That's a real bummer....Was it insects that did all of the damage?

EG

wonderpets, I'm so sorry.

Granny

Thanks, EG and Granny. I knew there'd be people here that understood my exasperation.

I have no clue what ate everything. Between pregnancy, family, weather, shortened daylight, and mosquitoes, I don't get to tend the garden as much as I'd like. On my last trip out before this morning, I still had most of the spinach and some of the lettuce. There were a few holes in the radishes, but apparently the culprits wanted to finish off the appetizers first. That was Tuesday evening.

I think I'll take all of my mostly done compost and put it on the bed, then cover it up till the spring. If I can get a free cover of hay or straw or leaves, I'll do that. Otherwise, I'll put some wood chips on.

Now I need to decide if I trust scavenging some dirt from the SFG for the pots that will be on the porch or find another source.

As for pests, I hadn't seen anything in the act. Mostly, I have spiders and rolypollies. There might have been some slime trails on the radish leaves. I was going to look closer today -- too many holes to tell, though.

Sounds like the same pests that attacked one of my plantings of collards. I still haven't figured out what the culprit was, and I really try to stay on top of things. This fall planting is brand new to me, and so far, i've had small amounts of damage from grasshoppers and cabbage worms - that I know of.....
I try to stay as organic as possible, but as soon as the grasshoppers attacked my little broccoli seedlings, I went to using liquid sevin. Then of course, I found 3 cabbage worms on the underside of my little cabbage seedling leaves. I started getting real concerned about this fall crop thing, and I asked my Daddy what his thoughts were about it. He is of course, in his elderly years - with tons of gardening wisdom. He told me that he tried growing a fall garden one time, but the bugs completely destroyed it. So, I've been applying Spectracide on my potatoes, peas, and carrots weekly - and BT once a week for all leafy veggies. So far, so good.....

EG

wonderpets, lay aboard out there close to the plants tonight. In the morning lift it and see if anything is under it. If you have slugs or earwigs doing the damage, they should hide under the board.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

That's good stuff Granny....that'll probably work for my collards, too! Thanks!

EG

Wonderpets! I feel your pain. I'm dealing with the same thing. Can't figure out what's eating them.

I love your name! It's exactly how this place is. "We're not too big, and we're not too tough, but when we work together, we've got the right stuff!"

Oh dear. That sounds terrible.

The little green caterpillar-ish pests that eat broccoli and collards... well, they've been attacking my broccoli. I ran into a molasses recommendation -- anybody tried this one? Or should I just go out and buy BT?

" Mix one tablespoon of molasses with a litre of hot water. Then add a teaspoon of liquid detergent and put in a spray bottle. Spray the leaves, top and bottom about once a week.
An alternative to the molasses spray is a blend of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water. Add a teaspoon of liquid detergent and put in a spray bottle. Spray the leaves, top and bottom to kill off grubs and bugs."