Make your own insecticidal soap: 
Mix 5 tablespoons of all-natural liquid soap with 1 gallon water.
Using a hand sprayer apply soap mixture directly on the aphids. Wait an hour then spray the roses with a garden hose to remove any soap residue and the dead aphids.
Repeat as needed.
Note: Use only unwaxed paper cups for your seedling pots, so they will decompose when planted in the garden later.
Start your seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost date in your location.
To get Started:
Buy seedling mix, or make your own [it’s cheaper] – See DIY: Seedling Mix Formula, on this Blog. Seedling mix is a soil-less mixture specifically made for sprouting seeds.
Poke three to four holes in the bottom of each paper cup.
Fill each paper cup with seed-starting mix, leaving 1/2 inch of space below the top.
Plant two seeds in of each cup. Check seed packet for seed planting depth; each variety is different. Cover seeds with seedling mix.
Sit cups in trays, or boxes, water, then cover trays loosely with sheets of plastic wrap.
This helps keep moist and prevents mix from drying out.
Place in a warm location, after two days, start checking cups daily, water if
Remove the plastic wrap when most of the seeds have sprouted.
Place trays in a warm sunny indoor location. If placed next to a window turn trays regularly for equal sun exposure.
Water on a regular basis, but don’t over water.
When plants have grown two true leaves, thin by snipping off the weaker plant in each cup.
After the last frost date in your area, “harden off” your plants before planting
To Harden Off Plants: Sit plants outside in a protected area for four hours, then bring them back inside. Increase “outdoor time “ by two hours each day. After a week of hardening off, you can plant the starts in your garden.
How to make seedling pots out of newspaper!
~The following tools are used & recommended by Ashland Garden Club Members~
Japanese Hori Hori Knife –Used for weeding, digging, cutting roots, dividing perennials, removing plants from pots. Unbelievably versatile!
Nejiri Gama Garden Hoe (Japanese garden hand tool) Narrow end pushes deep into the soil helps with weeding, planting seedlings, aerating the soil, making seed trenches, and breaking up clods & soil.
Hand Plow Ho-Mi Digger (short-handled) A Korean tool that’s an all-around hand-digging tool, useful for planting, weeding, rock-removal and finding irrigation lines.
Sheep Shears – Large long blades are useful for clipping & trimming small shrubs .
Long Handle Gardening Fork Dividing perennials, digging out trees, shrubs & perennials, Easier on the back when using long handle as leverage.
Garden Bucket Caddy Slips into a plastic bucket and holds garden tools.
Flexible Buckets – Great for hauling weeds, plants, hand tools around the garden.
Felco Pruners – Pruning, quality pruner, replaceable blades & parts, easy to sharpen. Right or Left handed offered. Felco 7: Is a ergonomic heavy duty pruner with a spinning handle, great for people with a arthritic thumb.
Florian Ratchet Pruner Ratchet-cut mechanism increases hand strength, prunes branches up to ¾ Inches in diameter, has a Lifetime Warranty. Right or Left handed offered.
Kneelon Knee Pads – Flexible, Waterproof, durable, machine washable.
CircleHoe– For weeding & cultivating close to plants.
Hoop Hoe, Stirrup Hoe, Action Hoe – All Similar hoes for weeding around plants.
Winged Weeders – For weeding, cultivating, edging, aerating and making furrows.
Balling Spade – Ideal for cutting deep and slicing through roots.
Potlifter – Lifts 250 lb – Saves your back when lifting pots or rocks. Also sold: Pro Potlifter for lifting 350 lbs.
Yard Butler Rotary Cultivator or Garden Weasel Cultivator (collapsible handle available) – Weeds, aerates, detachable center tines work between plants & rows.
Leaf Luster Digital Soil Thermometer – For measuring soil temperature for germination and transplanting
Leaf Luster Soil Tester – Contains tests for ph, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium levels.
Rapitest PH Meter – easily checks the pH level of your garden soil and potted plants.
Mico-tip Pruners – aka Floral Pruners- For deadheading & pruning smaller plants & flowers.
Fiskars Softough Mico-Tip Pruners- Awarded the Arthritis Foundation Ease-of-Use Commendation for a design that is easy-to-use for people with arthritis or limited hand strength.
Roto Digger Auger- Uses: Planting bulbs, bedding plants, seedlings, deep water aeration, fertilizing trees & shrubs.
Corona AC 8300 Sharpening Tool – 5-Inch super carbide file for sharpening straight edge tools.
Fiskars Softouch Weeder (7060) – Ergonomic weeder with forked tip cuts deep to remove weeds by the root.
Corona Clipper Razor Tooth – 10″ Folding Pruning Saw – Sturdy, easy to use, easy to store. Lifetime warranty.
Tru Temper Miniature Shovel – For planting bulbs and weeding.
Tru Temper Narrow Garden Fork – D-handle – For digging and mulching.
Yard Butler RKT-1000 Rocket Weeder – Pull weeds from the roots, organic weed control, ergonomic handle, ejector button pops off the weed-keeping your hands clean.
Gardex or Garden Home Leaf Scoops- Multi-purpose hand-held leaf scoops.
Rhonda Nowak, Master Gardener, English Composition teacher at Rogue Community College and garden writer for the Mail Tribune, gave an informative talk Monday on how to plant your container gardens with poetic flare.
Read her Literary Gardener blog here…
http://blogs.esouthernoregon.com/theliterarygardener/
