Pick off the leaves right up to the top and always plant tomatoes in a shallow trench lying on their side so all of the stem is buried.It will grow roots on the buried stem. Mulch tomatoes as soon as fruit starts to appear to prevent blossom end rot which occurs with inconsistant watering. Plant cole crops and head/romaine lettuce in a 3-2 pattern.As they grow,they will fill in the space and shade the ground. Plant onions,beans,radishes,beets,carrots in rows 3-4 feet wide.Just so you can reach the middle from both sides.Allows for more plants and less of your garden in paths. Place melons on overturned 4 inch pots or coffee cans to get them up into the sun.Warms up much faster than lying under the leaves.If you use cans,make sure to punch a hole in the bottom to drain out water.

Hi, Melissa, what a great post again. I guess first of all, I'm grateful I don't have 400-500 roses! :)) I'm grateful for a very small lot without which I would be into roses WAAAAY too deep. And for the three weeks of rain we had up until 10 days ago which gave us the deafening bellow of millions of frogs every night for a while and now has blessed us with zillions of tiny baby frogs - so many that it looks like the ground is moving! And I WILL be grateful to get more than a sprinkle right now out of the thunder that is making our Brittany very nervous. Like others I'm grateful for my husband, too, who lets me do my thing - constantly with not a word of complaint and listens to me - constantly, only rarely with eyes glazing over. I'm grateful for Melissa, Ingrid, Jeri, Duchesse, deb, Florence, Ann, luxrosa, Pam, MichaelG, Eric, Sammy, Paul, buford, Joanne, seattlesuze, Olga, Anita, patricia43, thonotorose, Diane, Niels, Hamp, and many others that I shouldn't have omitted. You have all taught me everything I know and held my hand so many times. I'm grateful for a warm climate (HOT today!) where I can see roses pretty much year round. Is this why we moved to Florida 32 years ago? And for living in horse country where there's free composted horse manure and for the sweet, generous lady who loads it on our truck. And more and more I'm grateful for Tea roses that grow splendidly here. They came rather late to my garden due to my fear of their size, but they are the only roses that don't give me a moment's trouble. Little by little they are taking more spots away from others that don't like it so well here. Hopefully, I can get the hang of pruning them when the time comes. And I'm grateful for pine straw. What a wonder that stuff is at holding the moisture in sandy soil! And last but not least, I'm grateful for my health that allows me to do what I do. Sherry

Thanks again for the tips! I was wondering about the procedure for the seminars, so terry_r's info helped. I'm flying out of Fairbanks Monday morn to do some shopping, etc. in Seattle on Mon/Tues. Then Wed/Thurs are devoted to the show. I am SO bummed I will miss the orchid sale on Sunday...I'll plan differently NEXT year. I don't know any of you, but will keep my eye out for any signs of GWebbers. I will be wearing something that either has a rhinestone moose on the front or that says North Pole, AK...SEE ya! Barbara

My personal opinion is to leave them. The majority of woodland perennials will do just fine: ferns, hostas, solomon's seal, astilbe, whatever. Do you really need to plant a groundcover? If so, perhaps you could create a small mound for it. In natural woodland areas, mounds can be found, sometimes covered with mosses and small ferns. It is not out of character to create such an area. Yes, in general, the leaves are pure gold, helping to enrich the area free of charge. You could remove some, chop them up with your lawnmower on the side and return them as mulch when you plant your perennials. Small trees are also part of the natural woodland (for example, dogwood). I would certainly try to identify what you have before systematically eliminating based on size. In my woodland area, I used wood chips and grass clippings to create winding paths; I used dead trees to line the paths for a more permanent look. These paths helped define the area and create alcoves for featured plants. Hope that gives you some ideas.