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There is noting weird and baleful about GM species that causes them to behave differently from non-GMOs in the environment, including how other species co-evolve in response to them. There was an early belief that transfer of genes between species was special manmade magic, until it was found that this happens in nature too: http://davesgarden.com/guides/...

Genetic engineering is nothing but a precisely targeted way of accomplishing changes that used to take generations of cross-breeding and culling.

Initially, it was believed that transgenic processes did not occur in nature and were a purely human, hence 'new' technology. This has now changed: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1900/#b

Sounds like they eat mostly bugs, grains, and small animals.

For natural pest control may I suggest house centipedes? Those fast, long-legged, grey-brown guys with the racing stripes. They are non-aggressive and typically incapable of stinging humans until they get quite large (they can live for almost a decade), they carry no known human diseases or parasites, and are voracious hunters whose favorite prey include termites, silverfish, bedbugs, and young cockroachs. And unlike ants they're completely uninterested in your food.

How about hell no!

A little bug spray easily manages crazy ants. Bifenthrin or Pyrethrum based insecticides are highly effective. Fire-ant bait is ineffective because they aren't fire ants, thank God.

One of them (O. ficus-indica) is edible, but since I just got it about a year ago as unrooted pads, really I don't know how often it will set fruit. If you really want to know, you can ask people wiser than myself on this forum or this one. If you didn't already know, you can also eat the young pads of some Opuntia species, provided you've passed them under a flame to burn off those darned glochids.

For office plants, I'd suggest getting something cooler than a philo to keep your aloe company, like maybe a nice Haworthia (an Aloe relative). I've never tested this out, but they are supposed to be able to thrive in relatively low light conditions, like an office, and thanks to their small size, they're space conservant. My favorite member of the genus is H. limafolia (especially the rarer nigra and varigate forms). An office cactus might become light stretched and sickly unless you've got a corner cube with a window, but it never hurts to try. There are lots of cool and moderately easy things to try growing; my personal favorite are succulent members of the Euporbia genus, and the Haworthia mentioned above, but there are also nice genera like Echeveria, Crassula, Gasteria, Aeonium, Senecio, Pachypodium, Kalanchoe, Aloe (there are way cool things out there besides aloe vera), and in the cactus family, Mammillaria, Lobivia, Austrocylindropuntia, Tephrocactus, Oreocereus, Myrtillocactus, Hylocereus, Pereskiopsis, and many others.

All those genera have some species that are easy to grow, provided they're kept dry between their weekly, biweekly, or monthly waterings, depending on species and season (except Pereskiopsis and, to a lesser extent, Hylocereus, jungle cacti that don't mind being wet). If they're too wet they will rot, the number one killer of potted cacti and succulents. If you decide to try your hand at them, don't worry if you rot a few; everyone does. Many of them can be found at your local Lowes, Home Depot, or Wal-Mart, probably in crappy soil with a flower glued to them dying from lack of/too much water and not enough light. Worst case scenario you're out a few bucks, best case you've made yourself a lifelong friend.

They might need to be rotated between work and a window at home every now and again, depending on how much much light they're getting, but I guarantee your cube will look better if its loaded with spiky, colorful, and otherwise strange plants that look like they came from another planet.

One of them (O. ficus-indica) is edible, but since I just got it about a year ago as unrooted pads, really I don't know how often it will set fruit. If you really want to know, you can ask people wiser than myself on this forum or this one. If you didn't already know, you can also eat the young pads of some Opuntia species, provided you've passed them under a flame to burn off those darned glochids.

