tungstenchef some sites say use 40-50 percent shade cloth to protect tomatoes from the afternoon sun. Others say plant then where they will get afternoon shade. I could not find any 40 or 50 percent shade cloth while I was building the shade structure. I just figured 60 percent was more light than afternoon shade and went with it. No, I don't have a blog. As stated in earlier posts. I'm still learning. After my container garden failed a few years back my wife did not support my gardening. So I searched and search and read books and watched Master Gardener videos. There was no way I was going to start a garden unless I was fairly sure it was going to be successful. All I can say is so far so good. I may start a thread for people to follow along with next year but no blogs. To be successful you really do have to plan. In the bed with the south facing wall I will be completely re-planting for a Fall/Winter garden. So everything there has to finish by a certain date. Someone in another thread asked if they were to late to plant Watermelon. The true answer is yes and no. There is plenty of time for watermelon to ripen before it gets to cold. There is not plenty of time for it to ripen and pull the plants and replanted for the Fall/Winter vegetables. Planting dates are important. If the watermelon goes to long the Fall/Winter vegetables will be planted late. If they are planted late yields may be low or they may even fail to produce anything. Jeff over in the Vegetable Forum those kinds of issues usually have to do with one or more of these... Not enough hours of direct sunlight. Planted at the wrong time. Poor soil or improper use of fertilizers. Over or under watering. To much cold or rain. Its not always easy figuring out why either. Even the master Gardeners in the Vegetable Forum have crop failures. Its one of the reasons they like to plant so many things. If one thing fails something else is bound to thrive. Most even plant a few things that are not quite their favorite just because its more reliable. Have you ever though of growing Chinese Kale instead of broccoli? http://www.evergreenseeds.com/chinkalgail.html One of my favorite sites is in the link below. If you become a member the site becomes more functional. One of the added functions for members is that when you are signed in. When you see someone growing in a similar zone as your own you can click on their user name and see everything they have grown along with their descriptions and ratings. Way cool. Here is a link that might be useful: Cornell University Vegetable varieties for Gardeners

Hi, I'm new to gardening, too. I found your forum by doing a search for "alpine strawberries" because I'd like to grow something in containers that my two daughters would really enjoy. My home is in a wooded area, so our yard doesn't have many bright spots. We live in Southern Maryland and I'd like to grow a couple of vegetables, too. Any ideas for what I could grow? Our yard has a lot of moss in it instead of grass. Does that mean we have a lot of shade, or does that have to do with the soil ph? We also have a lot of pine trees. Do the pine needles make the soil acidic? I've had a lot of luck growing impatiens and beautiful hostas every summer, but that's about the extent of my gardening. Everytime I try to grow anything that requires light, like monarda, butterfly bush, etc, they tank. Thanks!

Lasagna mulching is very effective against seedlings, including the snapdragons. It will be mediocre-to-good in preventing the corms from sprouting. The key will be in making the newspaper layer very thick to prevent light from hitting the soil, and in smothering any little sprouts that do try to poke through it. I'd suggest at least ¼" (½" is better) thickness of sopping wet newspaper, overlapping the sections about 2". Top with 2" to 3" of organic mulch such as shredded leaves. To plant, stab with a sharpened trowel and put the transplant into soil, then mulch around each transplant. Keep a close eye on them and pull up any glad sprout that tries to push the transplant out of the way. I do not recommend direct seeding this year or next year -- instead, start the seeds in pots and then transplant into the mulched bed. Remember that the newspaper must be completely concealed under a thick layer of mulch, and to keep the mulch moist. Drip irrigation is superb for maintaining the proper moisture level. Unless you sift the soil to remove all the corms, it is likely that you will have those corms attempting to sprout for several years. Because DH shoves the mulch aside so he can direct-seed, I am still removing cormsprouts from a bed that hasn't had glads in the past five years. Good luck and happy growing!

We don't know where you live and Southern Blight is not all that common and is predominately a regional issue of tropical and sub-tropical areas and we in zone 7 don't normally fall into the area. So I'm just suggesting that I wouldn't be too quick to jump to that conclusion unless you get confirmation. I'm not disputing that may be it, just that it would be unusual for it to develop so quickly in a single plant where the rest show no symptoms. Plus there are several other fungus possibilities and all have somewhat different treatments in addition to heavy fungicide use. It would be worth taking a sample to the local county ag extension office for diagnosis. Just something to consider. Dave