Based on greenhouse experiments in New York state, you can allow two to three spears per crown to develop into ferns instead of harvesting all the spears from each picking. Geneva, NY 14456. To acidify their well water, farmers pour in plenty of vinegar, which sometimes still doesn't get them to their pH goal. They publish a bimonthly newsletter and offer other benefits such as videos. Rt 1, Box 730, Alvarado, TX 76009.
Some honey bees powder their feet as they leave the hive to gather nectar from flowers.
That's because ARS scientists have recruited these bees as couriers in a nonchemical war on insect pests. The scientists recently patented a device that forces bees exiting the hive to walk through a pan in which their feet and legs get coated with a mix of talc and a naturally occurring insect virus. This nuclear polyhedrosis virus doesn't harm the bees. But as they buzz from flower to flower. Susceptible insect pests that visit those blossoms may get infected and die.