we have rain forecasted for 3-4 days this week. That would be so awesome. Strawberries are blooming, asparagus is giving a few spears, onions look great with lots of new growth. I didn’t get everything planted I wanted to today. I will be off Tuesday so hopefully I can get some stuff done.

Kim, sounds like spring at your house!

I left a few strawberries in the 2 bottom tiers of the Greenstalk. They don't look great. I'm afraid they got too dry over the winter, although were watered some. And, we did get really cold that one week.

Saturday, I spent time outside and in the garden.

The (old) Greenstalk was moved to the shop porch. Soil refreshed and watered deeply. Planted with lettuce, kale, arugula and then restacked.

The two new short ones are on the porch but they haven't been filled yet. Pretty sure I'll just fill them with bright flowers and annual herbs.

Onions were planted. Wow. Dixondale sent very generous bundles this year. I had room for 113. My friend has probably 80 from those 4 bundles AND still theres a lot left. Luckily one of my neighbors took them. The one with the freeze dryer. She's down-sizing her garden this year becasue she has so much preserved and is only doing fresh eating things. I'm glad she's giving these onions a home.

We bought a raised bed with an enclosed bottom at Lowes. It's not huge, but it's perfect for my lettuce (that's not in the Greenstalk). It's in the hoop house now. We also bought soil and compost at Marcums. I really like their soil and compost.

Feel like things were finally accomplished. Still so much to do.

The marigold and butterfly peas are sprouting. No sign from tomatoes or peppers yet. But, they were started on Friday so no big surprise.

We have our tax appt tonight, but hopefully I can get home in time to up-pot some herbs and coleus and snapdragons. They really, really need to be separated.

Not sure what my week looks like--if I'm working Tuesday or Wednesday or not.

We had the baby Saturday afternoon until yesterday afternoon. He came with me to work yesterday and did really well.

Still hoping for rain. Our ground is cracked from the dry fall and winter. Normally it doesn't look like this during this season.

Looks like we have 5 days of rain coming. I don’t need that much. Jennifer that grandson is getting big so fast. What a great garden helper. Reminds me of my Ryder. I miss those days. I looked at the 30 day forecast and it showed one or two nights that are gonna be below 40 next week, but that won’t hurt anything that I have out and growing. I worked in the Orchard at work yesterday and it is blooming like crazy. If it threatens to get cold over there, I will set up a sprinkler andwater that orchard heavily before the impending cold weather. It worked in the panhandle when I was out there to keep from losing the blooms. I fertilized and watered it in. I remember Dawn doing that. That way when it rains the rain already has a path to follow instead of running off. That’s the theory anyway and it seems to work well. I’ve got soil acidifier in all the necessary places and fertilizer around the strawberries on the outside. I need to move strawberries from the old greenhouse outside somewhere becauseants have found them inside and we don’t get any strawberries from that bunch. I ran into my boss yesterday and he said he got a nice strawberry in his food basket. I have a few strawberries coming off in the new greenhouse until the other plants take over. I also fertilized at home. The rain will be nice to fill up my buckets.

This is the first spring that I can remember it being dry enough to work my ground this early. I am trying to take advantage of it. I will be working some of the soil this afternoon.. with my luck, it will start raining, and my soil will be mud till June.

Larry, I hope you don’t get any rain that I’m getting because it’s a lot. They have changed the forecast to five days of rain. I don’t think anybody needs five days of rain. My Orchard and my outdoor plants are ready. I’m fixing to go plant corn. The rain is supposed to start tonight. I’m ready at home as well.

Kim, most people around me say that they need rain, but I am not really hurting for it, but if we don.t some we will be short going into the summer. My garden is in pretty good shape, and I could plant now if the weather would hold like it has, but it's too early for that. We did get a small amount of rain today, but most of the rain is forecasted to start late tonight.

I was out checking the garden, and it looks weird. Some of the areas that I have worked look good, some of the areas that have not been worked have 1/2 wide cracks in it. I don't have good soil, but I just have to work with what I have. My soil does pretty will as long as I add organic matter, but I struggle if I don't. It takes a long time to build your soil. The garden that looks the best is the one I have been working on for 19 years.

I caught my first gopher last night, it's the first time I have used my Gopher Hawk trap. I run my cultivator as deep as my tractor will pull it so I can destroy the gopher runs, forcing them to build new ones. When the gophers build new runs, I can see them, then I try to find a good spot to set my trap. I don't like plowing deep because it pulls up sorry soil, but it has been working to help me locate the gophers before I get everything planted.

I'll take some of y'all's rain.

We've gotten drizzle. Which is at least moisture.

It's been a good but rough week. I'll catch up later tomorrow when hopefully I'll be able to take a break during the workday.

It looks like our rain got here on time, it is just before midnight, and it is raining pretty hard, but I have no idea how much we will get.

Kim, five days of constant rain is a lot for sure. Too much. Unless it's like Oregon and it's light rain.

Not a whole lot to report that is garden related.

Tuesday morning was a quick up-pot for a few of the herbs and the snapdragons. I didn't need to be at work until 10, so got up early to do that. The coleus still needs to be separated and up-potted. I accidentally left the tray of the coleus and herbs in the hoop house. Went to the light shelf to look for them and realized what had happened. (Life has been busy) Luckily everything was fine with them. So, now they're just going to live in the hoop house until they move to their final destination. Where that will be is a new issue. lol

Last Friday, peppers, tomatoes, butterfly peas and marigolds were started. The flowers sprouted right away. BUT, we have tomato sprouts now too. Sungold, Isis Candy, Big Beef, Dr. Wyche, and True Black Brandywine.

