RP>     One thing that will take care of molds such as mildew on cuttings
RP>     as well as mature plants is that plain old Lysol disinfectant
RP>     spray.  It works wonders - and will not harm the plant.  Just allow
  Rob, I tend to have a knee-jerk reaction to using chemicals that can
  harm people, especially on my indoors food plants. My household
  disinfectant spray (a no-name brand that smells like Lysol) contains
  -Whew, I need better glasses -Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride,
  O-phenyl phenol. In my house, I use it sparingly, since I neither want
  to breathe nor ingest such items.
  I think I'd rather try fermented urine from a healthy person! :-) But
  fortunately, I don't have to. Somewhere I have the exact recipe for a
  baking soda spray or dip that will do the job. If I find it, I'll post
  it. Wait'll I go look.
   Couldn't find it that quickly : maybe Wl-Ski has it, since I saved
   her post on certain sprays. :-)
RP>SP>CG>You're right. This is the traditional low-maintenance route. I
RP>SP>CG>will treat myself to some cactii today.
RP>     Hm, I have no idea how cactii will react to this sort of treatment.
  Cacti rot in the presence of too much moisture, usually caused by poor
  drainage and/or overwatering. No amount of fungicide will help in this
  case, but repotting the afflicted plant (as long as all the roots
  haven't rotted off) into either a smaller container, or with very
  porous fairly heavy potting medium, might save it. That, and
  muckelizing any watering idiots that go near it!   Water it once
  when repotting, then leave it alone for at least a week. Examine it,
  and ignore any signs of wilting. Overwatering has exactly the same
  symptoms as underwatering because the roots rot off, and the plant
  gets no water. Of the two, underwatering is far better for cacti than
  the the other. After a couple of weeks, pour on a small quantity of
  water, empty out the saucer underneath in a short while, and continue
  to observe.
  (I will assume the cacti is in a heated light area at all times, where
  it gets natural sunlight or strong artificial light.) Do not feed
  until new growth is strongly evident, then feed sparingly.
RP>    poison and circulated it through all the tanks.  We lost 90% - just
RP>    a little over 900 fancy guppies within the next few hours.  So
RP>    it's not only disease that can be a problem.
  Bummer.
RP>SP>  think mother nature was trying to tell them something.) Was it the
RP>SP>  Springer project? Not sure.
RP>     Hydroponics is big business here in Canada.  Tomatos lend
RP>     themselves to such culture methods too.  It works - mind you - they
RP>     don't always tase to hot, but that may be more the cariety than the
RP>     culture.
  There's a large hydroponic tomato farm just up the road from one of my
  daughters. But, as I remarked earlier, I don't eat fresh tomatoes in
  the winter. I have all sorts of fully ripened tomatoes canned or in
  the freezer, and the tiny cherries can be eaten partially thawed as a
  "raw" vegetable. Their taste is intact.
RP>SP>  The most successful hydroponic crops are greens and sprouts, but even
RP>SP>  here, intensive care (human care!) is needed. No robots need apply.
RP>SP>  :-) Tomatoes are another good one.
RP>     Intensive care and observation - but perhaps not all that labour
RP>     intensive.
  Hyroponic tomatoes grow so rapidly that extensive pruning is required
  on a weekly basis. Never saw a robot that could make any judgement
  calls about pruning. But automated heating, venting, fertilizing, and
  watering more than make up for it. :-)
                             ...Sandra...
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 * QMPro 1.52 * Flying through Hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy!
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