Yeah, my fiance planted the seeds too closely together, we were going to thin then when they grew, but I've removed them and replanted given the leaf damage. Here's another pic from the damage I found yesterday (this is of the beans, while the first was of the squash). These also just have nibbles out of them (although it's worth noting that my radish and eggplant sprouts were completely demolished last week, not just nibbled). I'm 99.999% sure it's not rabbits, as we rent and our backyard is enclosed with wooden fencing. I do trust they could find a way in; however, we've lived here for 2 years and I've NEVER seen a rabbit. Furthermore, I planted veggies last year and I didn't have this problem. Not sure if this info is useful, but last year we planted much later in the season, and while we did have a bird feeder, the resident bird count has increased SIGNIFICANTLY! Also, the bed is right next to a large bush where the birds live, so perhaps they feel it's encroaching on their territory and trying to prove a point! :) Anyway, I've put up the row covers, so I guess we'll see. One more thing...does this look at all like it could be the work of a grasshopper? I saw a very large one in my yard last week (although not anywhere near the veggie garden), and I had trouble last year with hoppers eating my basil. If it is him, I'm a bit surprised because I have two small potted basil plants i on a fence shelf right now, and they are untouched. Thanks all so much for the continued feedback! I'm a newbie constantly running into issues - it's so great to have people to go to for info! Laura

It's tempting to use landscape fabric but I've found that it's kind of a pain in the vegetable garden. It gets buried by mulch or soil and then roots may start growing from your plants above the fabric which will probably die. Going forward it needs to be removed and it's always a pain. If you want to keep down weeds the old fashioned hoe works well. If you want to use a barrier I'd recommend wet newspaper several layers thick and cover that with mulch such as straw.

The vast majority of ant species will not bother any plants. And pharaoh ants are usually indoor dwellers. I have not heard of ants tunneling or nesting in container soils but I guess it is possible :-) Landscape fabric typically does not allow for very free drainage. In fact, slow water penetration is one of the most common reasons for not using it in a garden setting, in addition to the fact that it doesn't work well to control weeds and is a PITA to work around. Try some fine mesh screen, like window screen, or similar plastic products made expressly for container gardening, like this. May not keep out the ants entirely but it should help. And you can always bait for or trap the ants with something like Drax or Terro.

Our two new asparagus beds needed some heavy weeding a couple of times before we added mulch. Right now in late September, there is Creeping Jenny trying to invade the bed from the edges. All my garden beds are surrounded by lawn. The bed that contains smaller plants did pretty well this year. Last year I edged it at an angle since some spreading weed roots don't like it when they hit air. Also, the riding lawn mower can get closer to the bed. The other thing I do which might not be possible for your large garden, is to edge some critical beds with wet newspapers covered with fresh grass clippings. The mower wheels can ride over this. There's a large market garden near us that plants an edging of flowers about 3-6' deep. Some self seed. It's sort of a wild area that is mostly flowers. My vegetable beds don't need much weeding once plants get established. I mulch potato bed after the first hilling with dirt, with a thick layer of straw. After I plant my garlic later this month, that bed will be covered with straw. The garlic grows up through the straw but rarely any weeds. When I had a large planting of sweet corn, I liked running a mini tiller between the rows. Winter squash does a good job of growing and shading out weeds but after the season, the creeping weeds move in. I have to cover bed with black plastic in the spring to kill the creeping Jenny which then makes it easier to remove with a spading fork. I follow some of the local market farmers on facebook. When I look at their photos of long neat rows I see a lot of straw mulch used between the rows. In my high tunnel I put down wet newspapers covered with grass clippings to keep walkways mostly weed free. I also see the farmers using a lot of black landscape fabric for tomato beds.