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So I figured out what snipped off seedlings in my beds. I went out yesterday and saw that one of the previously snipped tomatoes (that I thought might be coming back) was cut off again and some bottom branches of other tomatoes were snipped off as well. On a hunch I put two mouse traps in that bed as well as two in the shade bed where two pea plants were snipped. This morning I had a dead mouse in each bed. :mad: I hate mice. I don't have enough space/plants to ignore them, they need to be stopped before they do more damage. Ugh.

Does anyone have suggestions on what I can toss in the empty spaces I have now? There's a couple square feet in my tomato bed and about one square foot near my eggplants. I was thinking maybe carrots but I have heavy soil so they tend to not grow good roots.

Also I planted potatoes today, I've never grown them before but one of the places I buy from had a sale so here we are. I planted four lbs of German Butterball in grow bags so hopefully they'll do well.
A hot pepper plant or get a single tomato at any garden center now at reduced price. Carrots need loose soil, beets would do ok or radishes
 
The rain has been relentless here this spring everything in my garden is yellow! Finally it looks like a hot week coming up my plants desperately need. I’m not sure how much we are above normal on rainfall but it is a lot! My indoor plants on the other hand are looking great!

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Nice... my plants look like the one in the right foreground, but they're outdoor plants and I need to keep watering them so they keep growing here in the high desert. I only have five plants, but they're all doing okay... I'm not a big pothead anymore, so this legal weed growing is more like an experiment in soil amendment. ;)
 
So I figured out what snipped off seedlings in my beds. I went out yesterday and saw that one of the previously snipped tomatoes (that I thought might be coming back) was cut off again and some bottom branches of other tomatoes were snipped off as well. On a hunch I put two mouse traps in that bed as well as two in the shade bed where two pea plants were snipped. This morning I had a dead mouse in each bed. :mad: I hate mice. I don't have enough space/plants to ignore them, they need to be stopped before they do more damage. Ugh.

Does anyone have suggestions on what I can toss in the empty spaces I have now? There's a couple square feet in my tomato bed and about one square foot near my eggplants. I was thinking maybe carrots but I have heavy soil so they tend to not grow good roots.

Also I planted potatoes today, I've never grown them before but one of the places I buy from had a sale so here we are. I planted four lbs of German Butterball in grow bags so hopefully they'll do well.
It's not too late for tomatoes if you can find some at a local mart or garden center that are a foot tall. The other thing would be a squash of your choosing - most grow quickly enough when it's warm. I can't remember where you are but am thinking it's in the northern clims. If you have loaded tomato plants and a hard frost is predicted, pull the whole plant, hang it upside down in the garage (or wherever) and they will continue to ripen. We ate our last "fresh" tomato in Dec. last year.
 
Nice... my plants look like the one in the right foreground, but they're outdoor plants and I need to keep watering them so they keep growing here in the high desert. I only have five plants, but they're all doing okay... I'm not a big pothead anymore, so this legal weed growing is more like an experiment in soil amendment. ;)

I don't smoke it either just growing it because I can now.
 
Okay, I got nuttin' from y'all but I finally figured it out. It's solo garlic. Had some tonight on our tri-tip, delicious and mild. Anyhoo, thought it was interesting. Now that I know, I will keep it going as well as cloved garlic.
 
solo garlic is first year elephant garlic, unless you use the underground bulblis, then it takes about three years.
I have some in pots now.
 
What variety of corn? I'm trying blue jade corn.
What variety of corn? I'm trying blue jade corn.
I have a mix in there, I had planted a container variety (on deck?) but was having really crappy results, then I over planted with run of the mill sweet corn from the bottom of a display at Home Depot (Burpee I think) and that came up, once there were a few stocks about a foot high, new ones just started showing up all over the place. Mine is mainly for pole bean supports but it is now head high and I can see some ears with long blond hair, cute little things.
 
Sometimes we bring in our problems.

Last night I harvested the last of my indoor turnips, they actually did much better than what I had been getting outside so I decided to churn up the mix, add potting soil to the top of the lip, and reseed just turnips (was turnips and beets) evenly spaced (it's a 18"X2' concrete mixing tub). As I was adding seeds (In good light and with my glasses on), I noticed a little red mite in the hole, in fact I saw one in each hole. I started to water each seed the top of the bed came alive with those red mites (I think they are spider mites). I was totally set back, the new bag of potting soil was infested with the mites.... I sprayed the top edge and the entire outside of the container with strong bug juice and the sprayed the whole bed with a vegetable garden type of insecticidal soap. Then I turned my attention to the open top of the potting mix bag and sprayed the inside of the bag and closed it up.

This morning I got to thinking about that event, I have found that when I have a problem a my indoor growing station it is because I brought the problem in, often hidden in something that I thought was going help me. Two years ago, aphids taught me not to bring plants back into the house after they have been outdoors (fought them for a whole winter, I lost). Now this this is teaching me that I need to have a way to sterilize any potting soil that I bring in.

It makes me think that we have to be constantly on our guard when introducing anything into our world, they may turn out to be a Trojan Horse.
 
