I have at least one problem chipmunk - he/she will pick a cherry tomato from the deck plant, peel it, eat the insides, and stash the peel in a pot with all of its other peels! I have to keep a wire mesh cage (with a top!) over the cherry tomato plant.

BakerAunt, I've mulled over your squirrel feeder idea. I already have many gray squirrels. I'm hoping the red squirrel was just yard-hopping and that there aren't anymore of them. Too destructive to suit me. I'm afraid that if I put out a squirrel feeder that I'd soon have every squirrel in the county! Thanks for the suggestion, though. Next week, I'm going to call my retired tree man. I'm going to ask him if there's a humane way to shoo red squirrels from my yard/trees. I have an oak tree & a black walnut -- squirrel magnets. Several years ago, Mike gave us some information on selling black walnut trees to a tree company. The circumference on mine is smaller than what that company wants. Plus, I'm attached to that tree now and don't want to lose it.

My husband has been preparing our small garden area. He may put the peppers plants out tomorrow. He started some tomato plants as well as fairy tale pumpkins on the porch as well. I will try to buy more of the Dester Indiana tomato plants when the vendor who sells plants starts coming to the farmers market, as we liked those a lot.

Today, I bought a small rosemary plant at the farmers market. I don't know whether we will plant it out and use it until there is a freeze in the fall or if it would be best to keep it in a pot and try to keep it over the winter. Does anyone have experience with rosemary?

Funny thing is my rosemary used to come back in the spring. Last year and this year it did not. In fact last year my rosemary did not do well at all. We'll have to see how it does this year!

My husband has planted four bell pepper plants. He planted two different clusters of cucumbers, that we hope will become pickles. I was able to buy a dill plant and a cherry tomato plant at the farmers' market from the same vendor I used last year. I have an order in with him for more plants next week. He had a lower stock this past Saturday because one of his tunnels was damaged by last Friday's windstorm AND he had a tree fall on his house. My husband has a couple of other tomato plants he started, but he is not sure how well they are doing. We will probably do potatoes again this year. He is not planting any squash, since the honey nut ones were so disappointing last year. He is doing Fairy Tale Pumpkins in a grow bag again this year. He started them earlier, so perhaps we will get larger ones than last year. At some point, he will start green beans.