And, even some peppers as of this morning. Anaheim and Dawn's Pepper. Those are the newer seed. Anaheim was just purchased and I saved the seed from a Dawn's Pepper last year. The other seed is older and not showing up yet. I should have purchased new Ashe County Pimento seed this year. It's one I really want but this particular packet of seeds has not germinated well over the years I've had it. I had forgotten that until today.

Those poor coleus seedlings need to be separated and I like to think that I'll do it tonight. But, after feeding everyone, exercising, and fixing dinner after work, I know I won't do it. I've gotten really fond of taking an hour or so in my office room to read with a pot of hot tea. I'm really only able to do that on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. Once summer rolls around there won't be time for reading. New favorite tea: St. John's Wort and lemon balm. I used the last of the lemon balm and only have a few St. John's Wort flowers left.

Must dry more. OR freeze dry if my neighbor will still be willing to help me out with that.

On Saturday, the plan is to check out Ellison's to see if they have any Chandler strawberries. Also, planning to start carrot, turnip, radish seed in one of the Vego beds. Oh, and plant potatoes, which still needs to be purchased. We won't do a lot of potatoes this year. Just a small bed. I think that wraps up my cool season things.

Next week, there will be a break from my second job. And I wouldn't complain if the following week was a break too. Pretty sure after I'm paid for last week and this week, the airline tickets will be paid for. Then, just need to pay for the Airbnb and car rental.

Coops need to be cleaned. Winter funk. Possibly will be able to do the small coop on Saturday. Chickens are laying enough eggs now that I can share a dozen here and there.

Crazy that my oldest chicken is 11 now.

Should get back to work now.

What are you most excited for in gardening year? I'm most excited about the herbs for tea.

I am most excited about still being able to get out and do a few things.

We went to Walmart this morning, and I bought (2) 6 packs of tomato plants just to put under the lights, just in case I am unable to get any seeds to sprout, or if I have a set-back, and unable get my plants ready. I also looked in our supply of sweet potatoes for some potatoes that are sprouting. I found a few small potatoes, and a few larger ones that are starting to sprout. The larger potatoes I will cut the sprouting end off and place in a flat of potting soil, the rest of the potato will be cooked, and eaten for lunch. The sprouts are not much more than buds, maybe 1/8" long, but I think they will grow fine.

The two six packs of tomatoes look like I may be able to divide out 17 plants to place in 6" pots so they will get a little growth before planting time. I also plan on starting some tomato and pepper seeds today.

I also hot 10 caladium bulbs to plant. Madge has not made up her mind about where she wants the caladium bulbs planted, so I may just place them in a pot under the lights for now.

We have not got much rain yet. I expect that we have less than 1/2" so far.

Larry I used sweet potatoes at lunch. Scrubbed, cut in half, sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with a little pink Himalayan salt. Place cut side down on foil covered sheet and baked 45 minutes at 425°. Last 15 minutes turn cut side up and sprinkle with a little brown sugar and cinnamon. Oh my goodness!

I haven’t started any slips yet, none of my potatoes are sprouting. I’d like to find a few slips but if and when the mill has them the bunches are way too many for me and I don’t want to waste them.

I did put a huge tuber from ornamental sweet potato in a pot to hopefully make sprouts to plant. A cousin told me she does this every year and has all the plants she can use and give away. We’ll see-it’s been about 2 weeks and so far nothing.

Kim I’m so jealous of your job. When I was much younger that would have been my dream job too, especially with being by yourself so much and able to make your own decisions.

Larry, we still are DRY. We got .0002 drops so far this week. Predictions are a chance tonight but that also includes high winds and hail which I do not want. I’m glad you are using the Gopher Hawk traps. They are by far the easiest I’ve ever tried. I potted up tomatoes today, Golden Jubilee and Bodacious and a Roma/San Marzano type that I saved seed from. I said I wasn’t planting as many this year but the plants are looking good! Tomatoes are my favorite garden treat.

I have lettuce, greens, carrots, sugar snap peas and radishes up in the garden. Plan to plant one tub of potatoes next week and the rest on St Patrick’s day.

Don’t forget we set the clocks forward this weekend.

Glenda, that looks so good. I haven't started slips either.

Where do you store your sweet potatoes? Mine are sprouting and have been for awhile.

My tiny seedlings went outside for a couple of hours this afternoon. This is one reason I like waiting until around March 1 to start them. They can usually go outdoors for sunning/harding off as soon as they sprout. When starting at the end of January, they cannot. really.

Glenda, I wish I could still buy slips in a bundle, maybe I could in Fort Smith, but I have not tried in years. I don't have a good place to store sweet potatoes, and the Covington seem to store better than the others that I have tried, but seem to be hard to find around here. Your sweet potatoes look wonderful, Madge make sweet potatoes like that sometimes, but she bakes them whole most of the time because it hurts our hands too much to try to peel or slice them, that is one reason I try to grow smaller sweet potatoes.

If you have a greenhouse, or heating mat you can get your potatoes to sprout sooner. I expect that that I will place a flat on potatoes on the heat mat ans get some slips. I always start more than I need, I always seem to be able to give my extra plants away. I sure don't plan on starting over 400 plants like I did last spring.

Today is not the outside day I had hoped for, but maybe this afternoon.

We got thunder/lightning/wind, but no rain really.

