The Mini-Greenhouse: Beans Need Protection!

What do birds, slugs, mice, and snails all have in common?

Duh!  They are garden predators.  These pests want to eat your young sprouts and will destroy them quickly and efficiently.  Bean sprouts are especially prone because the 2 halves of what was your bean seed become the cotyledons.  In other words, the first two leaves that the plant forms upon sprouting out of the ground are still viable edible material for these plant assassins.

Bean Sprout With Cotyledons

So, logically, we must protect our young beans from attack so that their initial growth stage is strong.  This is something I knew going in, as I remember mom and dad covering the pole beans with milk jug halves implanted 1-2 inches into the ground.  This will lead to stronger bean plants and a better harvest.  However, I was lazy and took my chances with uncovered beans.  Lo and behold, half of them were destroyed within a couple of days, and I was left to replant, having learned my lesson the hard way.

Now, my second crop is just peeking out of the ground, and technology is in order.  Humans, be smarter than nature; Use your tools!  As I've made clear, I'm poor, and a poor-planner, so I don't have 40 milk jugs on hand with which to protect my young tender sprouts.  Therefore, I have used my engineering talents to MacGyver some proper replacements.  Actually, to be fair, this isn't really science....just using what's sitting around the kitchen.

Ball Jar "Devices" (hope this works!)

Had I the money, time, and initiative, I would certainly consider laying a long clear plastic sheet over the whole bed of beans.  This would definitely protect against the birds.  However, it looks like slugs are the main concern here.  As I just learned this morning, they will attack your bean sprouts AS SOON AS THEY PEAK OUT OF THE GROUND.  So don't put it off another minute.

Appeasement Strategies Aside: Ways To Kill The Bastards.

If you have other cheap or easy solutions to this problem, please share in the comments section.

Lessons Learned, Success!

As a follow-up to yesterday's post about gardening failures, here are a couple of the grand successes that I have achieved thus far:

1. Hardy Plants = Happy Gardener. To reap the rewards of a vegetable garden quickly and with ease, I suggest planting those vegetables which are so easy to grow, a caveman could do it. About half of the veggies that I've planted have sprouted and grown with gusto, and I've had to pay little attention to them, besides a little watering and a little weeding. Hardy winter greens are the staple here....think kale, collards, spinach, chard, and cabbage. I planted these very early and they've done great. Others that have done well include peas, beets, kohlrabi and potatoes. Furthermore, radishes can handle cold weather and are ready to eat in less than a month. If you're looking to get started quickly, plant a bed of greens and a bed of beets, kohlrabi, and/or radishes and then sip on some whiskey and relax that troubled mind. These plants will do the work for you.

List of Spring and Fall Veggies

2. When starting seeds indoors, give ample space and ample light. I found great success with my seed starts using 16oz. red keg cups (picnic cups, for the young at heart) in place of the small 4oz. peat seed starters. The seeds in keg cups flourished with the added space to grow a large and strong root system. Furthermore, make sure that your starts are getting all sorts of light. Place near a south-facing window, and if the weather is gloomy, I suggest adding artificial light as well. I happen to have old fish tank lights that I used, but if you're rolling in the dough, you might even splurge on a larger indoor full spectrum grow light. I think it's well worth the time, effort, and money to ensure that your seed-starts come up big and strong. The early maturation will lead to even greater success when transplanted into the garden proper.

If you want more in-depth and technical information on starting seeds, I suggest asking your good friend Google. Google knows.