Thursday, August 25, 2011

What in the world?

Yesterday I finally managed to get off my duff and start some fall (or second summer) seeds.  I diligently planted out some tatsoi, bok choy, beets, swiss chard, Thai basil, cilantro, and even some cucumbers and winter melon - hey, you never know, we don't get frost until December or January.... if at all.  Then I started the Fava seeds soaking and planted those out today.  It's hard to start a fall or second summer garden when I am still waiting for most of my summer crops.


But when I went to go and check on the seeds started yesterday, I noticed that there were a lot of winter melon seeds on top of the soil.  I at first thought I was a really sloppy planter. Then I noticed that the cucumber seeds were also on top of the soil. A closer inspection showed this:





What pest ate the insides of the seeds and left the rest there?  Grrrrr..... I'm ticked.

They also ate the one Fava seed I popped in the soil before I remembered I wanted to soak them and add the inoculate when planting out. Now I am concerned for my tender Fava seeds I planted out today.

Not so happy gardening today....

3 comments:

  1. Is it birds or ants? Atleast you knew right away and not in a few weeks(when the seeds didn't sprout!)

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  2. That's when 'wildlife' can really make you spit! I try to give my seeds a kickstart by wrapping them in damp kitchen towel and putting them in a labelled plastic bag to germinate (see blog weeds4sale.blogspot.com). Once they sprout I plant them. Won't stop them from being eaten once they're planted but at least they'll germinate first!!!

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