Shopshops, we have not had much of a problem with grasshoppers. In fact, I rarely see them. Even one recent year when it was announced that it was a particularly "bad" year for them, I think we saw perhaps a half dozen over the course of the entire gardening season. My thought is that the garlic oil in the spray we routinely use and our occasional and judicious use of both diatomaceous earth and Neem oil has been effective at keeping them at bay. I understand that they can be a huge problem and I've read reports that Nosema locustae is effective but it also kills crickets (perhaps not a bad thing) and praying mantises - a bad thing. A couple of friends who have had issues with grasshoppers used permethrin and carbaryl and they both felt those chemicals helped. Neither of them raved however. The major problem of course is that neither chemical is safe for bees or fish, and even if it was sprayed before the bees came, I'm not certain if it is safe for bees once it has dried (the way Neem is). If this is a huge problem for you, it will likely take a combination of methods of control. One thing we always do is cultivate around the plants in fall to expose any eggs of grasshoppers and other pests. While they can overwinter if they are protected under the soil, once the soil is disrupted, if they are exposed, they won't survive freezing temperatures. The one other thing that I researched but didn't try (didn't need to) is cilantro. They notoriously dislike cilantro, and spraying a strong cilantro tea is reported to be an excellent repellant. Planting marigolds, which we do to repel a variety of pests also can help. Another suggestion that was bandied about at a garden meeting a few years ago was the use of flour to dust plants. If you are going to dust, my feeling is that DE is worth the time and energy. The weather does an excellent job of controlling them at times. They are sensitive to too much and too little rain. One can always pray for a heaven-sent solution to the problem. Unfortunately, getting rid of the ones you have doesn't necessarily get rid of the problem - they are not at all territorial, in fact they are highly migratory.... a reason why spraying with garlic and/or cilantro on an ongoing basis would be a good idea.

I agree with shrubs_n_bulbs and dcarch. While it is useful to study the aquarium community, because they are very obsessed and very knowledgeable, you do definitely learn a lot. Unfortunately there are just not too many people participating in this forum and some of the people just seem to be here to sell lamps and spread misinformation. Our local lamp salesman should have banned long time ago. (New lamps for old! New lamps for old!) FWIW in my other life, I'm a senior pathologist, who is rather obsessed with perfection himself. In my professional life and in my hobby life, I like to go all the way, understand it all to the maximum that I am able to, and apply my knowledge to the utmost. My most inspiring person is Henry Kuska, who is a member of this forum, and who applies theory, scientific method, painstaking dedication, sweat, and generosity, all tempered with what is practical, and how can resources be applied most efficiently. Henry got me started on indoor gardening, and I have been going strong ever since. I think I started out with germination of rugosa achenes about 6 years ago. For that reason I commend shrub's comments most highly, please take 100% heed of them, because I completely endorse them. My viewpoint is also a very practical one, and although I am blessed that I can afford just about any gizmo or setup my heart would desire, I restrict myself however, I don't just go out and get the "newest and the best", don't play into manufacturer's hype, learn how to recognize real data from bogus. My holy grail is "most bang for the buck". I work hard for my money, and I try to spend it as wisely as I am able. The aquarium community is very good at evaluating reflectors, that's why I bought myself some lumenmax reflectors, although they're bent metal, the bends to the first approximation if a full parabola. I recommend them. Choice of lamps: Pulse start metal halide, blows away conventional halide by a country mile, there is absolutely no reason why anyone should use probe start for growing on land. Venture lamps sold by businesslights.com have a perfect spectrum for vegetative, can be run continuously, and in that mode last up to 30,000 hours. For general growing, a ratio of 2 x HPS : 1 x MH maximizes the terrific growing power of the sodium lamp and adds the blue spectrum that is critical for synthesis of chlorophyll and to discourage stem elongation. Try to design your garden so that it has at least 3 "sides", and cover the sides with mylar. A garden illuminated by 2 lamps, and surrounded by mylar, due to reflection, is equivalent of a garden out in the open illuminated with 3 lamps. For example I built a grow-closet, and lined all 4 sides by mylar, but my next project is to have a garden across the short dimension of a room that has kind of a 8' alcove. The back and sides of the "alcove" are covered in mylar, and the front is open, for general viewing, and access to work on it. Practical things and attention to detail is always critically important. The aquarium community must grapple with very high scattering losses of water. Scattering is proportional to wavelength (why the sky is blue), and for any useful light to reach the bottom of the aquarium, it must be top heavy with very short wavelength (blue violet). Aquarium owners also grow beautiful ?coral or other vegetation, they have colorful fish, and the extremely high color lamps are essential for the esthetics. Remember, the aquarium owner is buying it for pleasure to look at, we are buying for maximum size of crop for us to eat (vegetables and fruits), admire (various ornamental plant), or smoke, as the case may be. So while I am grateful to the aquarium community, and like yourself have read over extensively the forum discussions, the bottom line is I adapt what I learn there and apply it to land farming. Also why I study the cannabis growing forum, but due to LEO, the best forum overgrow.com was shut down. If you visit plantlightinghydroponics.com you will even notice that under their horticultural lamp selection, they superimpose the photosynthesis activity spectrum with the spectal output of the lamps they sell. However, the regular horizontal 400W pulse start Venture metal halide lamp sold in the sister company businesslights.com has the exact same spectral output as a SunMaster "horticultural vegetative" lamp, but has higher lumen output and longer lumen maintenance.Paul Mozarowski.

Sure hope this continues to work. Some community gardens work well, some fizzle in a year or so as people loose interest. Many such projects have been discussed over the years in the Fruit and Orchards Forum.

Waas, trees aren’t the only plants that make life possible lol. Plus, grasslands are typically more “species rich” (biodiverse) than temperate forests and on some scales even beat tropical rainforests in plant diversity! Couple that hat with the fact that grasses are more resilient to climate change since they are more drought tolerant and fire resistant than trees and they are better at sequestering carbon because most of it is stored underground in their massive root systems rather than in huge above ground trunks, stems, and leaves. Have I made a prairie convert of anyone yet ;). To to be fair, while I gree up out here on the prairie and I have a special fondness for it, it’s only my second favorite ecosystem. If I had the opportunity to move back down to the low desert in southern Arizona I would be out of here in a heartbeat. The Madrean Sky Islands south of Tucson is my favorite place on the planet. You go from low desert-grassland populated by scrubby, green barked palo verdes and towering saguaros up in elevation through mesquite bosqes and into subtropical and montane forests of sycamores, oaks and conifers. If you’re lucky you might even catch a glimpse of a jaguar. I don’t know if it was the blazing desert sun or what, but the forests there seemed much brighter and less closed in than other forests. The rugged basin and range of the Sonoran desert just west of there is equally as beautiful with is craggly, weathered mountains where agaves, ocotillo, and organ pipe cactus thrive. Then there’s the Mojave desert and it’s savannahs of Joshua trees. If there is one place on this earth I live above all others it’s the desert.