mappy

so ours too is attached to a hook off the deck. hadn't had raccoon problems in years past, but this summer and late last summer, couldn't leave the feeder out overnight otherwise it was empty in the morning, with lots of signs it was messed with.

I'll have to try 3:1 next year. they've already moved on in my area, plus the raccoons are little shits and get into the nectar at night.

We have a hummingbird feeder closer to the house. lots of red throats around earlier in the spring. and I always thought it was 4:1 ratio?

pretty sure he sold that already

hey! thanks for the reply! we are good, hope you and the family are well too! So, to be honest, I'm just lazy hahaha. I get so excited to grow a veggie garden every year, and it does well, but then halfway through the season i just stop checking it as often and it gets overgrown and then i'm just like "f-it". so i thought maybe for next year to grow a butterfly garden instead. we have bee balm and other flowers near the house that attract lots of nectar loving animals, but i have a really great space in the yard i can contain really well and would hate for it to not be utilized. and who doesn't love butterflies!? appreciate your list of suggestions! i'll have to remember to check back next year when the time comes to get the garden ready.

so I'm thinking next year i will forego the veggie garden and just make an annual butterfly garden. i have a 10x10 space to work with. suggestions on what i can plant?

my garden is full speed ahead with giant phallic cucumbers

checked the pool temp last night, 89°

my random sunflowers are starting to bloom too! we have two varieties growing. Cannot wait to see how big the flower in the second pic gets, its stalk is thicc

nice, thanks!

I till the garden one time, just before planting. I don't even till the dead stuff at the end of the growing season, we just add the brush right on top and let it all break down on its own. One the brush is burned to ash, then we till it all in. We have clayey soil below the surface but hard compacted soil right on top, so we've found it best to till just before planting.

my veggie garden space acts as a brush pile in the off season, and just before i'm getting ready to plant, we burn all the brush and till it into the soil. its been working out great, my garden grows really nicely. we also redid our entire front flower garden space, all of it tilled up and then put mulch down. haven't had any issues (except the flooding, different story). i recommend tilling whenever you can!

hahaha, we have four or five growing under our bird feeder too. we are letting them go, i love sunflowers!

yum! i had fresh green peppers, cucumbers and what cherry tomatoes that were ready, in our salads yesterday!

garden is doing great now that the heat is here. tomatoes finally coming around with lots of green ones on the plant.

oh thats a good idea! i have a VFW American Legion up the road, i wonder if they take donations. i had the same issue last year with an heirloom plant. later in the season tho.

that was the problem i had last year, way too much produce and not enough time/desire to eat it all. so we scaled back. i can hand things off to coworkers as needed (we all share our home grown stuff, one of my coworkers right now is bringing in strawberries like crazy, my kid is in heaven!). my cherry tomatoes just seem to be struggling. was doing a little pruning yesterday and branches were splitting at forks along the stem and falling off in my hand. blah.

scaled back a tad in the garden this year. only one cucumber plant, one tomato, two peppers and then went with lettuce instead of squash and/or zukes. have already harvested a handful of cucumbers, and did a first round of harvest on the lettuce. my lunch is fresh from the garden today! peppers are doing great, tomatoes seems to be struggling tho.

2.8” with off and on snow showers most of the day yesterday. Oh well. .

I feel your pain

Radar looks awesome guys, enjoy!

2.8"

26/23 haven’t measured but all surfaces covered. Steady light snow falling

Always fun to see two CWAs up against each other and see their forecast. Lwx = ~4 imby state college = 6" across the md line in pa lol can I hug that instead?

29/20 with pixie dust snow falling