In good news, Ellisons had the Chandler strawberries so I bought 4 6-packs. We also let them know that Rick had passed. He bought a lot (a lot!) from them every spring.

I also bought a few Yukon Gold to plant in the hoop house bed.

The Lunchbox peppers are joining the Anaheim and Dawn's Pepper in the sprouting club. All tomato varieties have sprouted now.

So....I might bring the coleus up from the hoop house and separate/up-pot inside even though it's so messy. And get the potatoes ready to "chit". Then....maybe it will feel warm enough to do some work outside. I would love to get those carrots and radishes planted. I'm trying a new variety of radish that Jill from Whispering Willow uses. It's a diakon variety. It's called Bravo.

Greenstalk sent a free carrot seed packet with my last order. And they sent a cherry tomato variety with the bases order. It's called Sweet Pole Cherry. Has anyone grown that one? I might start it in June for a fall cherry tomato.

I sure hope my garlic does well this year. Last year was so bad. It was the extreme flooding rain in the spring that caused that. They look really good right now. I don't want to buy garlic again to plant. I want so start saving it again.

Saying that because I've spent way too much money this past week on garden-related stuff. LOL. Stressful. But, I am trying to rebuild how I garden. This is the year for that. With our busy lives, we just have to get it manageable. And enjoyable. I would love to have time just to sit in my kitchen garden and sip tea on a summer evening. Also, we're getting older and it's amazing the difference 12 years can make. In less than a month, we've been here for 12 years. I still have a lot of energy but can feel a difference. Part of me wants to start making a flower bed on part of the backside of our house. I did a portion of the back of the house a few years ago. This other part was going to be an add- on to the house. We won't do that at this point. Before we would spend money on that, we would move to Edmond. But, a new flowerbed could be nice. BUT, wow...that's a lot of work. This house had no garden beds around the house when we moved in. So, I dug Bermuda grass and made some. That was horribly hard work and I just don't know. Honestly, I've considered spraying the grass which isn't what I want to do.

I do remember Dawn saying that gardening in your 50's was harder than in your 30's and 40's.

Maybe I won't start that new bed this year. Maybe if I can get things in order, I'll do it next year.

So....I have a spot where ChipDrop loads have sat for many years. It was covered last year and a section is broken down already. That area has to be somewhat amended, right? It's on the north side of my kitchen garden. What would y'all plant there? Fruit trees?

Jennifer, if you think that gardening in your 40's is bad, just wait till you try gardening in your 80's, I expect that you will still enjoy it, but it seems to take forever to get anything done.

Madge and I went to Van Buren, Ar. for lunch, and stopped at the Farmers Co-op in Van Buren to pick up some flower seeds. We bought an once of Chackerjack Marigold, and an ounce of Shasta Daisy seeds. An ounce of flower seeds seems like a lot. The 2 ounces of seed cost $5.99. I expect that I will start more flower seeds this year than vegetable seeds.

We are still getting a little rain off and on, I expect that the total for the past few days has reached a little over an inch.

I want to dig back through my sweet potatoes today, I hope to find enough to fill a tray. I hope to start a tray of sweet potatoes, another tray of tomatoes and peppers, and a tray or two of flowers.

Larry, I have some Crackjack marigolds started. Not many tho.

Super happy to get a lot done today. Up-potted the coleus. Some stupid critter ate my eucalyptus. I think I can bring one back because it still has leaves.

Anyway...

The chamomile was planted outside as well as the sweet peas. (Still nervous about those).

The spinach and a few lettuces were planted in the hoop house along the edge where the sweet potatoes will go. The remaining kale went into a large pot. Also in the hoop house.

Carrot, radish, and turnip seed went in. I have to remember to go easy with the radish seed. It is larger than carrots so it's possible. I ran out on my second row and had to finish it was turnips.

Johnny's aren't super generous with the amounts of seed, I guess. I probably ordered too small of a packet.

Got laundry done. Got the pots and trays cleaned. Got the eggs cleaned up and into cartons.

A productive day feels good.

I thought that I had more tomato and pepper seeds planted than I needed, but, I sit down and went through my tomato seeds and found 13 more kind of tomatoes that I want to plant, this seems to happen every year, then I end up with more plants than I have room for. I think that maybe the answer to my problem is just not start any seeds at all. I am too cheap to buy that many plants, but I seem to spend a lot of money, and time on starting plants that I have to work to even give away. Is gardening a sickness???

LOL, Larry. That makes me laugh. 13 more kinds of tomatoes and no room. I'm in the same boat. I have tomatoes to take to SF and no one will want them because everyone wants their own favorites. And they'll have their own to try to give away.

Lately, my theme song has been Antihero. But only because of that one line in the song, "It's me. Hi. I'm the problem, it's me."

And, I sing it (in my head) to other people as we're trying to clean out offices and rooms, and storage closets at work. People store things at work as an extra place for their hoards. And myself as I drag home stuff from both jobs. Because, at the new job, they'll throw perfectly good stuff away because there's no room for it. And that leads to piles of stuff at my house. In my car. And I'm trying to get organized and downsize.

So...to me and to you and to my co-workers, and friends who start too many seeds....."It's me. Hi. I'm the problem, it's me."

Jennifer I store my sweet potatoes in my greenhouse under an old stove. Temperature is never below freezing, they set in a darker corner out of the way and warm enough to cure yet humid enough to keep well.

Larry I do have a heat mat that I start seeds on so I’ll put my tray on that to start slips. Thanks for the advice. I usually just stick one in a jar of water.

