An update. Zucchini, carrot, lettuce, parsnip, climbing bean and French bean seedlings all being skeletonized. Out again tonight at 2300hrs with a fresh Pyrethrum spray mixture. The zucchini leaves you could hardly see for the earwigs. All the other plants, occasional earwigs until you gave a puff of spray - then you could see swarms of them. Maybe they do some good but this is the killing season!! Remember, a quick visual inspection at night may not reveal the true extent of infestation. In some places the garden edge boards are two or more high. Every join, gap etc when sprayed showed thousands of earwigs. I do not like spraying and I will try the cooking oil/fish sauce in ground traps - if there is anything left.

Hey veggiefaery, If it is getting hard,there is not enough organic fluff (leaf and grass compost),if it is hard,I am assuming clay ???? If clay,add Decomposed granite (lots) and Pumice again.... lots, and then tons of compost... Your clay is wonderful, but you have to teach it to behave.... a Treatise on Decomposed Granite: Decomposed granite is a rock powder and is an excellent amendment for clay soils. All rock powders are great sources of minerals and micronutrients. All growing soils need them. As the microbes and macrobes like earthworms, digest the insoluble minerals, they break down into the various soluble micronutrients that all forms of plants need. For example, limestone rocks are rich in calcium. Granite rocks are rich in potassium, etc. Seaweeds of course are the king of micronutrient fertilizers and soil amendments. There can be up to 70+ trace elements in seaweed. In locations where seaweed is not readily available; rock powders is one answer to the problem. Research continues to reveal that insoluble tiny particles like rock powder minerals, can be easily digested or absorbed via microbial activity, over time, into the anatomy of growing plants, thriving in the presence of rich organic compost, and other forms of powerful biostimulants like aerobic compost teas. Obviously a heavy clay soil is very difficult to initially dig, whereas a sandy loam is much easier. Heavy clay soils can be improved considerably by adding a lot of sawdust and mason's sand. DO NOT use beach or river sand! Mason's sand, being crushed granite, has sharp edges and actually loosens the soil. One of the least understood aspects of gardening is that of capillary action of the garden soil. It is a proven fact that compressed earth has a better capillary action than undisturbed soil. That is why gardening books tell you never to walk between rows in a regular garden, as that encourages weed growth. And of course people are told never to step in a French Intensive bed and thus compress the soil. But the capillary action is absolutely necessary to bring water up to the roots of growing plants to promote good and deep root growth. In regular garden rows, it is easy to roll a heavy 2 or 3 inch wide weighted wheel (mounted on an axle and handle) down the row directly over the freshly planted seeds, which will then promote deep root growth along that line. The spaces between the rows are than rototilled to eliminate footprints prior to the initial watering. The basic concept of French Intensive gardening is that raised beds are created which have humus added, and the whole bed is light and fluffy to a depth of two feet to promote fantastic root growth. The beds are typically 4 feet wide and 12 or more feet long, with 3 foot paths between the beds.

Carrots do best grown outside in the garden. I haven't heard of them grown indoors in buckets before. However, seeds grown indoors need light from both the warm and cool spectrum. That's what grow lights provide, although they're a bit expensive. Otherwise, pick up a florescent fixture that holds two tubes and buy a cool light tube and a warm light tube. (These fixtures are often available at second hand stores for next to nothing.) Suspend the light on adjustable chain about 4 inches from the top of your plants. Plants grown from seed indoors need to have light for 14 hours a day. If you put this on a timer it makes life a lot easier for you. Good luck! (Because carrots have long tap roots, they don't take to being transplanted into the garden. This is why you won't see them available for sale in nurseries in the spring.)

Hi Craig, I gather there's poor drainage in the area where the seedlings are located???? Or was this a flood?? Or a storm w/ wind damage??? I don't have any advice due to my level of 'in-experience', however, I would leave the area alone for awhile and watch what happens. Things may work out over time. In the back of my mind is a question as to whether or not drainage is an issue in the area. . . and if it is, I'd consider adding some sand, for drainage, to the area if you end up losing the plants. We started our wildflower area a well over a year ago and are just now beginning to see some progress. We have found this process takes alot of time and patience. Keep me posted as to what happens. I hope the plants pull through.