@Larry Pesce Hi Larry — this is so common, and you’re definitely not alone in feeling like everything is either too early, too late, or just… mad at you !!! Timing can feel intimidating, but the good news is it actually gets much simpler once you know what you’re aiming for. A big mindset shift that helps: seedlings don’t die because you “missed the date” — they struggle when they’re asked to grow in conditions they’re not ready for yet (cold soil, cold nights, big temp swings). We can absolutely unpack this more during Monday’s Q&A if you want, because once it clicks, IT CLICKS! Potatoes: I like to think of potatoes in three buckets: early, mid, and late season. Choosing the right variety depends on when you want to harvest. They actually do really well in containers, which gives you more control. The biggest thing with potatoes is keeping light off the tubers. Light = green potatoes. To avoid constant hilling, planting them under plastic, or fabric works great and keeps things simpler. Garlic: For our area, garlic timing is wonderfully straightforward: - Plant right after Halloween about 10" in width and 6 inches in length on a bed spacing wise - Mulch well (straw, leaves, or similar) - Then… basically leave it alone Garlic is surprisingly low-maintenance and super rewarding — especially hardneck varieties, where you get both scapes ( milo is a PRO at harvesting these) and bulbs. Overwintering is mostly about that mulch layer doing its job. You’re honestly closer than you think — “mild success” usually means your fundamentals are solid, just missing a couple timing tweaks. Happy to go deeper with you anytime, and this is a great topic for live Q&A on Mondays too!

That description is exactly what I was thinking, especially since it’s happening with peppers, tomatoes, and sometimes cucumbers. What you’re seeing is called damping off. It’s a fungal disease that shows up when soil stays too cold and too wet before roots are fully established. Seedlings often look strong at first, then the base of the stem thins out and the plant collapses almost overnight. A few ways to work around it: - Keep the environment a little warmer and slightly drier - Make sure containers have good drainage and aren’t staying soggy - Bottom water when possible instead of watering from above - Use a seedling heat mat if you can’t control ambient air temperature — these make a huge difference - Start with clean pots and trays — damping off lives in old soil and residue, so washing containers between uses really helps reduce the risk Tomatoes and peppers are especially sensitive to this early on, and cucumbers can be a little finicky too. The good news with cucumbers is that they germinate quickly and establish fast, so restarting them is usually less painful than restarting peppers. The fact that your seedlings are getting to 3–4 inches tells me you’re doing a lot right — this is about dialing in early conditions, not doing anything wrong. If you want to go deeper on this we can dive into it during our live on Mondays as well!

@Kathy Baker Im with you! I refuse to do it!

@Larry Pesce This made me laugH!!!

@Kathy Baker I love the greenhouse and the fenced in area! Looks like you have a great set up! Hard to imagine what it will be like so soon. Mother nature can be so deceiving!