They were so young *sniff* So full of life. They had such a healthy, green tone. The disease ran its course and all that remains now are a few new leaf sprouts, fighting against their inevitable demise. Before and after photos:
I dug up half of one container and got two small but nice looking pink potatoes. Might get one meal out of the three containers :( Its probably best to dump them all out now to prevent any airborne spread to the tomatoes. Or maybe try another round of beets in the containers. Better luck next year.
The
beets are doing well - the largest plants are swelling up now. The onions have set early, and some of the garlic is ready to harvest. I cut all the scapes last weekend and made pesto with almonds.
Cato
caught another chipmunk Sunday morning. I let him out and within just a few minutes he was back at the door with a critter in his mouth. It managed to get away and went inside the tomato enclosure, then climbed up to the top of one of the netting posts. It was all good fun until the cat started pulling down the netting and I had to intervene. I chased it out with a broom and Cato caught it again. Not sure what happened after that. The cat sat on it for a while, but I never found a body. I suspect it escaped under the deck.
After 3 years of trying he's finally having good success this year, protecting the vegetables from the little beasts.
4 confirmed voles
1 confirmed and 1 unconfirmed chipmunk
1 unknown (possibly the other chipmunk - it was dark out)
An uncountable number of bugs. He especially likes crane flies.
The chipmunks have been getting into the birdseed stores in the garage, despite my best efforts to lock down the container. Then they get into areas of the car and leave seeds. I've found piles of sunflower seeds under the spare tire. They've also chopped down my sunflower and butternut seedlings some years. I've taken to netting them until they're tall enough to survive. The squirrels do provide entertainment for the cat, but I'd be happy to see them go. I just wish he'd do something about the deer!