i plant the seeds right in the ground and they seem to do better than transplants. i cover the ground with black plastic and cut holes for the seeds. you have to watch for them to come up so you can be sure they get thru the holes and weigh down the plastic so it doesn't blow too much and re-cover the babies.i have soaker hoses under the plastic - saves water, keeps the soil warm, no weeding! sandy

I've been seeing some plants eaten up by something. I'm not sure what, but I suspect slugs, partly because I did sort of a lasagna bed this year. I didn't do a real lasagna bed, but just layered grass clippings when I cut short for reseeding and leaves (and some compost). It was almost waist high last fall and is now just a slight mound, less than a foot high.

The only plants I lost were volunteers in an area where I didn't want them, so I didn't care. I'll watch the other plants and if I see too much damage, I'll start spreading coffee grounds and/or spraying the leaves with liquid coffee to deter the slugs.

Hmmm, I don't actually know, but i can guess that if only a little hole is left, then maybe some critter is pulling them out. Also, it could be the bed. If they are all being planted in the same bed, maybe that soil was contaminated or just isn't right. If you re-did the bed soil, then at the same time, maybe you could also put a little bit of that metal mesh down and around the bed, to deter critters. Also, if it is the flea beetles, then maybe they need to be dealt with first, then the soil and mesh, then replant. Maybe the seedlings need to stay in their pots a little longer before being transplanted or could you try that wooden plank-thing that someone mentioned? It might give them a chance to take while providing some protection.
I'm just guessing and throwing out the ideas that I would try, but maybe some experienced veggie gardeners will have solid and tried ideas.
Oh, and I don't buy compost, well, sometimes I do, but mostly I just play with my food. I save everything from cherry stems to grapefruit peels to corn husks and lettuce cores. I also put tea bags and the ocassional coffee grounds in. If I forget something in the frig and it goes off, I dump that in and it's juice, too. Ew!! Of course, I'm a vegetarian so meat doesn't get in there. I try to keep all the dairy out, too. Egg shells go in, but not egg itself. Don't carry bought and paid for compost home!! Make your own. Also, I don't know if this is a good idea or not, but I add old crusty dirt/soil to the compost when there is room. I am gonna go out 'n' git me one of them thar pitch forks, too...for mixing the compost about! for now, I just wear gloves and mix it up some. If it has been really dry, which it has, I add a sprinkle of water with the hose. Not sure why, I just do.
Good luck,
J.

I started my own compost pile last March, but it's a far cry from being compost. I water it. I stir it. I throw weeds, kitchen waste, fallen leaves, grass clippings, spent soil, old peat pots, and just about everything I can think of in there. It's still not compost, and probably won't be until next year. Which means if I want compost to mix into my beds this year, I have to go and buy some.

I still can't figure out how that little canteloupe sprout disappeared when it was protected by a hot hat.

What I want to do is work some compost into the former garlic bed. Spray with pyrethrin. Put in plants (or seeds). Spray the plants with pyrethrin.

And pray. I don't know what else to do. I wanted to put melons in the third raised bed where it's sunnier and warmer, but there's no way I can get it set up in time this year. It needs nine cubic feet of soil. I can probably get away with seven cubic feet, but that's still a lot to drag home.

Lilacs, I get the idea that your backyard location is pretty much in the dry shade category - nearby trees with roots underground. Some bugs find this suits them very well, most plants have a tuff time there.

It takes very, very conscientious soil prep and watering to give the plants a chance. Tree roots must be kept out of, at least, the surface few inches.

Today it is hot and I'll water our 1 little garden in the shade from 2 directions with the sprinklers. Not because it needs a whole lot more water but because I want the most even spread of soil moisture possible - no rain shadows.

digitS'

My property is bug central, inside and out. I killed two spiders in my den just tonight. One was a little black one with a yellow thing on its back. The other one was all curled up by the time I drowned it in Home Max, so all I could tell was that it was big. My exterminator uses biofriendly products, but obviously whatever they're using isn't working anymore. After a year of bimonthly service, I'm still afraid to go down into the basement or the garage. And the situation's getting worse.

Another spider got away. A large beetle was wandering around but since he had only six legs and not eight, I let him live. I've also killed earwigs and centipedes in the house this week. And moths, fungus gnats, aphids, and those nasty little flying things that dive for your nose and mouth.

I hate bugs in general, and I'm intensely arachnophobic.

