I have found straw is a big help as a mulch between plants (though it does sometimes come with it's very OWN unique weed seeds too, yet easy to pull out) and, in the spring it's broken down to adds to your next years soil, bonus! Certain weeds will still make it through thick straw but only the most stubborn and by that time, your plants should be larger and able to withstand a few weeds. Also, your plants will thicken in as they grow, blocking the sun from the newest weeds coming up. I always plant thickly, so as to do just this, keep the soil cool, moist and block the weeds. Mulches do offer a home for slugs and some earwigs (though they still prefer rocks because straw can heat up) so when I am breaking up the bale, I make sure to separate the "squares" in half, that come away from the bale. Not to thick, just enough to not see the dirt. I'm of the camp that it makes no sense to grow your own veg, if it's going to contain pesticides like the store veg does. Since we often don't save much money in growing our own in a smaller urban garden, then once the chemicals are added, what is the point then? Cheaper in the stores. But, if it's organic, well then we can talk saving money, organic produce can be pricey:)

With the cold weather we have had I finally got the hard garden till last week. I was short on time with having to uncover the roses so I did not add anything to the soil just tilled it and planted what I could before sundown, actually till it got too dark to see. We had, had light rain so the top eigth inch was wet, but under it at time I had dust. It tilled a little easier than I though but maybe because I was not struggling through wet soil. In the expected hard spot it wanted to run-away on me acouple of times , but even that broke-up a little easie than the year before. Although it was really too dry for good planting it was near ideal condtions working in the garden not having to worry about clumps of soil sticking to the tools and shoes. The worst area is still unplanted so I will amend that before I plant there. One thing I noticed is that the garden soil is now more of a dark, dark brown when not wet; whereas the rose soil is just plain black, or charcoal grey when it is not wet. Roaes, looked good even though under their blanket it was probably too warm and at least the top cover should have been removed two-weeks ago. I lost, or think I lost, I mean cannot find, not died, a rose but I will not know for sure untill a rose bud pops up out of nowhere. I am done with burying the roses. In that black-gumbo it is just plain misery to dig them up in the spring. In the past five years, I have lost, died, so many roses that the gaps between them is large enough I may dig out the dirt between them. Put it in the vegetable garden and take the best soil from the vegetable garden and put it between the roses. I do not know if it will help, but it cannot hurt. We had a couple of inches yesterday, so everything in the ground should be well off now.

MUCH of what we're seeing this year IS due to the weirder than usual weather. Diseases and insects are at all time highs. I'm seeing tremendous die back on normally RUDELY healthy, vigorous roses here (Iceberg, Sally Holmes, Polka, Grandmother's Hat and shrubs of all types)I've never seen before and it is NOT due to any chemical applications. These gardens all have dogs which are not restricted in any way, other than to not be allowed out front where they can get into trouble. One has three small children, one of which has developmental issues and can't be trusted not to touch or eat things you'd normally expect to be safe. I don't spray any pesticides or fungicides in those areas, period. There aren't any aphids (too hot) but there are spider mites and scale which haven't been issues. There is the die back and slow growth which haven't been issues before. There is black spot and there is rust, and this is in arid gardens. But, this year, we got at least 150% normal rainfall. There has been humidity like never before. Morning fogs, afternoon mugginess and the compacted soils are just soggy with ground water and irrigation. The roses which are doing best are getting hosed out at least twice monthly to remove debris and insects. We've been in a perfect model for Fire Blight, humid/cool, humid/hot, humid/cool and I'm sure similar things are attacking roses and other species, too. Common areas are being watered more heavily and run off is affecting homeowner plantings as well. Few roses are behaving as they have for many years. It has to be the changed environment. Nothing else is different. Providing them with the resources they need is about all you can do without chemically making matters worse. I agree about removing the offending varieties, but you should perhaps wait until you are sure the conditions aren't going back to what they were previously. It seems a shame to toss something that's been great for years based upon a season of weirdness. As for horse manure, I had excellent results in arid, hot Newhall on virgin adobe, from "apples" still steaming, straight from the "machine". Just use enough water and keep it away from the crown/union of the plants. Worked wonders! Kim

it would be great if you could reort back if you get to know their selection of companion plants and all sorts of details For years I try to talk gardeners and garden owners out of Roses and LAvenders... ok, it`s kind a classic and pleasing to the eye, but from a Lavander`s point ov view rather wrong as it "wants" such different conditions. but with the frost and all, they probably have to use really frost hardy perennials? another tricky thing IMO is how to actually combine perennials and roses, do you plant tame Geraniums around their feet (tried that with tea hybrids, kinda works) but what about Polyanthas, bedding roses, would you rather mulch them... because weeding underneath them is so troublesome so I mean, dou you interweave and mix perennials and roses or plant large, adjacent groups of each? ---- genereally I think it is great that they set up a modern no-spray (?) Rose garden as example, there are hardy, resiliant cultivars, and every bit of garden chemicals not used and sprayed around is a good thing. especially with low knowledge garden owners who spray randomly and with funny dosage (my DMIL: oh, couldn`t find my glasses, so I just mixed that stuff anyway, so.. you really think that`s why the new foliage is burnt/curly...)