March 16, 2017
The pill bugs continue to ravage the squash and melon transplants. It seems they are small enough to hide in the ground next to the stems, and never cross over the diatomaceous earth that's sprinkled around them. Luckily I still have plants in the six packs, because I don't plant all of them at one time, just in case I lose some. This is the first year I've put them out so early so the learning curve begins..
I'm reminded that when the soil warms I'll direct sow into the mounds and will be more in tune with nature. All the " jumping the gun" planting is just for fun. Gotta expect some losses..
March 17, 2017
I was really surprised when both rows of radishes came up. The cats had run back and forth through the bird netting covered wire tunnels so many times that they had moved them over about half a foot. The radish seeds germinated outside the tunnels while the cats rototilled the inside. The radishes are exposed to the birds now, but I'm not going to move the tunnels back..
Let the birds try and get them. Those tunnels are now dedicated cats tunnels, so they can play there and leave all my other ones alone..
March 18, 2017
Wouldn't it be ironic if the reason I'm having so much trouble with baby pill bugs this year is because the garden cats are keeping the birds away that usually eat them? Actually there are many factors that may be contributing to the problem. An extremely wet spring may have allowed them to reproduce more rapidly. The plastic I put down may have warmed the soil enough to increase hatching, but we didn't get lots of sunny days to cook them. Global warming has moved the frost date back but the soil temperature might not be in correlation. I should probably invest in a soil thermometer if I want to have more success in the future..
Sometimes we gardners prefer to emphasize the "art" of gardening over the science. That just means that with too many facts the fun goes away, and it becomes work. You become responcible for your mistakes and can't blame the climate..