A really great question came in this week:

"Dear Gardenerd,
Help! The sow bugs seem to have taken over. If they'd leave some strawberries for ME, I might cut them some slack, but they eat them ALL!!  I saw some Praying Mantis eggs at Whole Foods... will they really rid my garden of the ill "pill" sow bugs?"

Ah, yes, our friendly neighborhood sowbug.  Actually - I found an interesting piece of info to settle the discrepancy once and for all about the differences between sowbugs and pillbugs.  It comes from Louise Kulzer in a feature called the Bug of the Month ...

Our adventurous tomato cage gardenerd writes in:

"Can you recommend particular tomatoes that you have had success with. I am building your cool tomato cage and am inundated with the choices available in tomatoes."

I can recommend a slew of heirloom tomatoes that have worked for me, because honestly - that's all I've grown before.  Depending on where you live, your hardiness zone or the topography of your landscape, you can find tomatoes for all climates. 

As for my recommendations: We are very near the coast in Southern California where I garden.  We get a marine layer for a few months that ...

Those who signed up on the Gardenerd website and downloaded the Top 5 Organic Gardening Tips will appreciate this one.  A gardener wrote in today:

"What kind of store do you find the fencing for tomatoes? I don't think they have it at Home Depot. Would it be more like a farm supply store or some kind of fencing company?"

Admittedly, I found my fencing in the exact size I needed in the discard pile at the community garden where I have a garden plot.  However, there is another person nearby who uses the same kind of fencing in ...