Happy Saturday!
Mario is off to Bellingham, WA (about 2 hours north of here) for the LPTs। LPT= League Placement Tournament। It is a big deal for Select soccer teams। It basically ranks your team। The higher your ranking, the more likely college scouts will come to see you play. That, hopefully leads to college scholarships.

The team's name is Ajax (pronounce Eye-ax) named after Holland's national team। This is Mario's 2nd year with the team.

We won 3 games last weekend in Bellingham and lost a heartbreaker. We played a team 2 ranks above us, had WAY more shots on goal but it went into double overtime. Then to PK's (penalty kicks). We lost by 1 after more than 2 hours. We were SO proud of all the boys!


OK, enough of that....let's talk gardening tips!

I never buy insecticides or pesticides! It is amazing and wonderful what you can make with stuff in your cupboards. Things that are not toxic to your family or the environment.

Here are some recipes I use:


Aphids: smash 3 cloves of garlic. Add to 2 cups of boiling water. Add red pepper flakes to the water. (Save those packets of pepper flakes you get with your delivered pizzas!). Remove from heat and steep overnight. The next morning, strain the mix into spray bottles.

****Important to remember is that you MUST spray aphids at least 3 days in a row or it won't do any good. As I have said before, aphids are born pregnant. Be glad you are not an aphid. :)

Blackspot and rust: 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 T canola oil, 1/2 tsp liquid dish soap, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1 gallon water. Mix all together and pour into spray bottle. Shake well before each use and spray top and undersides of leaves. Works on roses and hollyhocks. Be sure to remove and throw away (not in your compost bin!) all diseased leaves.

Rose tonic: This is great for powdery mildew and black spot. Stays on the leaves for a few months. 2 tsp baking soda, 2 quarts water, 1/2 tsp liquid soap or Murphy's Oil Soap. Mix well and add to spray bottle. The soap increases the moisture on the leaves so no spores can germinate.

I know everyone is bustin' their tails to get all of the weeding done. Would be nice to have some warm sunny days to make that job easier and maybe a little more enjoyable. So I am wishing you sunshine, weeds that just jump out of your gardens and an amzing weekend!