Aphids and Mites

This is gonna be a LONG year.

I was proudly showing my brother my blues today and happened to look at the rosebushes. Holy aphid infestation batman! And it is only the middle of April!! This weekend I lost my pepper plants I had bought (pre-started) to stupid red mites!! The peppers were too young for me to do anything to save them, so they definitely died. I don't think that spread to the lemon tree I have.. we will see soon enough.
So I just did some investigating. Of course we all know (I think we do...) that ladybugs LOVE aphids. But isn't it too soon to buy those? So what else are my options? According to this site, I have a few. Diatomaceous earth, whatever that is; insecticidal soap; Pyrethrins and pyrethroids, from chrysanthemum (the -oids are the synthetic versions); or IGR, insect growth regulators. There are also natural bugs like ladybugs, lace wings, and birds. It also suggests spraying a hard spray of water at first to knock them off the plant. I just went outside and sprayed them off with water, but I don't have anything else yet. I will have to talk to the landlord and see what she wants to do about them. These rose bushes have been around for 10 years, so just taking them out isn't really an option.
Did I tell you that I was burning my sprouts? Indeed. The soil I was starting them in (anyways this is what I think was going on) had too much nitrogen and was killing sprouts. I have re-started all of them in a plain old Miracle-Gro vegi and flower mix. I will let you know how that goes in about a week or so!! I am waiting until the first of May, but I will be going back out to get the peppers again, and I still didn't get the artichoke. Oh well!
Now to the subject of the blog, the Blues! Man the Elliott is doing well! He is growing so big! And there are a lot of blossoms! The Pink is doing alright. She is hanging in there, still small and cute. A few blossoms about to open, but not many. And with how small she is, I would say that is not a bad thing! My azalea in that pot is doing well! The new growth is coming from the underside, and is nice and healthy looking. There is one blossom completely open, and 3 or 4 that should open this week. Now the strawberries... whoa! They are taking off! All kinds of green with numerous blossoms! Here in no time I will have those berries!