organophosphate family, which may hurt the beneficial insects, yet provide control to an incredible degree, allowing you to keep some of your fruit.

Betty, The aspargus news is great. Hearing that cabbage worms are that far north this early is not so great. Just because I said I 'rarely' see the diamondback moths and their cabbage looper offspring here, one of the moths came and landed right in the mulch beside me the next day, as if to say "I'm here!" So, I am sure I'll find some cabbage loopers on something any day now. Heather, Have you seen any lady bugs around yet? If they are there, they'll gobble up the aphids in no time at all. At my house, when I first see aphids in the spring, if I ignore them, the lady bugs will show up approximately 3 to 7 days later and start eating the aphids. I haven't seen any ladybugs yet here, but then maybe I just haven't had anything for them to eat yet. It is still pretty early. I don't think I've ever seen aphids on onions so am unsure if aggressive action should be taken. If you don't think they're doing too much damage, I'd wait and see if the rain handles them. Of course, if spraying with neem would make you happy because it is one less thing to worry about, then go ahead and zap them with it so you just don't even have to worry about it. The neem isn't going to hurt. If the aphids are on the peas, I'd spray with neem if the lady bugs aren't around. Aphids can be quite damaging to peas and lots of folks don't check the undersides of the leaves for them, so don't realize they have an aphid problem until the leaves start showing symptoms. It is so much better if you can stop them before the leaves start showing damage. Generally, the only insect I worry about with onions is thrips, although I rarely see them here. I watch carefully for the thrips because they can do a great deal of damage to onions. I am seeing leaf miner damage on my cole crops and spinach, but that's pretty typical for this early in the year. I just ignore it and the miners generally go away. Dawn

Caterpillar poop? I'll be on the lookout--it's alot easier to see than the caterpillars. Thanks for the tip! I MacGyvered a row cover out of repurposed drip irrigation tubing, PVC slip junctions and t-connectors, bridal tulle fabric, and strips of scrap lumber. Too bad I can't post a pic, 'cause I think it's pretty slick (as well as economical). I'm calling it "Death Camp for Caterpillars," and will refine it over the winter so it can go on when I set out the new plants next Spring. Very glad to learn that the butterflies' days are numbered since first frost isn't supposed to arrive here until mid-November. I am also trying spinosad spray from the nursery on the leaves and hearts of the plants, though I wonder how effective it will be with all of the hosing I'm also doing. And some of the caterpillars either have a disease (they're fatter, whitish, and unmoving), or they're actually something else, like slugs.

wfike, are you adding wood shavings to improve the texture of the casts or to help aerate the bedding? I've read, and surmise, that wood shavings take a long time to break down, so I'm assuming you aren't adding them as feedstock, am I figuring this correctly? I've also read, from several older vermi books (and the Vermiculture_FarmersManual), that horse manure by itself is not the best feed, but that cattle manure is good. Do you mix the 2 as feedstock and bedding? I guess what I'm trying to understand is whether you use horse manure as feedstock and feel it is an adequate feed by itself. I added soaked, torn corrugated cardboard to the horse manure because I'd read that it has excellent nutrition due to the high-protein glue that is used to hold the layers together. Another advantage that corrugated cb has is it's water absorbancy, so the 2 (horse manure and corrugated cb) mixed together make a good bedding and a good feedstock. But, you know, you can find all sorts of contradictions when comparing books, websites, and opinions...so I'm interested in what you find to be true, based on your experience. Cheryl, I have been freezing the food waste lately. It does seem to speed things up a bit, but there is still the issue of varying amounts of water being released, mold/fungus, and odors if you use too much or have strong smelling foods to vermicompost. I've found that as much as I want to keep food waste from the landfills, it's a lot of aggravation (too much water, mold, fruit flies, fungus gnats, march flies, houseflies, odors..etc), inconvenience (both of my freezers are half full of food waste for the worms, leaving only half for my own food), and guess-work involved in feeding food waste to the worms. Now, if I didn't have access to horse manure and corrugated cardboard, I would still use primarily food waste. But since I do have access to those materials, I much prefer using them. I have encountered very few issues/problems using horse manure and corrugated cb. So, I ease my conscious by reminding myself that these 2 items would have been dumped in a landfill somewhere, had I not taken them. I still plan on freezing some food waste to use as trench feedings in my raised beds. This practice has eliminated all issues/problems with using food waste because it is buried 4-6" under the soil, and I have many worms in my raised beds who process this food quickly (and thank me for the cold stuff when it's hot outside). The junk mail I use are advertisements for credit cards, various insurance, and a hodgepodge of solicitations. I just remove them from the envelope and tear into strips that could be used as bedding (I put them in the compost crate, so they will be partially composted by the time the worms get to it). I don't use glossy papers, not because they are bad for the worms, but because they take forever to break down and I don't like the look of them in the compost. The Vermiculture FarmersManual recommends shredding cardboard that has a waxed coating, so I assume wax is safe to use if shredded or had the wax seal broken in some other fashion . I've read that oils are not good for worms (I assume oil would smother them since they breath thru their skin), but I wouldn't think a small amount would be harmful. The boxes that you have should be fine. Most of the corrugated cardboard that I use has colored printing on it and I haven't noticed any problems with it (the majority of people say that most inks are soy based now). I also use shredded office paper in the indoor bin I just created, and to absorb water from the barrel bins outside when rain has been heavy, and that paper has been thru laser printers. I haven't seen any ill effects from any of the paper products I have used. Welcome to the thread, Cheryl. I look forward to reading about your experiences in the vermi-world.