My coleus are not quite large enough to pot up yet. I had a packet of Canterbury Bells someone gave me. I think every seed came up. I’ve never had them so will have to decide where to put them. The periwinkles I potted earlier are growing but very slow. I need to start some marigolds too. I have a few black-eyed Susan vines that look healthy. And I bought a package of the Kindergarten sunflowers to try this year. They were expensive but I’m hoping to save my own seed for next year.

I have broccoli ready to put out but waiting on rain. We got officially .004” here but it didn’t disturb the dust in bottom of rain guage.

I got new Burpee order in today. I ordered the Big Tom tomato - it looks promising. I am another that plants more than I need. Like you said I wouldn’t buy extra plants but when I raise my own I plant to have all I might need and a few to give away. Probably spend more than if I bought them all. Yes Larry, gardening is an addiction, but one of the good ones.

Lynn I am laughing because I have been known to let a nest of bunnies live in my raised beds even though I know they are going to eat it as soon as they get big enough. We’ve never allowed anyone to hunt our property except for the last couple of years I’ve let a responsible friend hunt geese a couple of times to run them off from fouling the ponds and all around them plus he takes and eats everything he kills. I have shot coyotes, , possums, and skunks that endanger calves and chickens. We have lost calves to coyotes a couple of times. I complain constantly about the deer eating flowerbeds and garden if accessible-(when we had a dog they never came in close) but I refuse to shoot at them. My husband doesn’t understand that but as I’ve gotten older I’ve got softer in some ways-mainly in the head.

Our Sunday morning low was 34°

It was not very smart for me to drag out my slip potatoes from under the bed. Madge saw the pile of potatoes that I had piled at the end of the bed, and cooked them. I like small potatoes to use for slips, Madge also likes small potatoes to cook.

I use the back side of the bar for seed starting bench, so you see how nasty I am.

When Madge sat the potatoes on the table, I thought that they looked familiar. I then checked my pile of slip potatoes, and only 3 were left in the pile. You have heard the term " Back to the drawing board", well, for me it is now " Back under the bed" to dig out more potatoes. I had pick out about all of the smaller ones, because that is the ones that I like to lay in the flats to make slips. Madge and I both had rather have the smaller potatoes to eat also.

I planted a flat of flowers this morning. up-potted some tomatoes, and placed about a dozen caladiums bulbs in potting soil.

Lynn, I did the same thing with rabbits many years ago. I had reworked a large section of our front lawn, and planted rye grass to hold the soil in place. The next spring I was mowing the grass that had gotten much too high. The mother rabbit ran out of the nest, and I expect that she never came back. My two younger kids thought that the baby rabbit were going to die, so we brought them inside to try to care for them. We would have a crying spell about every morning as we would bury another baby rabbit, none of them made it.

Thanks for taking care of the baby bunnies, Lynn.

I have Big Beef seedlings now. Can't wait to see how they do for me.

Glenda, that sounds like a great set up for your sweet potaotes. Mine start sprouting pretty quickly. I don't have the best place to store produce.

Let me know what you think about the Kindergarten sunflowers. I almost ordered some but decided against it. I need to slow my roll.

Lol, Larry. That makes me laugh. How did your slip potatoes taste? :D

I woke up Saturday night/Sunday morning will my wrist all flared up. It was quite painful yesterday. It's better today but not great. I've been babying it. No time for this.

With my left hand, I cleaned out the future strawberry bed. There's a trellis attached to two t-posts that needs to come out. But, with my wrist and Tom's recovery, I'm not sure how I'm going to get it out. I want it out before planting the strawberries. I also need to add a large bag of soil and a bag of compost. But, again....my wrist and Tom's recovery. Maybe my wrist will be better in a couple of days.

The asparagus is coming up. This is early for me. Usually mine doesn't show up until April.

Jennifer, a post puller is cheaper than a Dr. visit.

I would be lost with my post driver. and post puller.

The slips taste great.

I also cut back on the 13 more kinds of tomatoes that I found to plant, I only planted 12 more kind, because one pack did not have any seeds in it.

I just came back to my recliner, and going through some of my seed stash, going through the seeds, and asking Madge, "you want some of these, and these". I now have 8 more things to plant. It id so nice being married, I can blame all my screw-ups on Madge.

It had been a beautiful day here. We have had a little rain, but not bad.

Madge and I decided to go over to the old house. I have been wanting to dig up some of the vinca minor that I planted over there 20+ years ago. On the way to the old house we noticed a beaver dam across the creek, if we get the rain that is forecasted, this dam will be in Oklahoma in a day or two.

A place sure goes to pot when you get unable to care for it. While out I notices a lot of other areas that need attention.

No matter how long I raise tomatoes, I learn something every year.

Lesson #1 Cottonseed Hulls

Two or three years ago I had an extra bag. Stored them in my shed. They're not cheap, I think right now its about $30 a bag for a 40# bag. Well, the rats and mice had a hey day. Lots of seed to eat, great place for nests, and they made a mess in my shed.

I had a leftover bag last year and thought I'd go to the garage instead of the shed. I put the bag against a wall that was common with our kitchen.

Late Nov maybe Dec, we began seeing this little tiny beetles on our kitchen counter. They were about 1/8" long. Some were dead, most were just playing possum, and it wasn't just a few, some mornings I counted over 20. I went to work Googling to find out what they were. I pretty sure they're what's called drugstore beetles or cigarette beetles or pantry beetles.