For office plants, I'd suggest getting something cooler than a philo to keep your aloe company, like maybe a nice Haworthia (an Aloe relative). I've never tested this out, but they are supposed to be able to thrive in relatively low light conditions, like an office, and thanks to their small size, they're space conservant. My favorite member of the genus is H. limafolia (especially the rarer nigra and varigate forms). An office cactus might become light stretched and sickly unless you've got a corner cube with a window, but it never hurts to try. There are lots of cool and moderately easy things to try growing; my personal favorite are succulent members of the Euporbia genus, and the Haworthia mentioned above, but there are also nice genera like Echeveria, Crassula, Gasteria, Aeonium, Senecio, Pachypodium, Kalanchoe, Aloe (there are way cool things out there besides aloe vera), and in the cactus family, Mammillaria, Lobivia, Austrocylindropuntia, Tephrocactus, Oreocereus, Myrtillocactus, Hylocereus, Pereskiopsis, and many others.

All those genera have some species that are easy to grow, provided they're kept dry between their weekly, biweekly, or monthly waterings, depending on species and season (except Pereskiopsis and, to a lesser extent, Hylocereus, jungle cacti that don't mind being wet). If they're too wet they will rot, the number one killer of potted cacti and succulents. If you decide to try your hand at them, don't worry if you rot a few; everyone does. Many of them can be found at your local Lowes, Home Depot, or Wal-Mart, probably in crappy soil with a flower glued to them dying from lack of/too much water and not enough light. Worst case scenario you're out a few bucks, best case you've made yourself a lifelong friend.

They might need to be rotated between work and a window at home every now and again, depending on how much much light they're getting, but I guarantee your cube will look better if its loaded with spiky, colorful, and otherwise strange plants that look like they came from another planet.

One of them (O. ficus-indica) is edible, but since I just got it about a year ago as unrooted pads, really I don't know how often it will set fruit. If you really want to know, you can ask people wiser than myself on this forum or this one. If you didn't already know, you can also eat the young pads of some Opuntia species, provided you've passed them under a flame to burn off those darned glochids.

For office plants, I'd suggest getting something cooler than a philo to keep your aloe company, like maybe a nice Haworthia (an Aloe relative). I've never tested this out, but they are supposed to be able to thrive in relatively low light conditions, like an office, and thanks to their small size, they're space conservant. My favorite member of the genus is H. limafolia (especially the rarer nigra and varigate forms). An office cactus might become light stretched and sickly unless you've got a corner cube with a window, but it never hurts to try. There are lots of cool and moderately easy things to try growing; my personal favorite are succulent members of the Euporbia genus, and the Haworthia mentioned above, but there are also nice genera like Echeveria, Crassula, Gasteria, Aeonium, Senecio, Pachypodium, Kalanchoe, Aloe (there are way cool things out there besides aloe vera), and in the cactus family, Mammillaria, Lobivia, Austrocylindropuntia, Tephrocactus, Oreocereus, Myrtillocactus, Hylocereus, Pereskiopsis, and many others.

All those genera have some species that are easy to grow, provided they're kept dry between their weekly, biweekly, or monthly waterings, depending on species and season (except Pereskiopsis and, to a lesser extent, Hylocereus, jungle cacti that don't mind being wet). If they're too wet they will rot, the number one killer of potted cacti and succulents. If you decide to try your hand at them, don't worry if you rot a few; everyone does. Many of them can be found at your local Lowes, Home Depot, or Wal-Mart, probably in crappy soil with a flower glued to them dying from lack of/too much water and not enough light. Worst case scenario you're out a few bucks, best case you've made yourself a lifelong friend.

They might need to be rotated between work and a window at home every now and again, depending on how much much light they're getting, but I guarantee your cube will look better if its loaded with spiky, colorful, and otherwise strange plants that look like they came from another planet.

I was thinking the same thing. Could this be the next Chinese Sumac?

Actually, Canon also uses Sony CCDs (perhaps not in all their lines, but clearly in some):

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/552292/
http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/news/articles/stor y_4732.html

I for one welcome our new addicted tomacco worm overlords

Once you get the hang of it, you might try topsy-turvy gardening.

An Heirloom fruit or vegetable is one that breeds true from seed and self-pollinates, as opposed to a hybrid.

That's the definition of open-pollinating, which is only one of the criteria for being an heirloom varienty. See http://davesgarden.com/showthread/heirloom/1988.ht ml.

--S