"Teaming with Microbes" is an awesome book, but some of the companion writing by others coming off of assumptions in the book is leading to some odd suggestions/thoughts/methods. I'm seeing a lot of talk about people who seem to think they can fertilize with their microbes. Dead/degraded/etc fungi can provide about 5% N and bacteria about 10% N. That said...a teaspoon of chemical 20-0-0 fertilizer contains 20% N...the problem is it's only a teaspoon. That's without getting into the issue that a soil "teaming with microbes" will feed off the residuals of the dead. Setting up a good microbe, fungal, etc population in the soil is nice, but there's still the issue of the most limiting factor in a garden. You still need to take care of the major nutrients...and building a good soil structure to hold onto it all. The physical structure and nutrient holding capability of the soil...and proper macro nutrients (as well as "major micronutrients" like Ca/S) should be addressed as well as (or before in some cases) you focus on fine tuning your soil for healthy microbial action. Give your microbes a "good home" and you'll spend less time taking care of it and providing inputs into it. This post was edited by nc-crn on Sun, Jan 20, 13 at 15:18

obviously you haven't heard of "ByeBye DeerFly" http://thedeerfly.com. It is a mixture of 100% essential oils. July 2008 it was independently and successfully tested by Jamie Heal of the U.of Guelph Canada through his company Arturus Testing. He said "In terms of biting, the product performed extremely well. Circling behaviour was also reduced." This was after he had commented, "repellents are not effective against these deer and large biting flies""Deet-based products will repel deer flies for about 10 minutes" I am a family Md. I came across this formula at a dinner party. Jennifer Lane, a true back to nature, no-deet for-me herbalist concocted a mosquito repellent. She was bragging about one day horseback riding, everyone was being driven back to the stables. Finally the trailmasters suggest they return too except he noticed the deer flies were not circling her or her horse. I couldn't believe my ears. As a runner and golfer I can't go out certain times of the year. Try putting with these pests circling you. Since then, we have modified the original formula, but it works great on dogs cats horses, cows, donkeys, gardeners, hunters, fishermen construction workers, hikers etc. ByeBye DeerFly was formerly named HorseScents since that was the original market. Finally, as hard to believe as it is, they will circle 2 or 3 times land, then leave. No more circling. Two drops to the back of your head or hat is all you need. dogs, cats horses, two drops at either end. As remarkable as it seems, contact Arturus Testing for an independent evaluation or email me at info@thedeerfly.com

i love, love, love water! my preference is the ocean-love bobbing and body surfing! when i was young, it was my absolute dream to be a shore lifeguard...but, since my family didn't have a house down the shore and didn't encourage me to go anyway, i never applied. then, i went to college quite far from the east coast and that dream went out the window! i like the excitement of the power of the ocean and the soothing noise of the ocean and the smell of the ocean. also, really have found i love white water rafting! (though it's alittle scary sometimes and i'm thinking i'm getting alittle too old for it...) but, i do like any water...have done lots of swimming, canoeing and kayaking in my life. have a backyard pool which i love-except when i'm fighting algae or fishing out the dead! hope to retire near some water, though have no idea where-my husb is not as much of an ocean lover...

I realize this response comes pretty late.So your son should be around 7 0r 8 by now.Just wondered how he is doing these days.My DS just turned 6 and has been on breathing treatments daily for RAD for the past 4 and 1/2 yrs.2 wks ago we finally got to the point where he could begin weening off.And we celebrated our first 2 weeks of no treatments last week.But he came down with a cold the end of the second week so he's been back on treatments a week now.So I'm not sure yet if he'll get to stay off the treatments once the cold clears up.I will call the doc tomorrow and find out.I've never been completely sure what the difference in RAD and athsma was myself.Except that RAD seems to be maybe a more severe form I guess.My DS seems to catch colds alot more easily than his peers but he also has other med issues that affect this also.He is also a heart patient and has a history of Cong. hart failure,arrest, and stroke.So we have to be very diligent about the treatments at the first sign of a cold. Does your son have the eczema that goes along with the RAD or athsma?Mine has only had small outbreaks so far thank goodness.I myself have had more problems than he has as I too have athsma. The only weird thing is the week before coming down with the cold recently he began to have what I thought was a more severe outbreak of the eczema in the same locations as the usual outbreaks.Only his eczema creams weren't helping.So when I took him to the doctor this week about the cold she said it wasn't eczema but a viral rash and that the same virus that caused he cold caused the rash.I've never heard of this before.But I do know it itched like crazy and we awake one night half the night rubbing his little arms to keep him from clawing them because it was so uncomfortable.The past few days it sems to be getting a little better.Seems like it's always something. Anyway I apologize for the late response as you can imagine it's difficult to find alot of extra time when your child is doing treatments around the clock some days.I hope your son is doing fine.There are days I feel like a nurse more than a mom.Good Luck from a mom who knows.