Google AI directed me to look for some food in the pantry, like flour, cereal, etc that was contaminate with them. We found nothing. We moved anything they could possibly use into air tight containers.

Still plenty of these bugs. And I found them in the strangest of places. Cleaned out under the sink. Used diatomaceous earth. No results.

Early last month, I'm getting my seed starting supplies out, which I had stored under the cottonseed hulls and I found the source of the beetles. They were in the hulls. Moved the hulls out and the bugs started disappearing.

I think I'm done with hulls. Gonna try grass clippings this year.

Lesson #2 Don't worry about using last year's seed, or even older seed.

I alway over plant tomatoes, so that I have replacements. And that's really got out of hand and I've been giving away a lot of plants. This year, I was set on scaling back. I've even considered reducing the size of my tomato patch. Not growing so many.

In past years, I would plant two seeds per cell in my trays. And I would buy fresh seed every year. I figured seed was cheap and if I'm gonna put a lot of work into this, I don't want to risk low germination.

Well, this year I planted some seed that was up to 3 years old, it was Cherokee Purple seed from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. I got 100% germination. Same with some Big Beef seed from last year. And I only put one seed per cell in my trays.

It had been a classic case of using an " over abundance of caution " .

I gotta learn to not make this harder than it has to be.

And oh yeah, I strongly suspect the cutworm infestation I had a couple of years ago, came with the cottonseed hulls. Even if they weren't in the hulls, the hulls gave them a great hiding place.

My wife and I say every year that 12 tomato plants are plenty, but we have never been able to cut back to 12 plants. A lot of gardeners have a learning disability, at least a few that I know do. My 12 plants may turn into 50+.

Lynn, it's interesting that you mention drugstore beetles and cottonseed hull. Maybe two years ago we had an infestation in our house. At first I didn't think much about them because they're so tiny. Then, I noticed they were in all of our dried goods including tea, which is dried herbs. (That's reason they're called drugstore beetles. The old timey drugstores used herbs and herbal remedies). It was maddening. We threw everything out and put new stuff in sealed containers. They were in the horse treats, the dog treats--all the dried things! We had another infestation in the utility room last year--only the horse treats this time. Amy suggested that we use beetle traps and that worked. It takes a few days, tho.

All of that to say that I used cottonseed hull right outside the kitchen in the flowerbed.

Sounds like you found them before they moved into your pantry goods.

They've a 30 to 35 day life span. I moved the hulls a couple weeks ago and we're still getting stragglers. I killed two this morning.

I've had some long conversations with Elon Musk's Grok AI and Google AI about them. I learned a lot but only till I found them in the garage with the hulls did I get the problem solved. At least I think its solved.

We had hundreds of them, if not thousands. They accumulated in the strangest places. I had some plastic shopping sacks I was saving to use as trash sacks, and they were thick inside. They'd found their way inside all my planting trays. I had some aluminum hotel pans, up high on a shelf, and they found their way inside the pans but couldn't get out. Grok told me they were not very good climbers, so if they went down in something, they could not get out. Supposedly, they can fly but we never saw them flying.

And we had nothing that AI identified as a source.

Here's what Google AI told me about the source ......................................

How to Find the SourceThe beetles are breeding in a food source, and you will likely need to find and remove the infested item(s) to eliminate them. Check the following areas:

• Kitchen Pantry/Cabinets: Inspect all dried goods, including flour, cereals, rice, pasta, crackers, dried fruits, nuts, spices, and pet food.
• Garage: Check any pet food bags, bird seed, or even stored dried flowers/ornaments on your workbench.
• Undisturbed Areas: Look in the back of cupboards, under sinks, behind appliances, and in cracks/crevices where spilled food or debris might accumulate.
• Rodent Bait Stations: Drugstore beetles have been known to infest grain-based rodent baits.

Here's Google AI's entire response ...................... told me to search garage, but I never thought about the cottonseed hulls.

=================================================

If you have thoroughly checked the pantry and found no source, the beetles are likely originating from a less obvious, non-food source, possibly in an undisturbed area or even in your garage. Drugstore beetles have a remarkably diverse diet that extends well beyond typical pantry staples. [1, 2]

🤔 Expand Your Search: Unconventional Sources

The key is to look for any hidden or old dried organic material. The infestation could be in items you might not consider a food source. [3, 4, 5]

Kitchen and Other Indoor Areas

• Spices and Herbs: These are very common hidden sources. Check old or rarely used containers of spices, especially things like red pepper, chili powder, or dried medicinal herbs.
• Pet Food and Bird Seed: Look for forgotten bags of pet food, bird seed, or spilled seed in hard-to-reach areas (behind appliances, under the sink, in the garage).
• Dried Decorative Items: Infestations can stem from potpourri, dried flower arrangements, old wreaths, or craft items made with beans, seeds, or nuts.
• Non-Food Organic Materials: Inspect items like wool, leather, hair, books, manuscripts, and upholstered furniture, as these can also be food sources.
• Pharmaceuticals: True to their name, they can infest certain medicines or vitamin pills, particularly those made with herbs or plant materials. [4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]

Garage and Wall Voids

• Rodent Bait: This is a very common hidden source. If rodent bait packets were placed in the garage or a crawl space previously, the grain-based bait can sustain an infestation for years.
• Abandoned Nests: Check for old rodent or bird nests in wall voids, attics, or under eaves, as these often contain hoarded food (seeds, dog food) that beetles can feed on. The beetles can then emerge from a nearby wall void into your living space.
• Spilled Product: Check the workbench and garage floor for any spilled products that may have been overlooked, such as grass seed, pet food, or stored grains. [8, 12, 13]

