Bless, greenhaven! you're actually trying to figure out if that bad muncher is worth keeping in that it may turn out to be some butterfly! Well, hope someone can help ID.... Speaking of which Greenhaven, I saw a beautiful dragonfly (must be thriving because of those mosquitos) and a few delicate and pretty butterflies (I love their blue spots and patterns)in my garden. I do have to admit their larvae may be contributing to the holes in my leaves besides that annoying grasshopper that I keep chasing with my hot wax pepper spray when it gets closer to the perfume zone. But at least they leave my blossoms pretty much alone; they're the only things I care about in terms of holes.

This leads me to believe the soil in Plot B is causing the problem. Could this be true? Easily. It has nothing to do with the tomatoes other than that is what is growing there. The effects would be the same regardless of the crop planted. The problem is the vastly different soil composition in the beds and the drainage problems, nutrient retention problems, pH imbalances, decomposition issues, and soil structure problems those differences create. The fact that they performed equally well last year was likely the result of happenstance/coincidence more than anything else. Given the info provided on composition there is little to no chance that Bed B could perform well in following years. It is both mineral and nutrient deficient and will have severe water drainage/retention issues. lasagne gardening method by piling on coffee grounds, leaves, and grass clippings atop a bed of cardboard Lasagna beds are also supposed to have layers of soil incorporated into them when built and require regular additions of compost throughout the season and at season's end and again prior to planting. And that compost needs to be very diverse in ingredients and as pH balanced as possible (leaves are very acidic) for it to work. It was never intended to be a build and forget method. Rather it requires continuous building to work. One can learn a great deal about the effects of different soil compositions as well as the problems associated with lasagna beds that aren't properly maintained and amended over on the Soil & Compost forum here. Dave

I've never had leather because I don't care for the feel. I don't care for the boxy velvet sofa either in style or how uncomfortable it looks. With any pets, I'd worry about the crap that gathers in the tufts. I have a few tufted cushions and they're hopeless to clean. I have two black and white cats and their fur shows up equally on dark and light things. They are allowed on furniture. These cats don't take no for an answer. I have towels, throws and faux sheepskin dotted around on my furniture. It's not a great look, but it's the reality of life with animals. I have a mid-sage green velvet chair and ottoman and it's holding up well with the cats, esp. since they play King of the Mountain on it. I have one of these lint brushes and it's amazing for getting cat hair off furniture, rugs, etc.

There are many zelkova planted in a nearby walmart parking lot. They are not quite as large as the ones above, however they are starting to have terrible dieback.