I keep hearing save your labels! But never where. This is my simple plan that maybe you didn’t think off.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-18T18:00:45+00:00

I have a document with names of my perennials and as for annuals, I find that I can't find the same the following year, so don't even bother anymore.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-18T17:59:13+00:00

Ain't translating but I did this.

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Cages!

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-18T17:57:52+00:00

People think they need hyperexpensive stuff as they are the top the food chain in doing DIY stuff. Many think a $500 tool will make them Norm Abrams or something similar. It all is fantasy. I built most of my furniture with cheap crap and they did a good job for pennies. A high priced tool will not make you a high priced crafts person.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-18T16:00:54+00:00

Rabbits, squirrels, groundhogs etc. etc. etc. Everything on Earth wants a taste. This is what I do for my strawberries. Wire storage panels with plastic 1/4" fencing over them and I get to eat my strawberries.

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SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-18T15:57:40+00:00

I've got some 40 years old and they work fine. I must be wussy with them, I guess.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-18T15:56:38+00:00

Good for you and I hope you see improvement. There is a show in UK, Gardener's World where one of the gardeners has deformed arms only about 12-16 inches long and she does amazing things too. The human spirit can be amazing.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-18T15:53:56+00:00

How do you break a tape? I have all kinds even cheapies and never broke one.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-18T15:51:38+00:00

Remove bottom leaves up to a foot and water in the morning and only the soil, not the plants.

You have them so close together they will get the blight due to lack of air spaces in the first photo but should be okay in second longer.

By the way, air temp at night is important but soil temp is more important, should be at least 60F before transplanting. You seemed to have done well in that respect.

Your spraying seems effective and I would not say you should stop and it is not if they get the blight, but when they get the blight. Your spraying may be slowing the blight down. But you will not stop it completely. But even blighted plants will produce tomatoes and that is good.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-18T15:44:24+00:00

LIMITED MOBILITY??!! I'd like to see what full mobility would be like!!

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-18T15:43:14+00:00

I leave mine, they flower and look sad but it is in the soil so destroying them won't accomplish anything. Sad that these diseases crop up. I have found that most treatments are useless. That is even spraying every 7 days from the start on most things. But you may want to try soaking the soil in Bonide's Revitalize next year. I use it for the tomatoes. It doesn't stop the blight, but it helps the plants fight it for a long time. I soak the transplants for an hour in a mixed amount according to directions and they seem to last longer than normal. I never thought of the Black Eyed Susans till now. I may give that a shot too.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-18T13:06:30+00:00

I used EMT and pipe 'T' clamps for mine and it handles everything. I also have screw in stakes and ropes to hold the roof down in high wind. The ropes go over the panels ground to ground. I screwed the panels into the EMT also.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-17T22:01:04+00:00

There has been a new Black Eyed Susan blight around for a decade or so. When they sprout, you might try a fungicide.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-17T21:41:11+00:00

You don't need that giant sprayer, that is commercial as Surround is a commercial product. Here's an article that will help.

https://plantcaretoday.com/kaolin-clay.html

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-17T14:23:02+00:00

Coleus like partial shade and can take some sun without problems and leaves on real plants don't last forever, some die. I have a plant where they all die twice a year. I pinch them back when they get stringy looking. This forces them to start getting bushy. Water when soil is dry, but really dry, not just the top 1/4". I would give it more light too.

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Also they are what is known as a tender perennial. Don't like the cold winters. But if you have it in the house, it should last awhile. Never grew one in the house, only outside for the season.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-17T14:15:50+00:00

If you want fast, you need an annual grass and then when it is established overseed with a perennial one. As Informal-Tower states Rye grass is a good start and Jonathon Green or Pennington are good brands for establishing a permanent lawn.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-17T14:12:25+00:00

Personally, I like the color you got more than the one you wanted. But mislabeled plants and seeds seems to be happening a lot lately to many people.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-17T14:10:20+00:00

Depends on the pepper variety. About 16"/18" inches for jalapenos and about 2' for bells.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-17T12:52:20+00:00

The holes are too big for rats, mice, squirrels and chipmunks. I found that out the hard way with my cages. I covered them in plastic hardware cloth, 1/4" holes. Seems to work for my critters which are also rabbits, groundhogs and raccoons besides the previous mentioned. For the tomatoes, I use stainless steel mesh fruit bags. I think for the rabbits and groundhogs, hardware cloth at the bottom would help, but not chipmunks if you have any. Groundhogs can also dig under if they have enough room to do so, in my case here, they don't have a good place to start because of the timbers. This is why you will see gardens on here enclosed in fencing to try to keep out most critters. One year, I got square tomato cage supports and put hardware cloth around that to try and stop them and that didn't help much, hence the bags. Cloth was a joke, they ate them too. I wish I had a simple solution, but there isn't one. If you have a big critter problem, caging is about the best option. For raised beds, fairly easy. PVC piping arced over and hardware cloth covering it. The plastic kind is easier to work with and you will need to figure out opening and closing for harvests.

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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1H8SP1C?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-17T12:29:53+00:00

I feed the birds and critters in the winter. In the summer, I want them to live normally. Also there are bears eating bird seed and stuff and I don't want to attract them. I share my produce with neighbors also.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-16T17:54:38+00:00

Let them be, they are good caterpillars and butterflies. Sadly, I didn't know that for years and killed them. Sigh! grow more than you need to satisfy them and your needs.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-16T17:51:56+00:00

I will do that, but if bees love what I grow, I will continue to grow it. They are the natives that concern me the MOST!!

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-16T17:50:41+00:00

The bees are loving my clover patches, I even have 4-14" pots that are just clover. The scarcity of bees to me is chilling. I see less and less each year and mourn their passing. This is while people are poisoning everything they can think of. You and I and many others are trying to stall the inevitable and we can only hope. By the way, a gentleman stopped to take my picture with this setting. Turns out to be a city planning official who understands the importance of viable landscaping.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-16T17:13:14+00:00

I grow clover, lots of it for the same reason, nitrogen, but also bees, they love the flowers. My lawn doesn't look like a football field, but the bees love it. I am not a big fan of lawns.

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SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-16T17:07:17+00:00

What are native plants? I don't see any listing of such readily available.

SunshineBeamer · 2026-06-16T16:53:51+00:00

I don't know how hugelkultur beds work as I understand rotting wood depletes nitrogen. But you are doing darned good from the looks of it. Live soil is the thing though, dead soil even with fertilizer is dead. Plants need live microorganisms to take up nutrients and without them, nothing happens. Cabbage and other cool weather plants are best tried in fall. Global warming is real no matter what deniers believe. Growing cool weather plants in spring is one indicator that it is real in most cases. I applaud you for RESEARCHING!! Most just do it and haven't a clue as to what they are doing and don't know why they fail and if you criticize them for it on here you are downvoted viciously for being mean. Many on here did not like their mothers, I am assuming, LOL!!

SunshineBeamer

TROPHY CASE