GrandpaâÂÂs Garden is a collection of hints and tips to help you get more enjoyment out of your garden. Grandpa in his native habitat - the garden. Suggested Grandpa's Garden Articles I've Been Wondering Why There Is So Much Straw Left The little sparrows that scratch at the straw like tiny chickens, and spread it around, are not being given as much time as they used to. The cats can hear this scratching from under their hiding spots, and get to sneak up on the birds, because my garden's a jungle. The Shade Cloth Worked Great They got through the heat of summer until the wild fire smoke gave us shade. They are heading up nicely and will be harvested shortly. I Started Harvesting Garlic Today They say the bulbs are done when the first four outer leaves are brown. Only my tips were brown so I dug some up to see if they were done. Yesterday I Discovered Baby Carrots Growing In the Shade I had planted them in early spring and thought the slugs had gotten them. I forgot about them and some germinated, grew a bit, and then went dormant due to the lack of sunlight. I Guess The Last Direct Seeding I'll Do this Fall The spinach came up so I've got two boards available. I would be wise to pick up a couple six packs from our local gardening center, but I've still got half a pack of lettuce seeds. Cauliflower in the Heat Things grow really fast in this heat. I don't have half as many Brussels sprouts to transplant though, because one small slug worked it's way down the row, and ate a third of the plants in one night. The Fall Broccoli Is Sweet And Delicious I don't dislike broccoli anymore. My problem with it was probably because I kept harvesting the florets long into the hot months of summer. I've Gotten Tired of Picking Broccolini It's not crop rotation because cruciferous plants should not be planted in the same spot for two years. My rows get an 18" wide by 2" thick covering of fine compost three to four times a year so the soil I'm planting in is always changing. I Realized Today That I Had A Huge Weed Patch It's called occultation, and is an organic technique for weed suppression. Ideally I would have cut them down to the ground before covering them, but I've grown weary of my weedwacker already. A Giant Jackrabbit Was In The Garden It leaped up onto the compost pile and over the fence. Such a large, strong, athletic and mobile adversary left me a bit stunned. Well the Frost Was On the Pumpkin It seems early, but with 70°days in the extended forecast, maybe I'll get my Indian Summer after all. I don't actually have any pumpkin again this year. I Got To Put Fresh Straw Around The Melons It sure brightened up the garden. I hadn't noticed it was getting a bit dreary because as the cleanup continues more light gets in. More Gardening Articles