After a month of watching my plants grow and reluctantly standing by while my monster squash plant takes over the garden, I am happy to report that I have harvested my first vegetable!
Yes, that is my arm in the picture (not my daughter's as some have asked). This beauty is probably why I only have two squashes being produced from my plant (the other is roughly 7'' in length and not quite as stunning).
I've noticed so far that not many of my plants are being eaten by animals. I bet the screen underneath the box is doing its part to prevent burrowing animals from coming up. In addition, apart from the squirrels I haven't seen many deer in our backyard. There is definitely something digging around in the garden, though, as I've found tiny shards of grass and little holes dug into the soil. I wonder what could be playing around in my plants.
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The oregano and basil that we moved indoors did not do well at all. At first they both fluorished, but as time went on the oregano started to dry out and wilt. Then one day I came home to see a big caterpillar on the basil and that was the end of those two plants. I did, however, plant some mint which seems to be doing okay. Aside from the squash, my peppers continue to grow, as do the scallions, beets, and lettuce. Looks like there's a nice salad in our future!
Quick tip: One of my friends suggested putting human hair around the garden and even scattered around the crops to ward off deer and possibly other animals. If you try this out, let me know what your success rate is.
