Pests are the bane of farmers and gardeners and often we don’t know that we’re being bugged until it is too late to save our plants from total destruction.

High up in the Tutu hills in St. Thomas and overlooking a steep drop to the roadway below is a small clearing adjacent to the basketball court. On this particular Saturday I stopped by just as Kit Freeman was overseeing a small band of young gardeners.

This week Source columnist June Archibald looks deep into the richness of "black gold" ---- organic compost.

The Source is proud to present a new colum about V.I. farming and produce entitled "June's View ... From the Farm." Written by St. Thomas famer June Archibald, the new column will provide an inside glimpse of the rewards and challenges faced by our territory's farming community ... and perhaps provide some helpful advice for garden and farming enthusiasts.

The great thing about St. Thomas is you can grow food stuff all year long. The bad thing is, the soil sucks.

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Local gardeners may have different views on what plants are pests, exotics, invasives, enhancements or survivors; but they will watch with interest a lengthy project underway at the V.I. National Park, meant to enhance the use of native or naturalized plants, as opposed to imported or introduced plants.

Source contributor Kirk Grybowski readily admits he's no expert on trees or the bugs that attack them. But the untimely demise of some turpentine trees and century plants sent him sleuthing for the cause. Despite some experts' intimation that termites were to blame, the trail led to a couple of exotic beetles. Now, he wonders how many other people are having the same problems.

Folks attending a UVI Cooperative Extension Service workshop on "Understanding Your Septic System" may have learned more than they ever wanted to know about that essential element of many homes, but they also came away with practical advice about such matters as how to clean your toilet bowl and what not to flush down the drain.

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