First thoughts and then the revision as an adventure.

Fire ants are more than a nuisance. They can make harvesting difficult, sting children and pets, and even damage young seedlings. The good news is that you can control them without treating your entire garden with broad-spectrum insecticides. The first step is choosing a product that is labeled for use in vegetable gardens. A lawn product is not automatically safe or legal to use around food crops. Also, do not poke around or disturb the nest or they will move the queen deeper in the ground and be harder to eradicate. Safer options for vegetable gardens in Eastern US: Spinosad bait - One of the best choices for home vegetable gardens. - Derived from a naturally occurring soil bacterium. - Many formulations are approved for edible gardens, and some are OMRI Listed for organic production. - Apply around active mounds according to the label. Boiling water - Pour 2 to 3 gallons slowly into the mound. - No pesticide residue. - May need repeated applications. - Avoid using near desirable plant roots because it can injure them. Spot treatment only - Treat individual mounds instead of broadcasting insecticides throughout the garden. - This protects pollinators, earthworms, and beneficial insects. Safety • Always choose a product that specifically states it can be used in or around vegetable gardens if that is where you plan to treat. • Never assume two products are interchangeable simply because they contain the same active ingredient. Different formulations often have different approved uses.

We typically look at the 4th of July as the planning date with starting several plants indoors to be transplanted in late August or September when the heat breaks. That being said, there are several cool weather crops that with a little early frost protection can easily reach maturity and some leave in the ground for a winter harvest like carrots. Frost protection does not need to be expensive and can be used in the autumn and the spring. We can make another post about cost effective frost protection if anyone is interested. To begin planning the autumn garden, first check your average first frost date and count backward to find expected days for maturity. We will then use these days to select seed that has the best potential to mature. Remember that growth slows as the days become shorter, so allow a little extra time. Also for me, I can eat anything from a sprout with first true leaves to maturity, so as long as I do not let the frost take it out, I'm good. Next, how much bed area is available to plant now? For me in TN, I am planting soaked lettuce seed under my tomatoes. Will your bed area receive enough sunlight as the sun moves lower in the southern sky? Everything south of me is deciduous so soon to loose there leaves. Will you sow seeds directly or use transplants to save time? Probably by August you are looking to direct seed although many cold weather crops will have poor germination with soil over 75 degrees F. Are you ok using short maturity hybrid seed or do you want to stick with open pollinated seed? Once we know the answers to these questions, we can make a seed list that has the highest potential for success. Cool-season crops such as lettuce, spinach, kale, radishes, carrots, beets, turnips, and Asian greens may all have a place, depending on your climate and remaining growing season. Fall gardening is not about filling every empty space. It is about choosing crops that fit the season, the household, and the care we can realistically provide.

How do a plant’s life span and growth form change what it contributes, the space it occupies, what it competes for, and what it requires over time? Before selecting another plant, notice whether it is an annual, herbaceous perennial, shrub, vine, or tree. Consider its mature height and spread, persistence, support needs, shade, belowground growth, seasonal dieback, and future access for pruning, harvesting, or maintenance. Plants do not merely fill named “layers.” They expand, climb, die back, reseed, shade, spread, mature, and interact differently through time. A useful relationship today may change as the plants grow. Recognizing how different plant forms occupy the landscape sets the stage for success. We first ask: - Does the plant remain for one season or many? - Does it stand upright, spread, climb, or become woody? - What space might it occupy as it matures? Share an example where mature size, suckering, self-seeding, canopy development, pruning, succession, or changing access altered an originally useful planting relationship. Choose one area and sketch the plants as they appear now. Then lightly outline how each desired addition may occupy the space as it matures. Mark likely changes in shade, spread, support, and access. How a plant persists in the landscape may vary with climate and management. A tender perennial may be grown as an annual, while a freely reseeding annual may appear almost permanent. Growth-form categories can overlap, and plants do not remain in neat textbook layers. Regional invasiveness, water availability, pruning, rootstocks, and management can all change the outcome. Food-forest references often organize plants by structural layers and growth habits. I find these useful as design aids, but not as fixed rules for every landscape. Each layer defines the category although its the artist that selects the palette.