I finally made a good push the past couple days, here's a little update. But first, I just noticed this from tvoneicken. Must have missed it in my last post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tvoneicken
> Also used coco choir for the first time(instead of peat)
Hmmm, I used choir the past 2 years and had lots of trouble with seedlings in soil blocks. They just didn't move forward. I switched back to peat this year and avoided all coco products and the plants are sooo much better. It's like night and day. I've also had problems with coco in citrus pots and am switching away. Something's not right with that stuff, maybe not in principle but at least in practice for me. I suspect salinity issues, among other problems.
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Thanks a lot for sharing. I was rushing this year and didn't do my usual research about coco, and was eager to try something new. I hoped for a quick fix from my past germination issues -ended up making things worst. Live and learn, will go back to tried and true practices.
So, most of my plants have been outside hardening for the past 2-3 weeks. Even planted some. Then yesterday morning during my usual garden check I found this.
massacre.jpg
The horror, I was shocked. The plants were cleanly decapitated, all at the same height. The ones in the tray were all together as found, the other ones were next to others that were left unmolested. I quickly looked for clues to determine the culprit - concluded it must have been a deer.
1) There were no traces of any chewed up leaves. A smaller animal would leave tiny bits around you'd think. I've seen rabbits chew on my lettuce and they leave evidence. Only an animal with a bigger mouth could swallow so many tomato tops without a trace.
2) I've never seen a rabbit around the property, not that we dont have any. Besides, I dont think they care for tomatoes, especially that I had lots of other, tastier greens around. Also, a smaller animal would not have been able to reach into some of the pots without tipping or disturbing others that were in the way.
3) For once we forgot one of the gates to the fenced area open. A smaller animal could have been inside before due to gaps/small openings in the fence.
Any thoughts or possibilities I haven't thought of?
More to follow soon.