Hello,

Id like to report my garden results so far. I did the straw cover garden
with ground cover for weed issues. In a Ruth Stout kinda
That part is fantastic. Ive been following the advice from the nematode
book. And trying to get my soil back in check. And am trying to not use
weed or bug killers. I have Very little weeding even though the fabric
rotted in the sun. The straw held down the weeds very good.

I have the following successes.

Stupendous corn 6 ft tall. Ears are looking good so far.
Stupendous Heirloom Tomato plants. None red yet. For the record Ive always
had great maters.
Eggplants doing above average. I still have A couple of stunted plants.
But the big ones have flowers. They seemed very iffy and slow growing at
the beginning.
Peppers are doing fine.
Four mixes of heirloom Lettuce went nuts . I couldnt eat it fast enough and.
I lost over half to bolting and seeding. The ones still out there are about
3 feet tall. And taste bitter.
Red Onion sets were mixed. They all grew fast and tall . Some developed
halfway underground , some seeded without getting big underground. Some
barely got bigger then the set themselves but grew really tall. I used most
as green onions.
Celery is doing great too. As long as I water it daily.

Now the failures.

I tried seeding the following plants. All failed outside. Green beans,
peas, Carrots, Beets, Broccoli.
I reseeded some more beans elsewhere and in planters and they are weak and
flimsy. One flimsy plant developed one flimsy pea pod. I lost track of a
lot of them to weeds.

But all the reseeded beans are still alive.

One beet plant developed the beet above ground . It was about 3/4 inch
around and about 3 inches long. With short 1 inch roots just below the
surface. I moved it and buried it and it died.

I cant get root plants to grow here apparently. But everything else is
booming and growing very fast.


And the final issue.

I found a baby toad in my garden. Which is relevent because I had for many
years sprayed bug and weed killers excessively. And strerilized the soil.
And I havnt seen toads in many years either. I suspect i have no worms or
very little. And I used to be loaded with worms . There are no bees here
either , again due to me past years spraying. And I removed all my blighted
fruit trees that attracted them.

Im taking the toad as a good sign. Because Im not near natural water.

I dont seem to have any major bug issues.

I have japanese beetles now feasting on my grapes. I dont eat the grapes but
theres thousands in there. They tried for my corn a little but i sprayed
them with a bit of garden plant bug killer. And theyre staying on the
grapes.

Early in the season , I had flea beetles severly on the egg plants. But
these very little chewing now.

And suggestions for how to figure out why I cant get root plants to grow.


Thank you

Diesel