Kane Pour

I see. Very good info.

The picture of leaf blight looks almost identical. I think maybe when I transplanted them I didnt make sure they were raised up enough above the soil, the crown you speak of may very well be submerged in peat  are blights pretty much a permanent thing?

my strawberry plants ( 3 in total, bought them from a local farmer) are starting to develop wierd brownish/blackish spots on some leaves and in general don't look as healthy as they could be. They're in a sterile peat mix, strawberrys like acid so I might assume I'm not mulching them with enough acidic matter? I don't really know anything about strawberries. I've fertilized them a couple times with Earthworm castings since I've bought them so I'm not sure if they need to be fertilized.

You're right, when I discovered them I just squashed them and they didn't come back. I forgot to include that bit of information..I got sideswept by the subject of polyculture.

I removed all of the spotted leaves and the plants are no longer showing them. Simple as that I guess. I will keep posting about it though. Still waiting for more leaf splittage but so far so good.

Sweet, so a polyculture rules out crop rotation because it enriches the soil instead of depletes it. Perfect, that saves me alot of trouble! hah

Polyculture container planting though is a pinch isn't it.. I guess I have to settle for a more diverse yield next season and not more specific yields. I must delve more into the subject.

Ah! fabulous point.
I am doing mainly container planting currently (the majority of them being long rectangular planters) and didn't really get into polyculture until recently. However, one thing that confuses me is the issue of crop rotation with polyculture. I pulled up this very lengthy companion planting list online and some companions for veggies such as radishes and turnips( my vegetables that have aphids currently) include things such as beans, or cucumbers; things that seem to occupy a different part of the rotation.

Now, if I were to plant a container in the pattern of radish/pea/carrots/lettuce/radish/pea/carrots/lettuce(not that I've done this or found it to be advantageous). Would that mean next year I would do something in the same pattern but with the vegetables that fit into the rotation? I suppose now that I'm saying it it makes sense but confirmation with more experienced folk always helps..I guess it just depends as well

nice, it works. Thankya

wow, the post on insecticidal natural prevention methods is right on the money. Thank you Jami

I thought I had done that prior to writing this post but I guess it didn't work. I don't really understand how it's done, Under "location" I typed in "central Florida" but it doesn't appear to be showing up under my name

I was inspecting one of my planters with a few Nero Tondo radishes (the black spanish kind, big bulbs and taller foliage but not as tall as daikon) which were looking particularly wimpier than usual and discovered clumps of aphids underneath some of the leaves. Not a huge infestation, but something to be concerned about. I squashed all the bugs I could find, but don't feel totally secure about it.

Any good natural pest deterrants for aphids? I know that garlic, pepper, and onions can be combined to make a potent pest deterrant, I know that Neem oil is really good, and one time I heard that aloe vera juices can be used for similar purposes if you water it down. Aloe would be the most convienient choice for me because I have about 50000 plants growing in my yard that seem to duplicate by the millions every year. I just don't know though, the internet doesn't seem to always yield consistent advice. Hope somebody out there can conjure up the catalyst to a solution.