Mine was cats but chicken wire took care of the problem. Thanks for the tip on the terra cotta pots. My lettuce seedlings are just starting out and I think I will use them this week with the cold rain coming.

I grow a lot of gourds and they get too heavy for the vines. I use panty hose to keep them secured to the vines and distribute the weight.

Thanks for your story and your site is great! I really enjoy it. Denise

And the cucumber story made me smile. I think I am probably someone who learns things the hard way, too.. though I’m not sure there is any other way with gardening? I have several extremely experienced and knowledgeable gardeners amongst my acquaintance, but there is still no substitute for learning by trial and error myself. And when this makes me feel a bit Elmer Fudd, I find that when I ask around everyone has their own Elmer Fudd stories!

I’ll just share one .. a few years back I spent a summer carefully tending my first ever squash plant. Think it was a pumpkin. I visited it every day, made sure it had enough water and light, fed it, removed any problem leaves and generally nurtured it. In response to this attention, it dutifully began to grow a lovely squash. I was so excited! I would check on it every day and it got bigger each time I looked until it was bigger than a tennis ball and looking good.

What did I have to learn the hard way? When the squash gets to a certain weight it has to be supported from below (they naturally lie on the ground).. because mine was in a container, it dangled over the edge and when the weight got too much it dropped off and rolled down the roof to where I found it … in the gutter! Won’t ever be making that mistake again!