And my neighbors have put a bistro set on their tiny back stoop so they can spy on me in comfort. I was going to get some very large lilacs delivered and planted, but two that I have are dead or dying, and I'm afraid if I plant new ones in this heat, they'll die, too.

How do I get squash and melons to grow? I'm way better at growing squash and melons than I was when I started gardening back in the dark ages. So, if I stop and think what I do different now, compared to then, I come up with the following, some of which may help:

My soil is much much better. Loads of manure in it over the years has made it soft with good drainage.

I water consistently every day.

I don't plant them out until the nights are consistently above 40 - this means early June, not May. I've seen how much plants can get set back by getting too cold early on.

I harden them off for several weeks before planting them in the ground so they don't sunburn. Plants can sunburn.

I fertilize once a week using a soluable fertlizer in the drip system.

I mulch.

There's probably more - my spouse says I do a lot of little things with plants by instinct.

My melons and gourds only have male flowers at this point but they're starting to really take off, but the summer squash might be ready to pick today. The kids are groaning, but the chickens will be happy.

Lilacs here is a picture of our shady corner garden. No squash or melons here, they are out in the full sun. There are lots of flowers and I harvested the 1st tender zukes yesterday - all 6 about 8 inches long.

The corner garden has onions, leeks, lettuce and still a few bok choy. The photo was taken at mid morning, there is practically no sunlight thru the afternoon hours.

A couple of years ago, a pheasant family moved in and removed this area from salad veggie production. We supported 5 baby pheasants to adulthood and their Mommy and Daddy. What they didn't eat, they very nearly uprooted with their dust baths. That's when we went with the leeks and onions, which do very well. This year, we snuck the greens back in and so far, so good.

There are a ponderosa pine, 2 Douglas firs, one larch, one black locust, a large rambling rose, a honeysuckle bush, several large lilacs, and a row of day lilies along the south and west of this garden - - all within 20 feet!!

It might cost you a little money , but consider getting a soil test from your county ag. extension . Melons do well in a high ph soil . Not over 8.0, but up to that number . A lot of early season soil prep , with deeply buried organic humus is vital. Knowing the chemical makeup of your growing medium helps you know what to add . The problem is that you can't take away anything from soil , only add . You can wash away some salts that are present .That takes time. If you are extremely alkaline , add iron chelate, if acid , you add dolomite limestone .You could have a trace mineral defiency. A good soil analysis will tell you what you need to do.

You may not be hardening up your seedlings enough also . I use a growing medium of five parts peat moss and one part washed sand , dampened thoroughly with a weak miracle gro solution. Pack full without tamping , into a large peat planter ( 12 oz. pot?). Three melon seeds per pot . If you're starting under lights , after two weeks you need to start getting them outside ,occasionally at first, only during favorable conditions , left still in their peat containers , of course , moistened with good rain water if possible. By doing this , by the fourth week you should have hearty seedlings , that should survive if transplanted when the weather permits. Thats another thing , watch the low temps . You'll gain nothing trying to plant them if the night avg. temps dip below 45 degrees . I think zones 5 and 6 you need to wait until after about June 6th to plant.I'm growing in Redvale Colorado at 6,500 ft above sea level . I experienced a 2 in 5 survival rate because of the late spring cold spells in the four corners region . Nontheless I now have a good melon patch going . I am trying Extra summer sweet , a Japanese variety from Evergreen Seed Company and Maverick Melons from Johnnys Seed Company. In the future I will use clear plastic tents along with black plastic ground covers to give them an optimum start. This year I dug a deep trench and threw in some old composted cow manure and covered it from one side making a semi-dirt-covered-manure ditch . I used this ditch to pin the one side of the black plastic and heaped the other side with the soil that was excavated from the trench . This formed a slight mound with one side deeper than the other . The deep side I flood irrigate . I have used this same method for years , and it works pretty good.Its probably too late for melons this year.You still may have some luck with Zukes . Just throw a whole packet in a small spot . You're bound to have something come up . Just thin them out some. And you know what , you could try that with the earliest of earliest of melons , Maybe minnesota midgets or butterscotch . You can make a tent for them to extend the season. Good luck Dave

For some reason, I do fine with winter squash but generally have a hard time with melons. I think its just too cool at night where I am, further down the hill, maybe 20 miles, its warmer and they do well. I've given up, pretty much on the standard melons and go for the Asian ones, which are completely different in flavor. Still have issues, in the 4 summers I've grown them, I've only had a decent crop two years.

Winter squash, however, does very well. Mine are growing like bandits this week, most of the vines are now 5 feet long, and full of flowers.