Continuing this discussion...those reluctant to use baby shampoo may substitute organic Simple Green, available in every grocery store. Following the directions I gave above you will not harm the birds, worms, children, pets, etc. Just do not expect any surfactant to work the miracle of turning solid clay into friable soil as Texas Ranger is explaining above. Sunny Borders has requested more information on my remark about using a fall surfactant treatment on older properties with compacted lawns and garden soils. This is a common problem encountered by pros which can be handled in numerous ways. Sort of depends on the pro's philosophy and training. Often noted will be low sections of lawn that perk slowly after a rain, garden beds that are just 'played out'. I am encouraging the trial of a late fall surfactant treatment along with whatever else is deemed necessary to restore the soil. I find that after such a treatment the soil in the spring will have a different, loose texture and drainage is improved. My experience with all this goes back to the late 1970's. I have used surfactant treatments in many situations including on soils that have been heavily panned at construction sites and on compacted golf course greens. I prefer to use a surfactant named Nitron A-35 (available online) or one of the humic acid preparations if it is best for the situation.

Whaas: Yes, pines and spruces can exude sap, but that sap is not enough to cover large wounds, and even if it were, it would not prevent rot. Pine sap can for a time can create a barrier that can delay fungal infections, but it is not itself a fungicide. In fact, I have had a lot of experience with large wounds to both pines and Norway spruce trees--the fungal rots enter these trees faster than in most, and the rot spreads very, very fast. Before I hit on the liquid copper fungicide, I experimented with Captan, and with Bordeaux mixture. With both I saw fungal fruiting bodies within two years--maybe just 1.5 years. But, if one prunes off smaller side branches from pines and spruces, there is virtually no risk of fungal rot entering those kinds of cuts. With red pines especially, the cut surface is impregnated with pitch, and is very, very rot resistant. But this is not the kind of situation I am recommending this fungicide treatment for. The cuts I made on about a dozen white pines, for example, were to remove 1/2 of a forked tree, and the cuts were generally about 8" by 12". My forester who saw what I had done said that I was wasting my time trying to save such trees. Hah! He should see them now. White pines with a tight "V" shaped fork will eventually split in storms about 90% of the time, hence my acting to save them. Every one of the trees I cut this way about 27 years ago is now a beautiful, straight white pine tree, 100 feet tall, and as healthy as any tree can be. I have also had a few white pine and spruce trees clawed by bears, leaving large areas with the bark removed. I have treated these trees also, and no rot has appeared in these either. With the spruce, sap did cover a part of the damaged areas. With the white pine, sap actually covered very little. But, even had the sap covered these areas, there would have been a delay of just three, or maybe up to 5 years--not nearly enough time for the callus to cover the wounds. --Spruce

Outsmarting the tree rats (squirrels) around my house is a full time job. This past spring I hit on a new idea. When I plant a container I invert an empty wire hanging basket over the container and the plant gets sun and can be watered but the squirrels can't dig in it. Another idea: I bring in a lot of plants to "over winter" under lights in my garage. I have so many that it is hard to reach my hand under the lights (4 shop lights) to the middle for watering. So I bought a pump sprayer with a long wand and it works great! In late winter I add a little liquid Dawn detergent, few drops, to each gallon of water and not only does the soil get wet easier but the worms that are waiting to hatch into distructive pets just don't hatch. Don't know what it costs me to run those four shop lights all winter but I don't care. It is a small price to pay to be able to "garden" every weekend in the garage. Many people have mentioned that they mark their outdoor plants with a "permanent Sharpie". In my experience there isn't a "permanent Sharpie", they all fade and quickly too. A grease pencil/china marker or expensive "no fade" garden center marker are the only markers I have found that won't disappoint you by fading. Eight years ago I decided to learn about gardening so I tapped into my local library. I checked out nearly every book they had on gardening and learned so much. The Gardenweb forums are also a wealth of information and entertainment. There is always something new to learn and I appreciate all of you who take the time to write in your ideas. One last idea from me...I keep a small notebook on my computer table and jot down any idea I find that's new and I will want to try. Little pieces of paper get lost but I always know where my notebook is and also use it when I order "on line" so I will remember the name of the company and the order date. Tina or Trowelgal

@ livebetter, you made me smile =D I felt so much better when I read your experience, especially "Every time he was close I could smell it and it wasn't a pleasant smell." That made me laugh, because I kept doing the same thing, except perhaps more melodramatically :) I have grown up on Shaklee, and have had the highest respect for their products and supplements, but I am also distrusting their assertion that everyone is "accepting it." **FACT-- we are not loving it, neither did my distributor, and the telephone customer service lady TOLD me the product was discussed at their "conference" and they are "working" on the scent/product further. In addition, my letter received what SEEMED to be a sarcastic/condescending reply, QUOTE "While we're sorry to hear that you do not like the new natural fragrance in Soft Fabric Concentrate, it seems rather _ironic_ that you would choose the old synthetic fragrance over the natural one." Hmm. Tell that to my nose. My nose isn't very smart, I guess. This may be a single-person response, and not a company-endorsed one, but still, a response like that leads me to suspect that they are becoming annoyed- by backlash?? I'm with you. I don't know what else to use. I just ordered two bottles of the old stuff (still available until stockout, they say), but I am hoping they don't substitute the new. In perspective, this isn't an earth-shattering situation of course, but it IS so nice to know that we're not just batty for reacting this way, lol! May your day be filled with "good scents" !