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Last evening I had an argument with DH, and so I went out to water plants. It was in the hour before dark, and so I came in the house with numerous welted mosquito bites. We couldn't find the cortisone cream, so I saw the old jar of tiger balm, and in desperation, I thought I would give it a...

I have been wondering what those awful looking lesions were on the bases of my three zucchini plants. After a little research, I found out I had squash vine borers and the cure is surgery. I cut big ole worms out of each plant and some tiny ones in a few leaf stems. Nasty things. Then I...

I never got around to fencing my raised bed areas this year and so I am experimenting with the mulch. In my big raised bed and one smaller one, I put down some black plastic 1/2 inch mesh. It looks like hardware cloth only black plastic. In the small bed I sowed seed under it. For beans, I...

Has anybody found one? I have a little flower bed, on a slope, and they scratch the mulch out. I am getting tired of weeding. I don't want to fence. Any ideas?

I can never remember if we are zone 6 or 7. A friend of the family died this week and he was a plant lover. I would like to get the family a shrub or very small tree that would bloom around his birthday, which is March 18. It should also tolerate some shade. I thought of witch hazel but I...

I have a McCullogh chipper shredder (http://www.amazon.com/Green-Culture-Electric-Chipper-Shredder/dp/B000BWGAJ2)that works great on small branches, but the opening at the top made it impossible to shred more than a handful of oak leaves at a time. I have a bazillion oak leaves, which are like...

How many years am I likely to get from raised beds constructed of douglas fir 2" x 8"'s before they rot away? Using this material is so much cheaper than Trex or cedar.

We had a whole buncha people over for the fourth of July and I had put a bunch of mints, lemon balm, scented geraniums and basil in vases a week or so before. Several people went home very happily with herbal party favors! Just a suggestion for those who have too much.

I like leafing out. Now I have to check out the titles. I missed the voting. Couldn't make up my mind.

I need to mulch the leaves of four large oak trees every fall. This is a tree-mendous job. I HATE bagging the leaves and putting them on the curb, but you can't compost or mulch with oak leaves unless they are shredded. Can anyone recommend a good shredder/mulcher?

On this forum and BYC, there is much discussion of the merits of DE. Many people sprinkle it in the deep litter in the coop and also in the run. Many even put it in the chickens' food. Seems that most people also compost the old litter from coop and run. How does this affect the composting...

I just noticed that the lemon balm I planted last year looks fantastic. It was practically buried under oak leaves all winter and I brushed them away and the plant looks big and wonderful. Should I be scared? Is it going to take over? Has anyone used it as a mosquito repellant? (Wikipedia...

Now I am all inspired to make raised beds. Home Depot has a cheaper version of Trex called Veranda, $15 for an 8 foot board. But what do I use for the posts in the ground? I really want to stay away from pressure treated. Any ideas? Could I put sections of the Trex/Veranda vertically in the...