Why they are still viable and necessary:

• Multi-Day Low-Solar Events: Extended periods of heavy cloud cover, winter storms, or wildfire smoke will dramatically cut solar production. Without a backup generator, your battery bank will eventually deplete, leaving you completely powerless.

• High Surge Demands: Starting heavy equipment, well pumps, or large electric motors creates a massive surge load. A properly sized generator provides reliable backup capacity to run heavy loads directly or recharge depleted batteries quickly without straining your inverter system.

• True Off-Grid Redundancy: True self-reliance means having a fail-safe. Relying solely on solar without a generator in a remote area risks leaving you stranded without power for days during critical weather events.

Last weekend, I tackled the main lift and loader bucket cylinders on my '62 Ford 4000. Between sixty years of baked-on dirt, heavy fluid that smells ...bad, and pins that essentially became one with the housing, it was a battle.

The hardest part wasn't even fighting the stubborn gland nuts (though a massive pipe wrench and a 4-foot cheater bar definitely got a workout)—it was trying to hoist the heavy cast-iron cylinders back into place without a gantry crane while working solo in the gravel.

Everything is back together, torqued down, and remarkably holding pressure with zero leaks so far. But my shoulders are definitely going to feel this one for a week. Oh, this does not even include the headache for securing parts.

1. Companion Planting

Strategically planting certain herbs and flowers near your tomatoes can naturally repel pests and attract helpful predators.

• Marigolds: These are a classic tomato companion. They emit a scent that deters nematodes (which attack roots) as well as whiteflies and tomato hornworms.

• Basil: Planting basil near tomatoes is believed to repel hornworms, aphids, and spider mites, and it attracts beneficial pollinators.

• Alliums (Garlic, Onions, Chives): The strong odor of these plants helps mask the scent of the tomatoes, confusing pests like aphids and red spider mites.

• Borage: This herb deters tomato hornworms and attracts predatory insects like wasps that feed on garden pests.

2. Attracting Beneficial Insects

Sometimes the best pest control is letting nature do the work. You can purchase these insects or attract them by planting pollen-heavy flowers (like yarrow, dill, and fennel).

• Ladybugs and Lacewings: These are voracious eaters of soft-bodied pests, especially aphids, which are notorious for sucking the sap out of tomato leaves.

• Braconid Wasps: These tiny, non-stinging wasps are the ultimate natural enemy of the tomato hornworm. They lay their eggs inside the hornworm. If you see a hornworm covered in what looks like little white grains of rice (the wasp cocoons), leave it in the garden! The wasps will hatch and continue hunting other hornworms.

3. Natural & Homemade Sprays

When a pest population gets out of hand, organic sprays can help knock them back.

• Neem Oil: Extracted from the neem tree, this oil disrupts the life cycle of insects at all stages (egg, larvae, and adult). It’s highly effective against aphids, flea beetles, and whiteflies, and it also helps prevent fungal diseases.

• Insecticidal Soap: You can buy organic insecticidal soaps or make a mild version using a few drops of pure liquid castile soap mixed with water. It works by breaking down the protective outer layer of soft-bodied insects.

• Garlic and Chili Spray: Blending garlic cloves and hot peppers with water (and a drop of dish soap to help it stick) creates a potent deterrent spray that most bugs will avoid.

4. Physical Barriers and Maintenance

• Hand-Picking: It might not be glamorous, but physically removing large pests like tomato hornworms or Colorado potato beetles and dropping them into a bucket of soapy water is highly effective.

• Diatomaceous Earth (DE): This is a natural powder made from fossilized algae. When sprinkled on the soil around the base of the plants, it acts like microscopic broken glass to crawling pests (like slugs, snails, and cutworms). Note: It must be reapplied after it rains.

• Proper Pruning and Spacing: Pests and diseases thrive in crowded, damp environments. Pruning the lower leaves (so they don't touch the soil) and ensuring good airflow between plants makes your tomatoes a less hospitable environment for pests.

While city sewer systems can handle a bit more abuse, a septic system relies on a delicate biological balance and specific fluid dynamics. Flushing the wrong items can lead to catastrophic backups, dead bacteria, and thousands of dollars in drain field repairs.

Here is a comprehensive list of items that commonly find their way down the toilet but should absolutely be kept out of your septic system:

• "Flushable" Wipes & Baby Wipes: Despite the marketing claims on the packaging, these wipes are woven with synthetic fibers that do not break down in water. They will sit in your tank indefinitely, eventually causing massive clogs in your baffles or completely blocking the main sewer line.

• Feminine Hygiene Products (Tampons & Pads): These products are engineered specifically to absorb liquid and expand. In a septic tank, they will not decompose and can quickly create stubborn blockages in your pipes or take up permanent residence in the solid waste layer of your tank.

• Paper Towels & Facial Tissues (Kleenex): Unlike standard toilet paper, which is designed to disintegrate almost immediately upon contact with water, paper towels and facial tissues are treated with binders to hold together when wet. They add unnecessary bulk to the tank and can easily clog pipes.

• Dental Floss: Floss is typically made of nylon or Teflon, which is not biodegradable. When flushed, it acts like a net, tangling with other solid waste, hair, and wipes to form massive, stringy clumps that can bind up effluent pumps and block pipes.

• Cotton Swabs (Q-tips) & Cotton Balls: Cotton takes a very long time to break down in a septic environment. The plastic or tightly wound paper sticks on swabs will not break down at all, often wedging themselves sideways in pipes and catching other debris to form a dam.

• Condoms: Made of latex or polyurethane, condoms will never biodegrade in a septic tank. They can inflate with gas or water, creating blockages in the pipes leading to the drain field.

• Cat Litter (Even "Flushable" Brands): Cat litter is primarily made of clay, which clumps together when wet (exactly what it is designed to do). Flushing it introduces heavy, solid sediment into your tank that will not break down, rapidly filling the tank's capacity and potentially clogging the drain field pipes.

• Prescription Medications & Antibiotics: Flushing old pills is highly detrimental to the biological health of your system. Antibiotics and other medications will literally kill off the beneficial bacteria in your tank that are responsible for breaking down solid waste.

• Harsh Chemicals, Bleach, & Drain Cleaners: While a normal amount of mild household cleaner is usually fine, pouring concentrated bleach, antibacterial solutions, or chemical drain openers down the toilet destroys the bacterial ecosystem inside the tank, stopping the breakdown of waste and leading to a rapid accumulation of sludge.

• Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG): While usually an issue for kitchen sinks, dumping leftover cooking grease or oily foods down the toilet is a major hazard. Grease floats to the top of the tank to form the "scum" layer. If this layer gets too thick, it can escape into the drain field, clogging the soil and permanently ruining the system's ability to drain water.

• Coffee Grounds: If poured down a toilet (or sink), coffee grounds do not decompose in a septic environment. They act like sand, settling to the very bottom of the tank and significantly reducing the tank's liquid capacity over time, meaning you will have to pay for pump-outs much more frequently.