I wonder if you cook the dirt on high heat on a baking pan first before bringing it downstairs.
Or a roasting pan out on the gas grill...

The thing is, I don't think it applies to just dirt, anything you bring into your house can introduce problems... It could apply to people, entertainment, anything even food could come back on you....

@Bacpacker, 10 years ago I got a truck load of horse manure cheep, it had some sort of grass seeds in it and I spread it all around to help my garden, from time to time I still have one of those things sprout up....
 
Well, it happens. Grandson was helping out our neighbor who is elderly and raises a lot of sheep. They brought over a truck bed of sheep poop and straw mix and threw it in my garden this last winter. Figured it would be ok for spring. I have tons of grass weeds popping up this year, have rototilled one area four times and it needs it again. Can't do much about what you bring in the house. Just is. Have you tried a Neem Oil spray?
 
I had mice run through the small carrots also, little bastages. Went out and they were all just mowed down – Gone. Traps took care of them and the second planting is sprouting and getting their first set of leaves. Voles look to have gotten the seed carrots over the winter from last year. I put two off to the side where they could grow this year and they had not started to sprout yet. Dug around and found nothing but small, rotted stumps. Got two Wegman’s organic carrots from the fridge and dug them in. Sprouting great. 😊 No idea what kind or if they are hybrids or not, but we will see. I still have some seeds left from this year and they will be good for next year as a backup plan.

Tomatoes are going a bit wild. I knew I overplanted in the small area I have so would have to keep up on pruning. It is just hard to decide on what branches to kill and what to let grow. Since I am down to such small areas to garden in now, it is very easy to keep up on soil amending so everything is really healthy. The area looks to be able to support a very lush growth. Maybe we just prune branches back from the flowers in front and let them grow up like Topsy for a bit.

When you are used to a much larger garden, it was easy to just plant a few feet apart and let them go with minor pruning, just staking. No worries about shading each other or losing a few plants or fruits. In a suburban garden, every inch counts! Lol! Cram what ya can in, companion plant, succession plant and overfeed.

Pic 1, the tomato patch. The 1’ chicken wire is for the rabbits, the bane of my gardening. Not enough predators to keep them in check so they are in abundance!

Pic 2 is the sunflower patch. Sunflowers going nicely in the back, at their feet are cucumbers. Left side is carrots, the taller patch is what the mice left, the rest is just sprouting. And yes, there were a few volunteer radishes there! I figured bird dropping spread them around. Romaine lettuce on the right is just about done. Cut off a few at the ground and letting them resprout to grow for seed. Have not decided what to plant in succession there. Open to suggestions! It will be the fall lettuce/radish/spinach area so keep that in mind. Potatoes maybe?

I will try and remember to get pics of the squash mound and peas this afternoon if the sun comes out.

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A hot pepper plant or get a single tomato at any garden center now at reduced price. Carrots need loose soil, beets would do ok or radishes

I've had trouble with beets too, which sucks cuz I love them. My soil is rocky and kinda sandy. But a hot pepper might be nice for a change.

It's not too late for tomatoes if you can find some at a local mart or garden center that are a foot tall. The other thing would be a squash of your choosing - most grow quickly enough when it's warm. I can't remember where you are but am thinking it's in the northern clims. If you have loaded tomato plants and a hard frost is predicted, pull the whole plant, hang it upside down in the garage (or wherever) and they will continue to ripen. We ate our last "fresh" tomato in Dec. last year.

Yeah, I'm in Mass, so I'm weeks behind most of you. That's a great idea to pull up the plants, if a frost is predicted I usually just grab all the tomatoes left and use the small greens ones in green tomato bread.
 
look at this top hat sweet corn. its looking decent even though it was poor germination to get a nice super heavy stand of it. i hope it tastes great and to save seed. seed cost is off the chain..especially when it doesnt sprout well.


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elkhound
I see you some Amaranthus retroflexus & nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus), my Father called them pigweed & nut grass.
I still fight it in the same weeds ninety years later.
Your garden looks great.
 
elkhound
I see you some Amaranthus retroflexus & nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus), my Father called them pigweed & nut grass.
I still fight it in the same weeds ninety years later.
Your garden looks great.
If you do get rid of all your pig weed and come to miss it, just holler - I'll send you some replacements from my abundance of it 😇
 
elkhound
I see you some Amaranthus retroflexus & nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus), my Father called them pigweed & nut grass.
I still fight it in the same weeds ninety years later.
Your garden looks great.

this garden gets filled with lambs quarter and has spots of nut grass. its awful. my other big garden is plagued with rag weed.
 
If you do get rid of all your pig weed and come to miss it, just holler - I'll send you some replacements from my abundance of it 😇

i seen a guy cutting pig weed on side of road and filling his truck bed up with the stuff. he in fact was using it for fodder for his pigs to feed on.
 
Your garden is looking good. It's taller then mine. I just finished digging a place to put some tomatoes plants. They are going to need a hillbilly greenhouse to have a chance of surviving. Maybe in another week I'll try some beans. It's still down around 5- 8 C at night. We hit 20 C the past two days for a high.
 

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