Wow!

The garden has been growing well since we finally got some rain about 10 days ago, and we've had more since. Now I hope the rain slows down a bit. I have harvested 38 tomatoes from a single Early Girl we planted in April. I live in central NC, so that was a bit of a risk, but we took a chance and planted a large plant started at a garden center. I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with 100 tomatoes from that single plant. I highly recommend Early Girls. They are always one of my strongest producers. Most of the tomatoes I started from seed are starting to set fruit, so that is exciting, too. Other things we've been harvesting are carrots, lots and lots of greens, dragon tongue beans, peppers, and the last of the spring turnips and some lettuce, too. I will probably harvest the first yellow squash tomorrow, and I think a zucchini is coming along, as well. I thought I'd share a little bit about my flowers, too. About three weeks ago, the deer mauled my zinnias, cosmos and marigolds, which are flowers they usually leave alone. It was very hot and dry then, so I guess they were desperate. Well, the flowers have recovered nicely in that three weeks and many are blooming again or getting ready to bloom. My husband put up an ultrasonic repeller, and so far it's been working. My older DS said that when he came home from work a couple of nights ago (at 2 AM!!) the herd was bedded down in our front yard, but they were well away from where the repeller was. I've heard that after a while they will probably get used to it, and then it might not be effective, but I'm enjoying my garden in the meantime.

Don't give up on the tomatoes. They will probably produce again in Georgia. Through the years, my plants have survived many a deer and hornworm mauling, and come back to produce again. And HAHAHA, I love your hornworm solution.

Your tomato plants look amazing! What kind of arugula do you grow?

My son says the same. In general, he felt that the classes he took at CC had better profs than at the university he is attending.

This happened to me just recently. I wanted to re-order something, but when I went to my original order, while it showed the correct item in my order history, it showed a picture of a different item when I clicked on it. This has happened to me several times over the years.

I believe it! My son interviewed for a pharmaceutical position in the Boston area, and it would have paid nearly double what he is making at his current job. However, it would have required a major move, and so he was not really interested in it.

Yes to all this. I think it's better to get a job and start earning, than to delay employment trying to find the perfect job.

My son graduated in December with a biology major/chem minor and is working for a major lab testing company. While his yearly take will probably be around $50,000 t0 $55,000, depending on overtime, he has fantastic benefits including 401K matching at 5%. We are in a middle cost of living area, and he could afford to get an apartment on his own and live comfortably but not extravagantly at that rate, but for now he is living at home and building up a nest egg. He knows he is paying his dues right now. His job is a "dirty" job that requires a college degree in the sciences, but in many ways it is also like a factory job. Most people work at this place for a year or two, get their laboratory experience, and then move on to greener pastures in research labs. Frankly, we were all quite pleased that he got this job. We knew from before he chose his degree that biology was one of the lower paying science jobs, and I had concerns about that, and I very much encouraged him to get that chem minor because I figured it would improve his employability. He probably would have preferred a job as a field biologist, but he was smart enough to choose the job that would allow him to pay off his college debt and make a reasonable living, even if he never gets rich.

I hate thinning, too. It is so painful. Sometimes when I thin, if the roots come up intact, I stick the thinned plants in the ground and try to make another plant. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Depends on the type of plant, I guess. I have a lot of luck with chard and lettuces. It would probably work with scallions, although it would probably be more effort than it would be worth. I'm also trying to be better about pulling out plants that are "done", and replanting with something else. It's amazing how fast that some plants decline -- I was picking peas a week ago, and we left on vacation for a week, and when we came back, the plants were so done. There are a few peas still on the plant, but since they are past their prime for fresh eating, I think I'm going to let them dry on the plant for another day or two, and then I'll try to pick and dry them for soup. Maybe... Anyhow, when I pull up the peas, I'm either going to put a few straggler tomato plants in, or maybe try some cukes or quick growing summer squash. Where I live in central NC, I should still have at least 3 months of non-freezing weather.

I so get this!

One of my son's favorite classes was Flora of the Southern Appalachians. It involved several excursions, including on the Appalachian Trail.

Good luck with that! 😁 Maybe I can learn from you.

I'm not sure, but that same sort of thing happened to me last year. I bought a pack of mixed mini pumpkin seeds, and I somehow ended up with a golden acorn squash.

FWIW, my son made a C in Calculus II when he was dual-enrolled, and then another C in Calculus III as a full time student at the community college. He still managed to get accepted directly into a decent mechanical engineering program, and he has done quite well there. He had a very good resume and application other than for those two C's. He did NOT get into his first choice school, NC State, where he was waitlisted. He DID apply to engineering school as a transfer student with an Associate Degree with honors, and I know that helped him get accepted. Just sayin' that a couple of B's (especially in non-technical classes!) shouldn't hurt your son if he is not applying to any of the extremely competitive schools.

Same here, and there have been times when they've all been in use!

I'm going to try the cardboard. I've been thinking about this, so it's good to hear from someone who has used it.

I'm harvesting tons of lettuce. So much so that I think I'm going to ban the purchase of other veggies until the lettuce crop slows down. I'm enjoying it, though. A good salad is one of my favorite veggies. Lettuces that I"m harvesting right now include lollo rosso, red oak leaf, rouge d'hiver, green salad bowl, black seeds simpson, butter crunch and a mesclun mix with a heavy emphasis on mustards and pungent greens. I've also been harvesting Tokyo express white turnips, onions, and radishes here in central NC. What totally flopped for me was baby bok choy. I planted it in early March, it sprouted in about 10 days, grew appropriately....and then bolted before forming those loose heads. We had a couple of warm days in the 80s, and I wonder if that set them off. I was very disappointed. I guess I'll harvest the few leaves off the stalk and throw them into a mix of other greens.

I can usually cure the need for shopping therapy with a trip to the grocery store. 😋 If not that, I'll order seeds or tea online.

It's because people in the country hunt. I really believe this. I see the same where I live.

I don't think they will want the misdelivered groceries because they can't give them to someone else once they've been in your possession.

I would either travel or put it into fancy raised beds and a back patio.

😁

I put out a dozen or so lettuce plants in my big barrel, and we covered the top with some fencing to protect it from the squirrels. Well, they reached their nasty little paws inside and managed to dig up a plant and made some holes, too. I want to post a sign, "No, there are no nuts buried in this barrel!"

How do you make your cayenne water? I have had success sprinkling cayenne directly on plants, but you have to be careful not to put it on too thickly -- sometimes I get a small amount of leaf damage if I'm not careful. I call cayenne the fairy dust of the garden! 🤣