Yesterday a few brave gardeners came at 7am and geared up with baggies, gloves and masks and formed a fearless fire ant patrol. We fanned out over the hillside surrounding the garden and treated every fire ant colony we could find.

Thank you for your devoted effort, gardeners. In coming days we will treat inside the garden, using every organic weapon at our disposal. This week, at least, the score is Gardeners: 1 and Fireants: 0.