Congratulations and well done!

I've found that cardboard at the bottom of a raised bed really attracts whatever worms there are in the area.

Same here. I can't direct sow things outside because there's extreme pest pressure around here. I use toilet paper rolls, soap boxes, egg cartons, and rolled tubes made from whatever thin cardboard I can get my hands on. I've done this with carrots and other root crops, and the cardboard breaks down pretty fast under the right conditions.

I start my peas in a length of gutter with duct tape for end caps. When sprouted, just open up one end and slide them all out into a shallow trench in the garden.

Fresh bean and pea sprouts are a favorite of the bunnies around here, so I just have to tent off the whole area where I plant them with netting. Once they grow through the net they're okay, at least until the Japanese beetles show up in mid-summer.

I have pocket gophers, ground squirrels and the birds from hades. thanks for the tips. also, i am making pvc frames which will serve as support for nets, covers and are easily assembled/disassembled and can be raised easily over the growing season.

and lest I forget, ,mice.

Hi! I’m looking for a Texas gardener. I just moved there from Illinois and it’s like moving to a foreign country! I don’t know how to navigate the seasons. Help!

How do I become a Master Gardener?

@@juliebutler24 The best tips I have for you or anyone new to gardening is to always follow your specific growing zone which can easily be found by searching online with your zip code etc Either print out all that info or buy a book specific to that and follow all the tips it gives you then search KZfaq for gardening channels, I favor this MIGardener channel which is also easy to find ANYTHING specific that you are looking to grow just by going to the top and searching whatever crop you are growing or whatever info that you want and then after that type in MIGardener and it will bring up his videos for the info you are specifically looking for!!! Gardening is always about learning and no matter if you’ve been growing for 50 years you will still learn new stuff every single year!!!There is like 20 different ways to anything and everything for example starting seeds there’s 20 different ways to do it and there is no one set way that people must do it, it’s all specific on what you prefer and what’s easiest and has worked out best for YOU!!! Another thing that you can do is download one of the hundreds of apps in the App Store and check them out and see if any of them are helpful to you? Start your own gardening book… I got a three ring binder and some dividers and what I’ve been doing is writing down what has and has not worked out best for me so that way I can remember things that worked out the best for each specific crop that I grow. You will learn overtime would you like best and prefer ♥️ The most important thing is don’t overthink things have fun experimenting and trying out different ways to do things and don’t stress about anything at all just have fun with it ♥️♥️♥️

That's a great idea

​@@juliebutler24 Scott Head of Black Gumbo southern gardening is in Houston.

Grow lisianthus! It can be started 14 weeks before your last frost!

Me too!

I ease into the season by planting Microgreens and lettuce inside under lights. Otherwise I'd probably start seedlings too early too.

I do this too. It's so, so hard to resist starting early, but both times I've done it (which is both years I've gardened, lol) my plants have gotten way too big and started kinda languishing without enough sunlight while it's still too cold to go out.

@@dalegaa4094 This is a good idea! I wonder what else I can grow inside under my growlights while I wait. My lights are kinda wimpy so I'll have to look into what would grow well under limited light.

Especially for small seeds like thyme and snapdragons

I thought perlite is better than vermiculite.

Just want to say gd luck with next season I'm new to gardening myself but enjoy it so much hope u have the most bountiful artichoke harvest 🍊🍈🍏🍐🥑🥦🍆🍒🥝🌽🍎🌶🍇

@@Harry-gf6dx Harry thank you so much for your nice reply 🤗🦋 I wish you the best & huge success in your new adventure of gardening!! Check out the store from Luke!! I was extremely impressed & excited!! I know his seeds will have a huge germination success & they were only $2 dollars per package!!! 🤗💕🦋❤️🎊 Yay!!!

look at his channel. tons of videos. he grows in raised beds.

@@resarm5007 I will thank you so much!! Best wishes for your garden this year!! 🙌🏻🦋🙌🏻

I need to do a map but keep struggling with it.

I've never had mine die, but they didn't do all that well either. I'm in the Idaho mountains, so I HAVE to grow mine in a greenhouse. Unfortunately, I can't start most plants outside, due to pests that eat seedlings. But I just LOVE okra, so I'll have to figure something out.

@@sage0925 Wow, challenging environment.

That's great! I'm planting some greens indoors tomorrow to see how they do. I've started loads of seeds indoors over the years but never greens

Same. I've got my cold tolerant plant seeds soaking at this moment. Putting in dirt tomorrow on grow shelves in the living room..

Great point! Dry mix will be hydrophobic. I often add a bit of castile soap to the soak--helps make water "wetter".

1x1x1=1 cubic inch. 3x3x3=9 cubic inch, 9 times the volume

Heh...and Mike Bloomberg says all you have to do is dump a seed in the dirt and water it. Moron. It's taken me 6 years of trial and error on timing just to get as far as I've gotten, and I'm STILL learning what works and what doesn't here every year. Gardening has a learning curve. A lot of people don't realize that. You can't just bury a seed and call it good.

I start my tomatoes in larger cells, but only fill them about half way . Once the plant has established a few sets of leaves, I will fill the rest of the way to allow the plant to establish more roots.

That is exactly what went through my head when he said 3x.

Only they are really 1 x1 x 3. LOL, we were thinking alike!

I almost always pre-sprout seeds. If carefully handled when potting (or placing in ground), you can plant only the strongest. I don't plant a lot (containers and tiny raised beds) so this works well for me. It's good for older seeds that may have questionable germination.

Thank you@@lauriedavis4045!

I always presprout beans. It's the best way in a cool damp climate to get them up out the ground before the seed rots (PNW). I still do it even though I've moved. It really helps them get going

I'm in heavy clay country. Wood chips, perlite, manure, and vermiculite are a must!

Thank you! I'll try that!

A podcast I watched suggested getting the seed soil before placing it in cells wet enough to clump in your fist but not drip. Then putting it in the cells then adding the seeds. That way it already has moist soil at first. Some people put some seeds to soak before planting.

I soak my seeds first, and use a spray bottle to keep the top damp, and then stop with the spray once I see a sprout.

We are always putting more in stock! We will have lots more soon.

@@MIgardener I hope so. I've got a wishlist from Hades! One thing I'd like to add about your cart though...I had 3 items in my cart for a while (maybe a month), and I went back today to see if any items on my wishlist were back in stock yet, and all the items in my cart were gone! And I don't remember what they were. Very disappointing!

I started my fall lettuce indoors because it was too hot outside and they transplanted great.

When you put an item in your wishlist, you'll get an email letting you know it's back in stock. They're really good for restocking but you have to be quick to order because there's lots of people waiting for the same item and they can run out again quickly sometimes for some types of seeds.

I have had good success setting my seed tray on my counter over top of our dishwasher, the warmth from the cycle heats the soil. We are a large family and usually run our dishwasher 2 times a day.

I’m going to try this for the first time this year! I’m nervous because I don’t want my seeds to just fall apart. Any tips?

Nicole at Flower Hill Farm uses amd loves Vermont Compost for her soil blocks.

I just got a soil blocking tool for Christmas this year - I look forward to trying it out. But yeah, for onions, I will still be using the small cells, I think.

What seeds are you using? I've done swiss chard in hydroponics and never had an issue with germination