Wow! I can’t believe how many of you seized upon the Ground Ivy fix. Apparently it bothers others as much as it bothers me. I need to provide a few caveats. It works because Creeping Charlie is ultra sensitive to Boron. Many plants find Boron toxic at some level so you must be careful. Apply it only to turf grass areas and only at the recommended rates. The research I was reading about it, also indicated that it would be unwise to do it more than two years in a row. Boron leaches out of the soil very slowly and you could build it up to levels toxic to the turf if the treatment was overdone. My grass is growing better than ever in the small area where I killed the Ground Ivy. Will do the rest next week. Emptied the container of Potatoes today and found a reasonable harvest, not my biggest, but still quite acceptable. There was limited sunshine and hot weather this summer and although that made watering less of a chore, it also reduced the harvest. French Fingerling is my favourite variety for growing in containers. The Purple Viking that I like in the garden does very poorly in a container. Purple Viking tends to produce a few large tubers while French Fingerling produces a larger quantity of small potatoes and that’s why it does so well in a pot.



Arugula, it’s a delightful addition to salads and it tastes much better than it smells. I planted a bit of it this year and I know that I will learn to regret it. I’ve picked many handfuls for salads and stir fry flavouring. I also was growing another variety called Wasabi Arugula and when you eat a leaf of it, that distinctive pungent flavour does come through rather noticeably. I have been very good about keeping it cut back all summer so it has been a contained decorative addition to the garden with its white flowers. Down in the bottom end I have not been as diligent with the regular Arugula and I fear that I will pay dearly for my inattentiveness. It has taken over a significant portion of the garden and it is covered with ripening seed pods. It will self seed quite happily and I’m sure I will have a lifetime supply of Arugula growing in most of the bottom half of the garden. Cutting it back when it starts to flower is one of those jobs that can always be done tomorrow.

Now it’s time to answer a few of my reader’s questions. Don’t forget to check the front page of the Website for frequent short ideas for current gardening activities.

Ken Answers! There were several question about the Borax treatment and I hope I answered them all at the top.