I have 2 weeks to go from weeds to planted.

Squash vine borer will be a problem... plan on that.

 

Ugh. What can be done?

 

cover the squash with floating row cover until the plant is large enough to have a hard stem that is harder to bore through and or use vining squash rather than bush plants. Vining will root at every node that touches the ground and bush plants won't.but when you are gardening in a small space vining crops really consume the growing area. I have also heard (not tried it yet) that mint planted where every squash is at will repel them, too, but then you have mint growing rampantly in the garden at some point.

 

Good advice about the row covers, Carolyn, and consistent with that I read last night after you got me thinking about it. (My current favorite gardening book is Barbara Pleasant's "Starter Vegetable Gardens." I did her bag garden at one of my last rentals.) Baby is going down to bed easier and it is a pleasure to crack a book for a few minutes. Vining squash was my plan already to cover ground this first year and shade out weeds. I have inherited more mint than I need on that plot, so I am set! hahaha!

 

Oh Mid-Atlantic,
This soggiest of Springtimes
Your wet feet are cold.

 

Will gladly send you some corn for planting. Just PM me your address and tell me about how much you need !! You have time for squash & zuchinni They grow quickly and will produce a long time. And do not stress about weeds. I have all kinds of weeds and more crabgrass that I care to count. But during Texas scortching summers it seems to keep the ground shaded and cool. I have garden produce when everyone else`s has burned up. Weeds are not necessarily a bad thing. Just learn which ones can be helpful. I have horse nettle in my garden and I do not pull it all up. Potato bugs had rather eat horse nettle than my potatoes.
Its a fair trade,, I leave the nettle for them,, they leave my potatoes alone. And squash bugs are no problem if you spray the root and the ground around it and just a light mist on the leaves starting when the plants are about 6 inches above ground. Squash bugs enter and lay eggs in the root. They mate on the leaves but by the time you see them there it is usually too late for the plant.

 

OK! After the rains, out came the sun! I went to the plot with my mom and the baby in the car. Got some things done fast:

Removed more rebar from old rotted beds on the interior of the plot
Broadcast fertilizer and mixed it in with the hoe
Hoeing also got up re-sprouted weeds
Laid out 2 oversized sheets of woven groundcover fabric
Weighed it down with my rebar pile and secured a few places with staples.
Whew.

Today I went to the old neighborhood to buy seedlings from the little farm store market with mom and baby. I saved money over both the big box and the fancy nursery store, surprisingly. Its also a family tradition. They had a few heirloom tomatoes, but I didn't dare get them this year. I have to get my gardening chops tuned before I will know how to keep those alive. I also have to get to know my plot and its soil. So I got the same ones my dad used to get. Same with the rest of the veggies. There will be time for new adventures later.

 

Excellent ! I am excited to see how things grow in your plot. I have tried the Heirloom plants and frankly was not impressed. Low yield and nothing but problems for me. Maybe you will have better luck when you try them. I am sticking with what does best here. A few are old standards like Celebrity and Homestead but I also grow Super Fantastic and Parks Whopper but couldn`t get the Whopper this year. Just hard to beat the hybrids.
Thats what I do,, purchase at the market that sells fruit and vegetables, flowers ect. The H.I. stores are way too expensive for me. $4. for a tomato plant is too much at Lowes when I can get a six pack at Kelly`s farm stand for $1.99.
Oh,, and another thought,, do not pull up all that mint. Mint is basically bug free. Clip a bunch of it and throw it in a blender with some water, then simmer a few minutes to get a good strong mixture. Strain and use for a bug spray with a squirt of dish soap added.
Might be good for those pesky bugs you may have. Will not hurt to try.

 

You have been really busy! It's smart to stay with the 'tried and true' ones and getting to know your plot first. I'd sure like to see some pictures of it. (hint ).

 

I've had excellent results from 'Parks Whopper' as well.

 

Sure wish I could have found them this year. They are pretty dependable and have a good taste. Super Fantastic is a close second. They are sure doing well this year, We had so much rain last year and at the wrong time that all my tomatoes were mealy, rotted on the vine and as soon as they were picked.

 

OK... Updates for you all. It was supposed to rain this Memorial Day, and the help I had lined up couldn't make it after all. I had wrist surgery this past Friday. Recovering well, but still can't use my preferred hand. We got moving early to beat the rain. BHE (Best Husband Ever) was the one who had to get down on the ground and cut open the woven groundcover, dig a hole, mix in the fertilizer and repeat about a dozen times. His poor hip is making him limp now. Arent we a pair????? I walked the baby around and gave some direction. Here's what we planted: One each Sugar Baby watermelon, and zucchini. Two Crookneck yellow squash. Two Juliet saladette tomatoes. One each Jet Star and Big Boy tomatoes. One each Hot Hungarian Wax and Sweet Banana pepper. One eggplant and one each burpless type and Pickling cucumber. I will get some supports, probably pvc piping, for a row cover over the summer squash as soon as possible to foil squash vine borers. Later I can replace spent cucumbers with lettuce and re-use the row cover for shade. The woven groundcover is permeable, but water does tend to roll off it too, so I have to be careful about watering. I have been collecting soda and milk jugs. I just have to figure out a system for slowly getting water directly to the roots. In the remaining raised bed, the soil is not as improved and was not tilled. Unable to do a decent job of turning and weeding, I had BHE lay cardboard down and put bags of garden soil on top. He cut the center of the bags out, leaving a nice frame, then pierced the bottom several times with a screwdriver for drainage holes. We planted these bags with herbs and marigolds. I have thoughts of adding cosmos, hyacinth bean vine to climb up the adjacent fence, alyssum and even chard to the bags, though I probably can't fit all of this. Luckily, I have three more raised planters at the base of a trellis in the back section. I could not satisfactorily turn the soil there either and there are plenty of weeds and evidence of voles. The weeds have been whacked back, but I may give these planters the bag-of-soil treatment for this year. I hope to grow some Kentucky Wonder pole beans from seed in one and some winter squash in another. Both would do nicely climbing the trellis. It took us three hours. Baby got a little nap in her stroller toward the end. The rain never came. That's all for now. I hope to have some pictures soon.

 

VOLES!!!!! eating my watermelon and sweet pepper seedlings....twice already! I just don't have the time or the will to deal with them. Every time I visit my garden I have my baby on my back. I am not going to bend over to poison them or dispose of trapped ones. What *don't* they eat?

 

grubs? voles are herbivores. moles are omnivores, I think.
mouse traps with peanut butter and a bucket put over it are pretty handy to trap them. you can get traps that use only one hand to set or release.