rhizo_1, "Are you promoting this product without even trying it first?" Your implication that I am promoting the product is false. And I never said I tried it first. Deb mentioned that her container garden was covered with aphids, and I suggested that she might want to try the Bug Blaster. It was just a suggestion and not a promotion. "Are you selling it via one of the HVH private home parties?" Your implication that I am selling something is false. Your implication that I am associated with Hidden Valley Hibiscus is also false. I am in no way associated with Hidden Valley Hibiscus and I am in no way associated with Bug Blaster. I don't know anything about any HVH private home parties. And I am not selling anything. "Be careful, this appears to be the worst kind of spam." I am not doing any kind of spam. I was merely bringing a water spraying device to the attention of Deb that I thought she might not be aware of, and that she might possibly be interested in. I was merely providing information and I was not trying to make a sale. I don't stand to benefit in any way from this. I was merely trying to do a good deed by taking the time and effort to supply links that might be relevant and interesting to Deb. Perhaps you were also attempting to do a good deed by jumping in to protect Deb from the big bad TV pitchman. But to me, your false implications come off as mean spirited and this feels like another instance of "No good deed shall go unpunished." ZM

The recommended organic spray for late blight is copper. The prices for copper are astronomical on account of copper just costs a lot right now. Last year as usual I grew my tomatoes from seeds. Hearing about late blight, I tried an experiment with straw mulch for my big tomatoes, which is one recommended response. I had my cherries in pots. My neighbor bought his tomato plants. When the blight hit, his plants all dropped dead in a period of two days. My straw-mulched plants didn't do too well, since I was not used to using a straw mulch and didn't notice they needed water as often as I would have otherwise. They did get blight eventually, but it didn't matter much, since the lack of water seriously cut into their production. The plants in pots did okay. Eventually, they did get blight, no doubt from my neighbor's plants. The one that lived longest was Matt's Wild Cherry. I decided that this year I would not grow any tomatoes, that I would buy them from areas of the country that aren't getting late blight, because I just had a feeling that the late blight would be back. Sure enough, it is in PA (I'm 15 mi from PA in NY, so it's just a matter of time). A friend of mine who grows a lot of his own food is growing Matt's Wild Cherry for tomatoes this year and foregoing the copper. Good soil? My plants had very good soil. But it's soil, not a force field. When there is that much disease around, it doesn't matter how good the soil is.

Zicam does nothing for me, but then I already take zinc as a supplement. What I have found to be helpful (and was mentioned in one of grainlady's links) is breathing steam, especially when I first start to feel something coming on. They way I do it is to get a very large mixing bowl (glass), add crushed eucalyptus berries (which I get from the Marina bike trail) and the pour a large amount of boiling water from the tea kettle over the berries. Then I put my head over the bowl and cover both the bowl and my head with a large bath towel, to prevent the steam from escaping. I inhale as much steam as possible and as deeply as possible, and allow any nasal draining to fall into the bowl. I generally have to come up for cool air several times, but the heat from the steam is what can kill the germs in my sinuses. This method gives you a facial at the same time, as it opens your pores from sweating. You do not need the eucalyptus berries - they are there for fragrance, and so you can substitute whatever you like, or even put Vicks in the bowl. Sometimes I use lemon zest. This will not cure a cold, but it will help clear your sinuses, much as nasal irrigation or spicy soup will, but the heat is helpful to prevent a cold from taking hold, if you catch it soon enough. I haven't had a cold in a while, and I felt that the dry air at Death Valley was theraputic. Visiting a sauna might be helpful. Lars

Seedlings can withstand quite hard frosts until they form their first true rose leaves. If you want to hold them until the chance of last really hard frost (I mean the type that will actually harm your established rose bushes, not "frost" down to about 30F) you can. I would definitely replace the paper in the bag with either a plastic label with the ID written in #2 PENCIL. The paper will mold with the moisture in the bag and you'll have to soak it in bleach to be able to read it. And, even in the refrigerator, the seeds will mold unless you clean them in a weak bleach solution to sterilize them, then put them in a clean bag. I shelled them but didn't bleach them nor clean the fibers from them. Those are what will form mold when kept in the bags too long. The mold likely won't hurt anything and may even help break down the seed coat, but I don't like handling anything moldy. Just a personal preference.