Up in michigan they joke that the mosquito is the state bird. I'm starting to learn that every state makes that joke, lol... If you had a problem with bugs because of the standing water, put a lid on it. HD & Lowes sell lids for their 5-gallon buckets for around $3.00 USD each and having a lid on it will not prevent the chlorine and fluorine from evaporating off the water. Simply having the water heated and exposed to a light-source for a couple hours is all that's needed. I HOPE/PLAN/INTEND on creating several rain barrel this year however in order to get the barrels made I need to rent a pickup truck to um, pick them up as I appear to be the only person in this state who doesn't have a relative,friend, etc. that I can borrow one from. Every time I need something larger than will fit in my sub-compact Toyota Echo I run into this problem. Building my raised beds and trellises (out of cattle fencing) this year was a ROYAL PITA because of that... Makes me cry a little inside. On one hand, I love the fact that my car, with over 158,000 miles still gets about 400 miles to a 12 gallon tank - except when i have to pay $100 to rent a pickup for a day or two just to buy materials.

Welcome! A lot of good questions here. My number one best piece of advice for you is take a trip up to Austin and go visit the Natural Gardener nursery. Ask to talk to John Dromgoole (the owner), and just tell him that you are starting your first veggie garden and would love to hear any tips he might have. He is an amazing wealth of info, and he's a super nice guy. The nursery is worth an entire day trip, as there is a ton to see with multiple gardens. They even have a veggie display garden that you can learn a lot from. 1. Earthworms are always a good sign. I have one lasagna bed that I started in the fall/winter of 2012. In Spring of 2013, I topped it with about 4" of finished compost and planted it with peppers, zucchini, and beans, and everything grew pretty well. I think my results this year will be better though. It does take a little while to break down, and I think some of the nitrogen was tied up by the decomp process. your length of time to good results could vary, and it will greatly depend on the depth of the bed. If you can build up at least 9-12 inches with your layers, you should get results quickly. 2. Grubs are bad. Whenever I find them, I toss them onto the concrete for the birds to find. If you have the means, buy some beneficial nematodes to get the grubs under control. 3a) It's still pretty early in the season, at least it is up here in Dallas. I have not started my squash yet, and I ALWAYS start squash from seed. If your plant was root bound in the container, it could be suffering from transplant shock. The problem could also be from the weather, over watering, nutrient deficiency... lots of possibilities. A picture would help. Next time, try seed. Most of mine sprout in less than a week (some in 24-48 hours) and grow very quickly. Also, be on the lookout for the dreaded squash vine borer. They are not fun to deal with. Because of SVB, I almost exclusively plant Tatume squash now, which holds up better than most others. 3b) again, pictures will help. Are you noticing any bugs on your plants? Even little itty bitty tiny ones on the under sides of the leaves? Aphids can do a lot of damage... 3c) Pictures! It really does sound like you have a watering issue though... how often are you watering? 4) I use cages. Depending on which varieties you are growing, tomatoes get BIG and HEAVY. Mine tower over my 6 foot privacy fence by the end of the season. If your support system isn't strong enough and a bad storm or heavy wind comes through, your plants are gonners. those standard wimpy cages at most of the garden centers are typically good for peppers and eggplant, but not tomatoes. Do a youtube search for galvanized fence tomato cage. In the garden, you will quickly get over the creepy crawlies. It's a part of gardening life. Just wait till you encounter your first tomato hornworm. :) You will also need to quickly figure out how to differentiate between good bug and bad bug. Baby ladybugs look really scary, but you should NEVER EVER EVER kill them. They are your best defense against aphids. Baby lacewings also look really creepy, but they eat all those nasty whiteflies. 5. I'm not a peat moss fan. I know a lot of people use it, but there are some issues that you should be aware of. Peat is not a renewable resource, and once it dries out, it is difficult to re-wet, so it doesn't really maintain the moisture levels in our Texas summers. Better options (IMO) are coconut coir and expanded shale. However, I have gotten to a point where I don't use either in my beds. I now just use compost, decomposed granite, lava sand, green sand, dry molasses, and zeolite. Find a local dirt source that sells compost in bulk, and you will save a ton. I use Soil Building Systems in Dallas. There is a good raised bed mix on the dirtdoctor website. The only miracle grow product I ever use is their organic potting soil, and even that is a rare occasion. 6) Herbs do great here. Dill, fennel, parsley, and cilantro are cool season herbs that die back during the summer, but if you let them go to seed, they will come back. I think chamomile falls in this category as well. Basil is a summer herb that loves the heat, and it will die once the fall temps are regularly at or below 40. It is easy to root though, so just take a cutting in early fall to overwinter. Oregano, sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, and germander are all evergreen for me in Dallas, and they all do fine in full sun. Mint is one of those things that you have to be 100% sure that you want before you plant it. It will invade every bit of soil that it can, and it's very difficult to get rid of. It's best planted in pots, and not in your veggie beds. If the herbs have been in pots indoors, be sure to harden them off by slowly acclimating them to the outside temps and sun exposure. The best resources I can think of will be John Dromgoole (Natural Gardener), Howard Garrett (DirtDoctor), and you local county extension office and/or master gardener association. You can grow a ton of stuff in Texas. Just don't try to grow lettuce in the summer or tomatoes in the winter. Oh, and don't forget to plant stuff for the bees!!!! Take a look at the seed exchange forum too. You will frequently see posts by people looking to get rid of older seeds. You just have to send them postage. Last thing - be sure to remove any grass from the area BEFORE you fill your beds. If there is any Bermuda grass in the area, it will grow up through your beds and eventually take over.

I don't know how excited this group gets about recipes (I know there are several excellent grilling shows and books out there). Let me just say, this turned out great. Everyone said it was some of the best beef they ever had (really tender, juicey, and great flavor marinade) maybe they were just being extra nice as family and friends ;-). I had never cooked with this cut of beef before (flank). The kids even ate the zuchini, which is saying alot. The squash was a bit too large/mature for my liking, so it softened too soon on the grill (prefer it about the size of small zuchini-approx 1 1/2" x 10" so it is crisp and tender). Put aluminum foil on the warming rack and stowed veggies there while I cooked the beef. All went very quickly and without a hitch despite my feelings of inadequacy being my first real grill endeavor.

That's the trouble with things like a layred dip like that thing some call mexican Sombrero...with and layers of beans, sour cream onions etc...when you first bring out this lovely round dish or stuff it's beautiful...but when people have been diggine into it and it's half gone it doesn't look so pretty...and the big platter is still on the table because you can't move it to something smaller without messing up the layers! However Is erve something like that on Christmas, and I never get to taste it.. it's probably good because by the time I get the rest of the food on the table it's gone. How about putting the layered stuff on a footed cake plate on another plate with chips on? Linda C