Linz, I get a little flea beetle damage but not enough to affect productivity. So little, in fact, I don't bother doing anything to treat it. Lucky, I guess. Aphids and stink bugs are another story though, just not on eggplant.
All the flowers I'm growing from seed would be fine to start outdoors but I'd like to get a jump on them just so they start blooming earlier. I always like some zinnias for cutting and to attract bees and I love portulaca. I usually have a few sunflowers. And nasturtiums in the spring and fall but it's too hot here during the summer for those.
In the yard where I used to live, we had Four O'clocks reseed and come back every year. In fact, they were unstoppable. I have a fairly empty space on a hill way at the back of the yard and the irrigation doesn't reach this area. I was thinking of starting some in pots and moving them to the hill. There is a lake at the bottom of the hill and I have neighbors on the other side. I have big azaleas blooming in the spring but just a few roses in the summer. I was thinking the people across the water and anyone in a boat would enjoy seeing a hillside full of flowers, though these would only bloom in the afternoon and evening. I could put some portulaca in there to bloom during the day. The Four O'clocks just seem like such a tough plant. And there is a stairway that goes down to our dock and I think the smell would be nice. I wouldn't be able to see any of this from my house because of the hill but we could see it when we're down on our dock.
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Michele
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