However, aphids and other soft-bodied insects better watch out! A single ladybug larva will eat dozens of aphids a day, and about 400 during its development. This may be located at the base of a tree, along a fence, under a rock, on the sunny side of a house, under a pile of leaves, anywhere where they are protected from the winter cold. The adult beetles have round to oval-shaped bodies that can range in colors such as yellow, pink, orange, red and black. Aphids, mealybugs, spidermites...

Is it a functional vegetable garden with razor-straight rows or a cottage garden overflowing with annuals and perennials? Does the gardener favor hot colors, like red and orange, or are the plantings more subtle, favoring shades of purple, silver and white? Do they garden organically or is Dow chemical their favorite companion? Is it a functional vegetable garden with razor-straight rows or a cottage garden overflowing with annuals and perennials? Does the gardener favor hot colors, like...

It came with the fried zucchini sticks appetizer ($7), and like the sauce, the batter was nondescript, although the vegetable pieces were crisp, and there were a lot of them. Guido's red sauce is rather bland, and the chances of it accompanying an item at this Italian restaurant, either in an entree or a side dish, are high. Guido's owners updated much of the interior decor, creating a tasteful, if a bit stark, ambience featuring high-backed leatherette booths, pictures of the old country,...

Under the Farm Bill, they can also apply for low cost loans to help improve their business or modernize equipment, and other programs available to our nation's farmers. Alaska salmon fishermen are now officially classified by the federal government as agricultural producers. That's an important part of the farm bill and farmers are addressing it very aggressively. UFA's Vinsel pointed out the average age of Alaska fishermen today is just over 50; for family farmers it's closer to 65. With...

Tuesday: Baked ziti with meat sauce, broccoli and cauliflower medley, tossed garden salad with Italian dressing, 1 slice whole wheat bread/margarine, fresh banana. Wednesday: Tuna salad, broccoli salad, tossed garden salad with Italian dressing, 1 slice whole wheat bread/margarine, fresh banana. Friday: Chopped steak with mushroom gravy, sweet potato casserole, broccoli cuts, 2 slices whole wheat bread/margarine, fresh fruit. Thursday: Oven fried chicken quarter, mashed potatoes, peas and...

Vocational Agriculture Teacher Dave Schirmer introduced the program that allows chemistry and agriculture students to create biodiesel fuel from the cafeteria's used french fry oil. Schirmer, who has taught vocational agriculture at the school for 29 years, said when the diesel engine was invented in the early 1900s, it was designed to run on peanut oil. The students used a five-gallon drum of vegetable oil, let the oil sit long enough for sediment to settle and filter the top part....

Lindeman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The hot market for ethanol isn't making life easy for Del Monte Foods co., where officials yesterday estimated the cost of raw materials could rise $50 million to $60 million in the next fiscal year, driven mainly by the nation's growing demand for corn as an alternative fuel source. Lindeman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The hot market for ethanol isn't making life easy for Del Monte Foods co., where officials yesterday estimated the cost of raw materials...

Hard freezes in California, Florida and other states are one contributor to the runup in prices, especially for produce, but that's easing as farmers plant new vegetable crops to replace what was damaged. It is happening for many reasons: inflation, drought, freezing weather, even the rising cost of corn highly sought after not only as an ingredient for thousands of food products, but also to make ethanol. Prices are going up for much of what gets dumped into the grocery cart including...

Published Sun, 2007-06-17 19:43 Energy . Mobile Indian mobile operator Idea Cellular, Ericsson and the GSM Association's Development Fund have revealed that four mobile base stations powered by locally produced biofuels have extended Idea's commercial mobile network in rural India. Published Sun, 2007-06-17 19:43 Energy . Mobile Indian mobile operator Idea Cellular, Ericsson and the GSM Association's Development Fund have revealed that four mobile base stations powered by locally produced...