Welcome Newbie! As for your two tomato plants it is possible that your soil is nutrient deficient, however, if your other tomato plants are doing well you might want to consider other options. It is possible that these plants have not established a strong root system. The way you can tell is to carefully dig up these underdeveloped plants and see how deep the roots have gone. If you find that the root ball is very compact and tight, simply break it up with your fingers and plant it deep enough that at least 1" of the stem is beneath the soil. This will help establish a stronger root system and will help carry the proper nutrients to your plant. Always remember to water very well after replanting. When planting tomatoes I use a solution of ¼ cup of bloodmeal, 2 tbsp of sugar and 2 tbsp of Epsom salt. Mix this together and sprinkle over the base of the planted tomato plants and water in well. I fertilize with Miracle Grow tomato food every 3 weeks thereafter. As for your squash, if you can distinctly tell that the flowers are being cut off then chances are it is squirrels. The unfortunate thing about squirrels is that there isn't much that will keep them out of a garden. However, one proven suggestion would be dog hair. Squirrels hate dog hair and it will definitely ward them away. If you don't have a dog you can always get this from your local groomer. However, if you are not a dog lover or want the look of hair everywhere, I was told by a friend that the same cayenne pepper solution I use for my tomatoes works well for squirrels as well. Take 5 cayenne peppers and boil them for 5 minutes in a medium saucepan of water. Once tender place the peppers and water in a blender and pure. Strain all seeds through a fine strainer and put in a spray bottle. Spray the flowers every 3-4 days and after every rain. I have been told that this is a wonderful solution to use. Hope these suggestions help - Kara

Dave has given you good advice. Brussel Sprouts do not freeze easily, but need a warm soil to start in. Peas like to sprout in cooler soil and are considered a cool weather vegetable. Both of these can be started in May. As for your herbs--cilantro I have never grown--- Oregano is a perennial that will come through your winters just fine. It grows like a weed-- Basil is a very tender annual, don't set it out until there is no thought of frost-- Rosemary is a tender perennial, it will not over winter in your area. It is best to buy a new plant every year(or if you have a sunny place to over winter it indoors) and strip and dry the leaves as fall approaches-- Parsley is a biennial. It grows one year and sends up a shoot that looks like dill with it's seeds. If you plant it outside in the fall it will do this the next year and you can collect the seeds. Tomatoes of course should be started indoors. Make sure you have holes in the bottom of your planter. They will need lots of water grown in a pot especially if it's in a hot dry place. An 18 inch planter would be better than a pail. As for your flowers-- Calendula has been around forever. You can spread it around in your flower beds any time now. It does not need starting indoors unless you want early plants. It will drop it's seeds and come up the next spring. The rest should be started indoors. I hope you have some kind of light set up or somewhere where the get lots of direct light. Nothing will do well just grown on a windowsill. You are right about the peat pellets. They are not near as good as a good soilless mix in pots. You will have to peal off the outer layer when you plant. When they get dry squeeze them a tiny bit to loosen up the peat. Peat is very hard to rewet when it clumps. Welcome to the world of gardening. There is nothing so frustrating or rewarding. You will get lots of advice and read things and try them and find the way that works best for you. Good luck

awe yes, another one has fallen to the mosaic bug! lol Welcome Cindiloo, those are all fabulous - I agree with debbi, I love that green frame too. GOG work for outdoors - use GEII silicone for windows and doors, For indoor projects you can use Weldbond but be aware that it can take weeks to dry and clear up.

hi: congratulations on the new garden. :) I've had similar to you for almost 15 years. I've got the maple, probably Norwegian ...lol.... it's about ? 40 years old so pretty big. it's got good points and bad points. But first of all let me just say my husband severely, severely pruned it about 2 years back and now we get more sun. Bad: 1.incredible invasive root system ... very dense mass of roots...very shallow rooted plant. 2.those roots will be competing for water and nutrients with your plants. (the tree absolutely will win....look at the size of the tree ...it's a giant ...your plants have to adapt to the tree because it will not be adapting to them) :) If you do plant something like an impatiens ... you'll need to water so much more....just keep that in mind. ... and you can't cut the roots ...they'll just come back. 3. (I think) the roots compact the soil to make it harder - but maybe that's just because nothing can be dug in or because my yard was full of very hard clay soil. 4.drops an unbelievable amount of leaves which cannot be left to rot on ground because they do not break down but form a clumpy solid mess in spring which will kill/choke other plants. Good: 1. it's a nice big tree, lots of shade, blocks the afternoon sun. The squirrels are amusing. :) so ...planting underneath it? in shade? hostas!! :) different ones, different sizes etc... green and white is pretty in shade. I can share but i'm not sure what the zone difference would be ... but ...it wouldn't be until next year - i'm not even in Canada right now. I would also recommend adding a berm (soil mound on top), you can even add shredded maple leaves depending on how fussy your plants are. (i'd recommend going with unfussy plants.) Your plants would need to be able to stand up to the bullying that is maple roots... crowding and having water and nutrients taken from them constantly. if you have a fence you can put up hanging baskets that would be good too ... if impatiens were still around they would be ideal ...at least in the summer. As for the sunny part of my garden ...again ... gardening is not easy ... the roots of the maple are still there... I've built it up a lot (berm) and planted about 9 lavenders ...and a few daisies ...I had Persian mint there which did really well ... mostly anything which likes it dry and sunny. But you don't have that problem ...the sunny part ...you've just got dry :) As for food ... i have a rhubarb near another maple that has been there for ? 20 years but I can't comment ... I haven't used it. all the best. :) ps: looked at your link ... beautiful plants... but i'm not sure which will want water etc.... forget me nots ...are fine... they go crazy but they're dead by early summer ... ferns are no problem ...at least here ...but I pulled them out - the ones I had weren't that pretty ....you have a plant that is similar in looks to bergenia (in the photo)... the primula ...well bergenia is another amazing plant ... and very, very tough ... I grow a lot of it in my front bed and have not put it in the back so I don't know how it will react with maples but might be worth a try. Clematis ... I have tried and will be trying to move the ones I planted 3 years ago ... they've deteriorated ... they were doing fine in other places but I don't think they like maples. bleeding heart ...I've had one for several years and it has seeded too .... it is white ...it looks wonderful but not all summer. ... But ...not under the maple.... mine is in another part of the garden in a largish berm, full dappled shade. lilly of the valley ... I found it very invasive .... and took me years to get rid of. pulmonaria ..(lungwort) ... not so great under the maple, was moved several times and is happy now in another shaded position .... (it took 10 years to find a happy place for this plant but i'm glad I stuck with it.)