When I began growing roses 12 years ago, I chose not to spray for anything. I do not know if the roses that were grown at the house before my wife and I bought it were sprayed. The first couple of years were rough, largely because I new nothing about gardening, but gradually the roses seemed less prone to disease, some say because many were grown among perennials. I had bad cases of rust on two roses. I cured it on Z D by pruning it to the ground one spring. I cured it on the other the same way. It appears that fungii overwinter on the canes. Get rid of them (and winter around here usually does), and the fungii goes with them. Each summer starting in August, I get some blackspot here in Southern Ontario, but it seems to happen when I let the plants get water-stressed. I need to water dilligently. I also choose varieties less prone to disease. Just my observations. There is hope after chemicals, but I have visited gardens which are sprayed whose roses are more richly clad with leaves than mine at the beginning of fall. Steve.

Wow, Camp. That's a great resource. There's a lot to choose from - so I'll have to think through all the features. Offhand, I know my husband would want to get the same non-digital but otherwise full cable line-up he gets from Comcast. When he exercises in his room on a weekend afternoon, he loves catching the various guy movies you can find when you have over 100 channels to choose from. I think the over-the-air shows would just not have enough breadth of offerings on a weekend afternoon. So to start, I'll narrow it down to the ones that accept a cable coax input. It looks like some function like a dvr/tivo - where you can pause a show or rewind it. That would be a neat extra. Thank you for information. Lynn.

Wonderful for visiting with our dtr while she lives in SKorea, and for watching our gkids grow and play when we can't be with them. Thank goodness for Skype! For parties, holidays, etc., while dtr is in SKorea and the rest of the family is together (19 of us), we put a laptop on the dining room table and she "joins" us for dinner. Lots of laughs. We sang Happy Birthday to her that way, too. Not as good as the real thing, but lots of fun.

I have never used lights, but for a few years now, those of you who do use lights have fascinated me, and often tempted me. And recently, especially starting my seeds, I’ve been hellbent on installing grow lights, either in my eat-in kitchen area or in my garage. Since seeds are merely a springtime 5-7 week activity for me, I couldn’t justify the cost since I only plant what we can cook with and share with friends and neighbors, but providing better and more consistent light to my succulents or cuttings/propagations when not growing seeds sounds enticing. So I know nothing about lights, but this is what I am considering (and it’s probably priced and marketed to someone just like me, haha): https://www.gardeners.com/buy/t5-grow-light-stand-three-shelves/39-357.html It’s a little overkill for me in terms of space if it’s just seedlings, where I’d really only need one shelf, but if it’s for the succulents, OK. I googled separate components first but by the time I have my boyfriend rig it to work in a similar fashion and putting holes in ceilings (and potentially bringing the house down), the cost won’t be all that different if I shoot for three tiers, it seems (or will it?). Besides,I should then be able to dedicate a whole level to microgreens, or temp-sensitive herbs like cilantro, etc. with no consideration for season and outside temperature, no? What I don’t know is whether the lights are strong/good enough for what I’m wanting, and whether, in your opinions, it’s a fair price for what it offers. If not, can you recommend what I should buy? There seem to be purplish disco light-like gadgets, bulb lights, fluorescent lights, etc. and each claim they’re great. Any guidance you can offer would be appreciated!