There is no point in rotating Infuse (propiconazole) with Bayer (tebuconazole); they are too similar. There is probably no need to rotate fungicides in a small garden--Bayer label does not recommend rotation. If you want to rotate, an ideal partner would be a strobilurin fungicide such as Conserve. These are very effective and non-burning. Mancozeb is also fine, non-burning, but more hazardous. Indicate-5 is only needed if you use mancozeb. Bayer and Infuse are stable at a wide range of pH. Bayer spreads very well without additional adjuvant. You don't need spray to stick on the shiniest, youngest leaves. Another one that can burn in hot weather is Daconil (chlorothalonil). But again, if you use the recommended chemicals, you don't need to worry. We had a guy here a few years back who sprayed at mid-day in Texas all summer long.

The best all-around fertilizers have at least these two criteria: 1) they are balanced (NPK ratio: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), and 2) they are slow-release, which reduces the likelihood of burning plants from excess nitrogen. Osmocote Outdoor & Indoor Smart-Release Plant Food is one fertilizer that fits both of those criteria: http://www.scotts.com/smg/goprod/osmocote-outdoor-indoor-plant-food/prod70362/ Carol in Jacksonville Here is a link that might be useful: Learn about Fertilizer This post was edited by love_the_yard on Sun, Jun 30, 13 at 16:34

Well, since everybody has thrown in their 2cents, I reckon I will too. I've had just about every kind of dog there is including a Wolf, trying to find the right ONE for my farm and I've come to the conclusion that there isn't ONE. But you can get close to it. The best ones I've ever had were a female Aussie/Border Collie mix, a female Border Collie/Blue Healer mix, and Great Pyenesse male and female. The Aussie/Border Collie was a great dog so far as being a judge of character of anyone that came on the property. If she growled or stood between them and you, there was something wrong, and you could bet on it. She was good with the stock and would work them well. She loved the grandkids after they got beyond infantcy. When they were babies she didn't know what to do with them. But after they became toddlers, she was as protective as she could be of them. If she thought somebody was being too rough with the kids, she would get between the adult and the child to stop the action. And if the adult started to reach for the child, she would come up on her hind feet and snap her jaws to warn the adult to leave "HER" child alone. She was quite the motherly type. But someone liked her too much and stole her. It really suprised me that she would go with anyone in a vehicle other than us, but she did, and we never saw her again. Which brings me to my second choice. The Border Collie/Blue Healer mix was a VERY active dog. She loved to play and herd the goats and cattle. She loved to play with the grandkids and was very much a family orentated dog. Unfortunitly, she like to chase our car when we went to town. No matter what we did, short of tieing her up, we couldn't break her of that habit, and she followed us one too many times and the truck behind us put a permenant end to the problem. The Great Pyrenesse's were great guard dogs for the stock. They kept an eye on the comings and goings of everything on the farm and didn't let strangers out of their car if they didn't know them until we came into to call them off. The female loved the grandchildren and would walk everywhere with them. And if they started to go somewhere that she thought they might be in danger, she would herd them away from that area. The male was too rambunchis to play with the kids. He had a habit of knocking them down and try to keep them knocked down. He was a good dog, just not for the kids, so I'd have to put him in his pen whenever they came over so that they could spend their visit on their feet instead of their butts. If I had to choose just one, it would be the Aussie/Border Collie mix. She was medium size, quick to learn, protective of the property, and all of the family and animals on the farm, and she had a great personality. If you can find one like THAT, get it. Best of luck, Gray Bear

Swell to know I ain't alone on the bug battle. Thanks for the link Steve! Great to hear from everyone else, too. The bait for grasshoppers comes under various trade names, but the basic ingredient is Nosema locustae, a disease which sterilizes hopper reproduction I think--organic yes, although it also affects crickets. I'm told that the downside of it is that you wouldn't see results from use until next year, when fewer grasshoppers would hatch. Incidentally, I found some available at the Planet Natural site you listed. I knew the BT was mosquito specific but was hoping an aerial spray might be more effective than the regular pyrethrin stuff I buy, or that it at least might cover a wider area than the dunks can. The dunks are all that's available around here. From what I recall of the CO extension literature, the BT is fast becoming the standard for municipal spraying, since the human risks are low and threats to other species is minimized. If I had money I reckon I'd invest. And I do take care to steer ALL pesticides away from irrigation flow--mainly because it's already loaded with fertilizers, livestock bacterias, and other pesticides from neighboring ranches. Ironically, it's the still water under leaves or in the lawn which pose the greater hazard, because mosquitoes reproduce there more than in moving water. Get this: there's a new wrinkle--last night I walked out and lo! I've got lightning bugs!! I don't think they've been seen around these parts in years, and now I'm about ready to sit down and squall for the sheer meanness of something so beautiful. And the crickets singing their hearts out. Guess I'll stick to spraying just the beans and tomatoes after all--and walk around the yard in a mesh sack. dutch