Transplanting with Care

So one of my problems is that plants are too damn sensitive. I feel like I have to walk on eggshells around transplants. Well, Mel (from The Square Foot Gardening book) suggests shading transplants for a few days after planting. So that's what I'm going to do.


I bought some wire and shade cloth. I fashioned wire cages to go over a 1 foot by 1 foot square. Then I covered them with the cloth and set about planting my first three squares - Marigolds.


Now, the last time I planted Marigolds, they were gone the next day. Literally, gone. Nothing. No friendly speck of orange to remind anyone what the stubs in the ground used to be. As you can see, I'm even following Mel's suggestion to water with sun-warmed water (REALLY!?!?!). I'm so desperate for success I'll try even that.


Here's Woody with his friend, Sierra. Why do dogs always act like they're starving? They kept drinking from the water bowl and trying to eat out of the fertilizer box.


Here are my marigolds carefully placed in my garden box. Woody, get out of the picture! (He's actually on his way to munch on my chocolate basil. Really Woody? You eat my chocolate basil? Maybe I didn't kill that one after all...)




So this time, I'm shading those suckers until they acclimate and get over the so-called shock of transplanting. THEN, and only then, can they be properly eaten by whatever bug comes along in the night. They'll be in my garden for at least three days, of course, I won't be able to SEE them, but they'll be there. Damn it, they'll be there.