👀 Signs of Infestation

Since you aren't finding the source easily, look for the following clues:

• Exit Holes: Look for small, round, "shot-hole" punctures in packaging (cardboard, foil, thin plastic). Adult beetles chew these holes to exit the material after maturing.
• Dust/Frass: Find fine, dust-like insect waste (frass) near potential sources.
• Larvae: The larvae are small, white, C-shaped grubs found inside the infested material. They are the primary feeders and are hard to spot outside the source. [14, 15, 16, 17]

💡 Next Steps for Finding the Source

1. Systematic Inspection: Expand your search systematically outside the main pantry area. The 5-10 foot distance suggests the source is nearby but hidden (e.g., in an adjacent cabinet, under the fridge, in the garage, or even a wall void).
2. Pheromone Traps: Consider using drugstore beetle pheromone traps. These attract male adult beetles and can help pinpoint the general area of the infestation when placed in different locations. You can purchase these traps online from pest control suppliers.
3. Check Appliances: Don't forget to check behind and under large appliances (refrigerator, dishwasher) where food debris might have accumulated. [18, 19, 20]

Finding the exact source and removing it is the only way to eliminate the problem permanently, as insecticide sprays alone are rarely effective against the hidden larvae.

So, its apparently spring. How can I tell?

1. Ants. I had to get my ant bait stations out. They’ll finish up when summer starts.

2. My pecan trees have budded out. Dawn told me that.

3. Tornado sirens. The song of my people.

3b. Severe weather tv coverage. The official state tv show.

Yep, I have flowers too. Hyacinths and daffodils blooming. Peonies up. Lilies and gladiolus breaking ground.

Onions look good. Sugar snap peas up. Potatoes peeking out, but I’m going to cover them back up because that bed needs topping off.

Tomatoes coming up nicely in their jugs. I tried not to overplant, because of what you said, HJ, but I also need enough to fill out my plan.

I need to step up with my flower starting. I’ve got a couple dozen jugs out, but I’m behind.

Has anyone ever grown peanuts?

Now ants, that's my thing. Mrs Dollar calls me the Ant Man.

First step, clear off your kitchen counters. Put a glob of jelly in two or three places. Leave it overnight or long enough for the ants to find it. They will form a convoy taking the sugar back to the colony. Then you can track where they're coming in the house.

Once I locate the entry point, I spray that area with an insecticide. It will act as a repellent. Then I close the opening. Use silicone caulk or duct tape. or whatever it takes. A common place is the pipes under the sink.

As to peanuts. Never tried it. Peanuts, along with cotton, were one of the main crops on my grandad's family farm, from about 1920 to 1950. I don't see anyone doing that today. In fact, right on the spot where the family home was located, is a marijuana farm.

Sign of the times. Not sure that's a good sign.

Rebecca, I should check my pecan tree to see if it's budding.

I've not grown peanuts. Are you trying it this year?

Lynn, I have an ant for you to research. It's a difficult one so of course that's the one that plagues us! It's called Pharaoh ant. It's so small you think it's just crumbs on the counter until you see a line of them. They are very, very tiny. I've read that they are called "Pharaoh" ants because they were found in sealed tombs. We finally asked our friend to spray for us. They were terrible.

About the Drug Store beetles--we dumped a bag of horse treats into a large plastic container with a lid. Those things survived being sealed up for months. I suspect they were laying eggs and continuing that way. I just left it sealed up and watched because it was so odd. But, eventually I just dumped a chemical cleaner into the container to kill them and washed them down the drain with the soggy horse treats.

We got no rain last night. Nothing. It's missed us every time this year. I was holding out watering because the experts were really sure we would all have rain last night. Nope. So, I'm about to drag out the hoses, get them set up with a sprinkler. It's just incredibly dry. I have asparagus and perennial herbs, flowers, and other things waking up and they need moisture. And my onions and garlic. There's no rain showing on the 9-day. I get so sad when we're dry like this. Normally, I don't consider moving to another state until July, but....

lol

I'm home today. Thankful for that. I have a huge list of things to do, but watering is first. With the wind, I'll have to see how to use the sprinkler. That's what we get the wind. Not rain. Just wind.

I grew peanuts a few years ago, I love peanuts, but I do not like growing them, they seem to take too long, then there is a long curing time. I also have a lot of critter problems with peanuts. My dad grew peanuts when I was a kid, and he knew more about dealing with the critters, and we did not have deer in this area when I was very young.

We went to Ft. Smith to get Madge's glasses, and of course I had to stop and buy more flower seeds. My Crackerjack marigolds are coming up like crazy, tomatoes are starting to pop through. I have not seen any of the Shasta daisies, or any peppers popping through the surface yet.

HJ, here's what Google AI has to say about pharoah ants. I think the last line is most important. They're saying pharoahs need a pro exterminator.

=======================================

Pharaoh ants (Monomorium pharaonis) are tiny (1/16-inch), yellow-to-light-brown, tropical ants that are major indoor nuisance pests worldwide. Known for nesting in warm, humid, and hidden areas (wall voids, appliances), they are difficult to control because they use "budding" to split colonies rather than swarming. They are notorious for infesting hospitals, kitchens, and food establishments, where they feed on sweets, fats, and proteins, and can transmit pathogens like Salmonella and Streptococcus.

