My plants...if I end up with any...will be sooo behind, this year. Between the weather (going from too hot to too cold, rinse and repeat), the animals digging up seeds, digging holes and disturbing roots, pulling them out, entirely, and eating the leaves, plus, my seed germination being entirely worse than usual with seeds, that actually germinated, just dying without sprouting (indoors or outdoors)...this is craziness! I have no idea what is going on, this year, for me. I don't know...maybe I just have too much to deal with, right now, but I feel like I'm still giving enough attention to all my seeds/plants/gardens...
I lost a bunch of my Giant and Mammoth Sunflower seedlings, too...ripped right out of the ground and broken. I've just put more fencing around the remainder of them in the hopes that whatever is wanting them, so badly, will finally leave the rest alone. (Not to mention, more digging in and tearing up my herb planters, flower planters and daily, complete destruction of my large fairy garden planter...I finally called it quits, on that, today. I took out all the flowers in there and planted them in smaller pots, took down and put away most of my fairy garden pieces, besides a few smaller ones that I tucked into the smaller pots, and moved and emptied out the big planter. Very depressing...I've had that fairy garden set up for years. The animals dig it up worse and worse, each year, just like all my other plants, pumpkins and veggies. This year was the last straw. I'm just not up to fighting so much with redoing things, replanting things...I have to pick my battles, now. My luck, they will just dig up the small pots, now, lol...sigh.)
I will say, I am thoroughly let down by those expensive new hybrid Kandy Korn Bush Style mini pumpkin seeds I ordered. I mean, you only get ten seeds in a packet and, so far, I haven't been having very good germination with them. It's seeming like mostly dud seeds. I have tried starting them in baggies, direct sow and in my greenhouse...no good all around. I FINALLY got one to germinate and seems to have a good root on it, so I planted it in a pot and put it in my greenhouse to keep it safe from animals and cool weather until it can sprout and get stronger...I'm not risking it, outside, yet!!!! I need to get a second one, at least, that way I can have one and my mother in law can, too. Ug. What a waste of money. If we do get any to grow and bear fruit, I hope they give us a fair amount to make up for the rest of the lost seeds...and I'll definitely have to save some seeds from one!
I suppose the one good thing about a late start...maybe the evil bugs that take over my pumpkin/gourd/squash plants will think I didn't plant, this year, and move on elsewhere! A witch can dream...
I do have a gourd seedling and two JBL seedlings up, outside, in their spots...so that's something. No true leaves, yet, though. I'm hoping they will do well, and the ones coming up in my little indoor greenhouse will fully sprout, survive the transplant, outdoors, with them, too, and they will all do well. I've got a couple good JBL seedlings and a good Pie pumpkin seedling going, with their first true leaves coming in, for my mother in law...just need to get her a couple Gourd seedlings and a Kandy Korn going.
Lol, at this stage, you almost laugh, then cry, because you know that, even if you can get some seedlings going strong and starting to vine...you will just move to the next stage of the fight: insects, weather and powdery mildew. (Insert hysterical crazy person laughter, here.)🎃
<---I just saw these new HF pumpkin smileys...umm...kinda weird, lol. Can someone find the original ones?
