Yup, leaf miners. Not much you can do if you plan to eat the lemons. It doesn't hurt the tree, just looks unsightly. You may be interested in using citrus fertilizer specifically for citrus plants as it contains many trace minerals that are unique to the proper growth of the tree.

Arktrees - you are right maple is a 1.75" b&b, magnolia is a 15 gal container. I checked with the landscaper about the tree depth question, and while he took this as an insult (why can't tradesfolks let go of their ego - it was a fair question and I meant no harm!!), he did say that he did not bury the root ball and that the trunk flare was slightly above existing grade. Visually it looks like the place where the trunk meets the soil is 2-3 inches above existing grade when I measured with a tape. So if no additional soil was added on the root ball, I can think of two possible scenarios: (i) he is right and the trunk flare is indeed about an inch underneath what you see in the pic and the trunk flare is planted 1-2 inches above existing grade which is right acc. to the website below or (ii) The tree was planted too deep in the nursery and his definition of trunk flare is where the trunk meets the root ball. If the latter is the case, it might be too late because I can keep removing soil until I hit the root flare, but if the root flare is below grade then that means the planting hole originally dug was too deep and there will be a low level right around the trunk where there will be water logging which might be worse off than current situation :( What do you think? Same goes for the magnolia. My other question: I am guessing I can deal with this during the Thanksgiving weekend as it is not imminent and how big would be the main roots from the root flare for a 1.75" caliper b&b tree - I don't want to accidentally damage those and then it will be a point of new return ;-) Would scratches or dents inflicted on the roots by a small plastic hand-held shovel be ok or entry points for bugs? An interesting website I came across: http://www.cmg.colostate.edu/gardennotes/633.html

A picture really would help. You can upload one from a smartphone.

I'd like to try container gardening, would be nice to have a couple of tomato plants up here near the house to grab one for a sandwich or dinner then have all the canning tomatoes in the back. Do you do it in a 5 gal bucket or? That's a good idea about the mounds, might try that sometime. Right now I've got a dry river - sort of like was mentioned above - with the bed sloping towards the center from each side and then out. We essentially have the same thing under the water spouts so I just made a mini version of that. Living in a log cabin, Every. Single. Thing. has to be sloped away from the house and this was no exception (this particular bed is off one of the front porches). We have to keep the moisture level below a certain percentage in the basement so that the logs above stay as dry as possible. This helps keep the powder post beetles and termites out. Termites give me the heebie jeebies *shudders*