Wikipedia +6Key Facts About Pharaoh Ants:

• Appearance: Very small (1.5–2 mm long), with a light yellow, orange, or nearly transparent body and a darker abdomen.
• Behavior: They do not swarm; instead, colonies divide through "budding," where queens and workers move to a new location, making them hard to eliminate.
• Diet: They are omnivorous but prefer grease, oils, and sugary foods.
• Health Risk: They are major sanitation threats in hospitals, known to crawl into wounds, sterile dressings, and intravenous lines.
• Treatment Difficulty: Over-the-counter sprays often cause the colony to split (bud), making the infestation worse. Specialized baiting by professionals is recommended.
• Habitats: They thrive in heated, humid, indoor areas, including kitchens, bathrooms, and near heating elements. Wikipedia +8

Because they are so difficult to control, hiring a professional exterminator is usually required for a complete, effective elimination.

However, they appear to me to be the same as other small ants in behaviour. A professional exterminator will use a product that has Fipronil 9% . That's what an exterminator told me when I had a colony of carpenter ants living in the eave of my house. And I called the State agency that regulates exterminators and they confirmed that Fipronil was what most used.

I would do the same as other ants, put out some jelly or something sweet to attract them and hope they lead me to their colony. Then I would use the Fipronil, which is really odd stuff. The ants don't have to ingest it, they just have to crawl through it. Its slow acting and they take it back to the colony where it kills out the entire colony. Its really a bait for termites, but also works on ants .

There's a version at Ace Hardware called Combat, but its Fipronil 1% . I've used it and its not as effective as the 9% the pros use. We can buy the 9%, its sold under the brand name of Taurus S/C . Its kind of pricey, I paid $50 for a pint, but that was 6 years ago and its still effective.

Its meant for outdoor use, but I've used very small amount indoors. Outside, I spray the foundation of the house and about 3 foot up the outside wall. Indoors, once I find where the ants are coming in the house, I spray that area. So they will crawl throught it, cause that's all it takes.

Here's Google AI on Fipronil

===================================

Fipronil 9% (commonly found in professional-grade products like Taurus SC) kills ants by acting as a slow-acting, non-repellent nerve poison. It interrupts the insect's central nervous system by blocking GABA-gated chloride channels, causing paralysis and death. Ants transfer this slow-acting chemical to the colony, resulting in total nest elimination.

Phoenix Environmental Design Inc. +2How Fipronil 9% Works:

• Non-Repellent Formula: Ants cannot detect the chemical, so they freely walk through treated, "non-repellent", barrier zones, ensuring high exposure rates.
• Transfer Mechanism: Because fipronil 9% is slow-acting (taking 24–36 hours to kill), ants have enough time to travel back to the colony and share the bait or contact poison with others via contact or trophallaxis.
• Nerve Disruption: Once absorbed or ingested, it interferes with the nerve impulses in the ant's body, causing uncontrollable hyperexcitation, paralysis, and, eventually, death.
• Residual Control: It leaves a long-lasting residual that can remain effective for up to 90 days, providing ongoing protection against re-infestation. Phoenix Environmental Design Inc. +3

Usage Tip: It is typically used as a perimeter spray for ant control, and should not be used on food crops or in large, open, non-structural areas,

BTW, it would not surprise me if your drugstore beetles were in the cottonseed hulls.

Wow, it was windy today. I was out for about an hour cleaning up the tomato cages and stakes. Had a hard time keeping up with my trash bag.

I may try a couple peanut plants, even though I’m sure my squirrels will get into them. Maybe that will keep them out of the tomatoes. I like to try one new or weird thing each year.

Lynn, my ants are creatures of habit, lol. They come in the same places every year. I put out the Terro bait stations inside and out, and the problem goes away until the next spring.

I’m on freeze watch. Debating putting the first few tomatoes in in about 10 days. Weather permitting.

Theres already a fat flower bud on one of my newer peonies. It’s only mid March. Everyt Everything is so early.

Larry, like you and Madge, I prefer the smaller sweet potatoes too. Is there a way to grow smaller potatoes instead of a couple that are huge?

Jennifer the rain missed us again too. Actually the Mesonet said we got .002” but none of my gauges had even one drop. Today I had to water the sugar snap peas I soaked and planted yesterday.

Our weather prediction is 33° tonight and 29° this weekend.

I planted peanuts 39 years ago. They were and easy to grow. But when I pulled them to dry I had to fight the crows and squirrels. My dad planted lots of peanuts when I was growing up. We used to pull them and pile them on a flat trailer to dry.

We would store them in net or gunny sacks and roast in big pans in the oven.

Terro bait stations never worked for me. Problem is, the ants have to eat the borax. It can be a long process before they even find it. With fipronil, they just have to walk through it.

Y'all, it got to 29 at my house. I wasn't expecting that. Hopefully all the things in the hoop house made it. Most is cool season, but there's a few herbs that are not. It was still dark when I left for work so didn't have time to check it out.

The chicken waterers weren't prepared either.

The potatoes were planted yesterday so that's done!

The sprinklers could not be run due to the extreme wind, so hand watering it was.

I pulled the shade cloth off the Vego bed with carrots and radishes. Roly Polies are thick. It looked like a few radishes had sprouted so hopefully they didn't eat any already. Last year, I ordered the Captain Jack for slugs, snail, and pill bugs. Hate, hate doing this. But, I also want a crop of carrots, radishes, and turnips. Same with Bt on my cabbage plants. Don't like using it at all.

