Depends how fluffy your soil is. In the summer last year, I planted Squash, Cucumbers, etc. right as a thunder storm came in. I read that Cucumbers are supposed to be started again if it rains (not sure why). They all germinated anyways within a couple days to a week. My soil where I planted them was dug down about a foot.

Lass We have several Deer in my area and I Garden in all 3 sections of my yard. The Back and middle yard are fenced and the front is open. While others suffer from the Deer I have no problems at all. The reason for my success is based on a trick I learned in Canada. You can take a strand of wire and tie it around an area you want to keep the Deer from entering,I actually use 60 pound fishing line at about 2ft and 4 ftin the front yard. In those areas where I have fencing I put a strand of fishing line on top of the fence,approximately 12 inches above the fence. The theory,as explained to me was that Deer will jump a fence they can clearly see. The strand of wire cant be clearly seen/measured by the deer.It confuses them and they will not tempt to jump it. The area where I have no fence I placed a lower strand as previously stated hoping it would prevent the deer from going under it and devouring the Roses and Runner Beans. This Trick has been 100% successful,for me, in the 10 years I have been using it. Jim

Petzold6596...I have the burgundy beans planted, That is what I planted last year also. I read online that squash planted next to beans or corn would deter animals because of the sticky plants. The critters don't like to get a taste of stickers (or whatever they are called). I don't blame them because it itches me when I pick or tend to the plants (same with okra). I break out! I looked today and nobody has any squash plants. And, I can't find any seeds either. I do have a big squash patch planted in another one of my gardens. So, if I plant squash, it would be for the pests. I plant radishes by my squash to deter bugs on those plants. I'm a believer in using natural controls.

i had great luck with cukes this year, harvesting enough to make multiple batches of pickles and to feed a family of cuke lovers for 8 or 10 weeks straight. i finally ripped them out today, since i'm going out of town for a few weeks. there are probably so many variables that determine success, but here's what i think worked for me: - start them as early as possible - pick smaller varietals. i had a lot of luck with the f1 hybrid 'cucino' -- self pollinating, all female flowers, and the cukes are ready to harvest just a couple days after pollination. i also planted a generic, burpee plant i got from the bigbox. it did really well, but i still picked them small, before they'd even formed seeds. despite the small size, i was picking a pound a day for weeks on end... it CAN be done! -give them a fair amount of shade. my organic grower friend says that she used to plant cukes in the shade of corn plants when she grew them in washington state -- so, if they need shade in the pacific northwest, they need LOT of shade here. mine got three hours a day of sun and lots of bright light -trellis them as high and tight as possible -neem, neem, neem, neem. the stuff is amazing, the way it deals with fungal problems. -lots of compost -paper bags to deal with the pickleworms. the bags worked well, but only when it was dry -- after storms, the pickleworms (%#$*&^#$#$&^!@#@! things) actually ate their way through paper to get to the cukes.