Stage Rat, thanks so much. I googled it and that is what it is. I will go right out and dig it up. I don't want those in my flower beds. I wish all my flowers looked that healthy though. I forgot to mention lesons learned about which containers worked best for me. My favorite is the round containers that I get cakes or cookies in (also an excuse to buy them). I make newspaper pots, and they are so much easier to plant out than to try and get the babies out of a milk bottle or 2L bottle. I think the newspaper helps the soil also. I tear off the top as I am dropping them in the hole so that they don't wick away the water. All of mine that were planted that way are doing the best. Also, I put a small water bottle in the center and use plastic shower caps (16 for $1) from the dollar store on top of them--it works great. The second favorite is the 1/2 size stem table aluminum pans from Sam's. The shower cap fits on them also with a small water botter to hold it off the babies. I think I will learn many more lessons from the responses to this thread. Thanks again for helping me ID the plant. Also thanks to everyone who shared their lessons learned. It is a great help. Jeane

I enjoyed re-reading all of these. I have a couple more tips. If you don't have a full 8 hours of full sun, but do have 4-6, and you want tomatoes, plant them anyway. Your yields won't be as good, but I've found this year that if you prune the plants, you will get a decent number of large tomatoes. I'm not preserving my tomatoes in any way, so this only applies if you want a few tomatoes to eat. There are a lot of lovely veggies and edible plants that will grow in partial shade, so do your research and you can still grow veggies and edibles without a full-sun spot. Eat your sweet potato leaves. They are yummy. The tender tips are good raw and the older ones cook up well. The tubers will still form, even if you use some of the leaves. Most ornamental sweet potatoes don't have edible leaves (they taste horrible). I use regular sweet potatoes as ground cover just so I can eat the leaves. I never dig the ones in the ornamental beds, and they come back every year, providing ground cover, food, and a never-ending supply of slips for the edible beds. If you have earthworms, cultivate them by giving them lots of organic matter to eat. If you don't have earthworms, get some. They are nature's little fertilizer factories. You can buy red wigglers from just about any bait shop, or go out into the woods early in the morning and dig some up. They are abundant here in FL. Grow flowers! Even in veggie beds, they attract pollinators and better than that, they feed your soul. That's all. Lots to do today since we're having what I hope is our last freeze tomorrow.

I learned having a vegetable garden is great! No kidding, it's my first year having my own. Pretty modest start, with a single 4'x8' raised bed, then again, I don't have a ton of estate on my small suburban lot. What I grew in there: two red tomato plants, three cherry tomato plants, one Italian, three cucumber plants, a few green beans, some shallots. Got a nice steady harvest of cucumber starting in mid-summer. Got plenty of tomatoes from all plants, but season was late for everything and still have lots of green ones on there, but they are plump and large. Have started to eat some a few weeks ago. Had our first frost a couple of days ago, but I cover with a tarp whenever there is a nightly threat. September weather has been really nice so far though, maybe not ideal for kick-starting the ripening process, but it's starting to get a bit crappier now, maybe things will progress a bit faster. I may have 50-60% of my crop still on the plants. I was lucky and did not get any significant pest or disease and I did nothing to prevent it really. For next season, I plan on having two more raised beds of same dimension as well as growing a few plants in large containers/buckets. I learned I should space tomato plants more than 12" apart, as I was told by someone who gave me seedlings. I should also figure out the support scheme before I need it. Same for cucumbers.

Hi, Donna! In my zone, if I transplant in spring I do so as soon as I can work in the soil. It all depends on how wet the ground is...I try to avoid compacting the soil around the hostas but if I get too enthusiastic and can't wait, I end up with more work...needing to fluff up all the soil I tramped on! :( the cultivation around the hostas is beneficial any time as it disturbs and exposes any eggs laid by slugs, etc. If it's too wet, then I wait until I see some pip activity (by that time the ground has warmed and dried somewhat) and get digging before they hostas are fully emerged. It's gratifying to see them in their new location, continuing to push out pips as if they've been there all along! :) In the fall I place markers in front of all hostas - they serve as a gauge for me where to start digging if I haven't left old flower scapes as markers (usually remove all old vegetation to avoid harbouring slug eggs). I love dividing and replanting in the fall but with the heatwave expected, spring it is! I used to divide, or relocate on a whim, all season long but the summers have been hotter each year and regardless of the after-care, I found it stresses most hostas. Those that hate to be moved put on a sulk and some years it set the plant back 2 years size-wise (GE as an example). Everybody has their own preferences (based on their experience, depending on their zone and length of growing season) for when it's best to move or divide their plants. The ultimate goal is to minimize stress on the hosta. Your zone allows you a longer growing season than mine. If your hostas have time to set roots before going into dormancy, go for it. If you are even slightly doubtful, wait until spring - it's much easier moving a leafless hosta! :-) Thanks, Donna for asking for my two cents. I got a wee bit chatty but enjoyed it! Lol :-)