Last year was the first year that pill bugs have been any sort of issue for me. Occasionally they would eat a strawberry--no biggie. Last year they were actually climbing trellises. That's not how roly pollies normally act....so weird. They ate carrot seedlings as soon as they popped up last fall. I got a total of about 10 carrots. lol. I just pulled them out yesterday. Anyway, there's plenty of mulch and dead leaves, etc. for them. Don't know.

We ate our first harvest of asparagus with dinner last night.

Glenda, I have been experimenting with my sweet potatoes, and it seems as if I plant some plants out early in May, and when they start making runners, I then plant the runner (18 -24 inches long). I will then plant the runners across a mound of soil, at an angle, about 12 to 18 inches apart. I leave the leaves above the soil, then not feed or water the plants a lot. My idea is to not get the plants to grow at their peak, staying a little hungry. I like for my plants to grow through June, July, Aug. and Sept., then harvest the first of Oct.. A lot will depend on how good your soil is, and how much water the plants get. My best potatoes come from an area that gets a little shade. I expect that each garden will be a little different, but mine seem to do better if I can keep them growing evenly, if it gets really dry, then we get a good rain the potatoes sometimes will split. Foe me, I have better luck with the Covington sweet potatoes, but I have call several places within a 50 mile radius, and cant find anyone that has the Covington slips. I even called George's plant farm in TN, and they did not offer the Covington.

I got my start of the Covington several years ago, and I gave been making my own slips since then. I would like to buy slips rather than making my own, but maybe it will be easier for since I plan on cutting back on my plants.

I met a new garden friend this week, a nurse at the clinic, and she told me that she had a green house, and just bring her anything that I wanted to start and she would do it for me. I am not to that point yet, but I did tell her that I would start extra slips for her. It make me feel good to have have people to offer to help, but I have taken extra plants and produce to the clinic to share with the staff, maybe that is one reason that I get offers of help.

So far my tomatoes seem to be sprouting pretty well. My peppers are a little slow, tut that is always the case. I dug out a couple of heat mats yesterday, I may have to use the mats to give my seeds a little boost.

Jennifer, my Crackerjack marigolds are coming up better than anything else that I have planted, other than Madge's Two Tasty tomatoes, I think that I got 100% germination on Madge'e tomatoes.

That's great, Larry. I didn't plant many, but they are lovely.

Kim, have you seen the new Greenstalk attachment for strawberries? Super cute. Little "bowls" that attach to the pockets. These will be great for runners.

Jennifer, I have not seen that yet, but I am going to have to check it out. I tried to get ahead of the game over here and now I’m going to have to cover so much stuff. Potatoes, beans, tomatoes, Barry bushes and I will be running the sprinkler in the orchard on Sunday because we are supposed to have a frost Sunday night and possibly Monday night. But then we should be in the clear.

We had frost last night, but 3 of the 4 fruit trees look okay. I was given 2 Santa Rosa plum trees and 2 New Haven peach trees last year, and it look like I have lost one of the plum trees, but it wont matter, because of late frost it is hard to get ant fruit in this valley. Many years ago I could pretty good with pear trees, but not much else.

It looks like everyone has plenty to do, except me.. I think that I have all of my seeds started now, except for me finding 5 more kinds of seeds that Madge said that she would like to have, mostly flowers.

I also have a large bowl of cooked sweet potatoes. This is the first year that I have ever used mostly the severed sprouting end of the sweet potato to make my slips. I have done this on a small scale in the past, but only when Madge would make a meal, and remove the sprouting end of the potato when she was going to make a pie. I use to have a rain gutter attached to the inside of the kitchen window with potting soil in it just for that purpose. I expect that Madge will make pie filling and freeze to be used later. I still have 5 trays of stored sweet potatoes, which should last till I have fresh sweet potatoes to dig.

I get uneasy each year waiting on my peppers and sweet potatoes to come up, but in the past it has always been wasted energy, because they always came along in time, most often ahead of time. I doubt that I am the only gardener that tries to jump the gun.

I'm still waiting to till. Should have it tilled by now.

I've been watching the rabbit nest. I've not seen mama rabbit go to feed the little ones till yesterday. I've got a camera set up from a distance away, and she's not shown up. I happen to look out the window and she was sitting on the nest around 5 pm.

Supposedly, the bunnies spend 2 to 3 weeks in the nest. Maybe I got 2 more weeks. And I don't know what they're gonna do when they leave the nest. I picked up a cat on my cameras last night at 3 am. Bunnies are no match for a cat. Honestly, I'd like to trap and relocate the cat.

But I'm thinking I'm gonna leave a patch of rye grass for them to hide in ..... for a while. And they can get under my shed, if they find it.

My plants aren't close to going in the ground yet. We're gonna get a hard freeze tonight, as low as 23* . But gonna have a few days in the 90's later this week, that should raise the soil temp. I'd really like to have the garden tilled for that.

I'm moving the plants outside for most of the day. Today will be inside with the predicted 35 mph gusts.

I got those fans strung together on the bottom shelf yesterday. Zip ties are a marvelous invention . Can't see the plants, its mostly peppers.

Lynn, you are doing much better than I am.

The larger tomatoes are (2) 6 packs, which contained (17 ) plants that I bought to get a size on them before planting time. All of my other plants are too small to do anything with. The grow lights make the plants look a little odd. I need to up pot and get the lights down closer to the plants.

New thread up.