Jen Fulkerson

It's a strange coincidence, but it's been exactly 2 months. I have interesting results. On the bed that has the soaker hose the shredded cardboard works great. I didn't have to water as often and everything in that bed grew very well. The only negative for this bed was totally my fault. Twice I forgot I was watering, and watered for about 24 hours. Luckily I only lost one plant.  The beds I hand watered didn't work as well.  The cardboard tends to work it's way into the soil and disappear pretty quickly.
So at this point I've learned if I use a soaker hose shredded cardboard makes a great mulch. If I hand water, I will have to use it in the beginning, and plant living mulch, or keep adding the cardboard.  All in all I'm happy with this little experiment.

I guess I have been spoiled in the past with amazing chips.
Please don't think I'm not grateful, or complaining. I'm very grateful, and they will help in several areas. I think of the past when I didn't know I could get free wood chips, and I spent a lot of money, and lot of plastic waist to get wood chips. Yep I'm very grateful.

2025 My seed starting table is getting lots of use.  It has been great all year, but especially now for fall seed starting. Like I said before, fall is tough because lots of the summer veggies are still going strong, but it's time to get fall stuff started, so it makes sense to start seeds in pots.  I'm using my top to make sure my seedlings are safe from hungry critters.
This is one of those things that was quick, easy, didn't cost much to make, and has been very useful.  I haven't built my potting bench yet, but hopefully some day.

I have been getting wood chips from the same tree company for several years. Normally they are wonderful. This year is not my year I guess. Late winter early spring I called and requested wood chips. My sister-in-law told me a lot of companies are changing for the wood chip, but thankfully not the one I use. I try not to be to demanding, basically all I ask is no poisonous wood. Sometimes I will use the wood chip in the bottom of a new raised bed, or as mulch in my veggies garden, and I don't want to have to worry about it. They don't seem to mind.
Months ago by, and no wood chips. Trying to be patient and not a pain I wait. I finally email them just to make sure I haven't fallen through the cracks. Good thing because I had.
I have finally gotten my wood chips. I'm grateful, but to be honest not thrilled. I don't know if there blade needs to be changed or sharpened, or if it's  the type of tree, but it's more like shredded wood instead of chips.
I've been trying to decide what to do with them. Any wood chips can be used for paths, which is what I desperately need them for, but the shredded sharp nature of these are not great.
I'm definitely going to compost some of it. There's lots of leaves, and all the different sizes, will do well. I'm going to dump a lot of it in my chicken yard.  There yard is bare at the moment, so it will give them entertainment, and bugs I'm sure. With time they will mix with the chicken poop, and compost down, and I will use it in the garden. I will probably use a bunch to ring my trees.
With luck (which hasn't been on my side this year) I can use up this pile, and maybe get another that's a little better for walking on.
I'm still grateful, even crummy wood chips and useful.

Thanks everyone, I will save some of the best beans. I bought a package from red long beans and planted them with the beans I saved from the year before.

Judith I heard that excess nitrogen attracts aphids too. I always sprinkle in a mix of organic fertilizer like green sand, azamite, bone meal, blood meal, and biolive. Then I top the bed off with compost. It's such a small amount of nitrogen, and organic is supposed to take quite a while before it's available to the plants.  I thought maybe over the years it's accumulated, but one of the beds had to be redone because the hardwire cloth on the bottom slipped out of place, making a space for the gopher to get in, so it's essentially a new bed, but maybe not, because I did reuse the same soil. I don't know anything is possible.  I didn't do anything different than I normally do.
I have a cattle panel trellis, so I always grow beans and peas in this spot, and they are supposed to be nitrogen fixers, so maybe that has something to do with it. Also I have heard lots of complaints about other people having a lot more aphid problems than normal. I work in a nursery in town, and it's always a challenge keeping things healthy and bug free, but this year it was impossible. This is why I thought maybe the weather?
The attack was mostly contained to beans, squash, and kale. Everything else stayed aphid free, even the tomato that is invading the bean space strange enough.
Thanks

I grow Yard long beans (snake beans, asparagus beans) every year. They are the only fresh eating beans that do well in our hot dry summer.  It's pretty common to get aphids in mid to the end of August. This year it hit hard at the beginning of July, and it's
the worst infestation in a long time. I sprayed them with water several times and released ladybugs. It was a battle, but the ladybugs are winning the war. Buggy Beans are pretty unappealing, so lots of them dried on the vine.
Is it worth saving the full size dry beans to replant? Will it affect future growth? Do you think it could make them more resistant to aphids, or maybe more attractive to them?
What do you think?  Save them, or toss them?

So sorry for your troubles John.   Hang in there 💪. I'm a pessimist by nature, but try to remind myself to look on the Brite side.

I finally stopped putting them in the chicken coop at night. Everything has been going great. They enjoy sticking close to whoever is outside.
I feed them a few times a week. I want them to catch their own food, but they are still young and I don't want them to go hungry either.
Unfortunately Mischief has gone missing. She was in the yard Saturday morning, but we haven't seen her since. We have looked for her, and called her. She always shows up when I feed them, and she didn't. She could still show up, but I don't have high hopes. Mayhem misses her, and so do we.

2025 as well as 2024 have been very difficult years on a personal level, and a gardening one.  2024 I called year of the pest, because rodents and birds caused a lot of trouble.  I thought about calling 2025 year of the bugs, or aphids. With the exception of a late August aphids on beans until this year I just didn't have any bug problems. Sure a little now and then, but before I could even think about doing something predators would take care of it. Not this year. I started out with stink bugs, and got a major infestation of aphids in the beginning of July. I have heard countless complaints about the terrible aphids this year, so maybe the weather?  Anyway it's been a pain, I bought ladybugs, and they are finally winning the war.
I also thought about calling it the year of neglect. I just haven't put the time or effort I normally invest into my garden this year. I think it's a little to do with the fact I'm garden cashier at work this year. I enjoy it, had to kind of fight to get it, but it makes for some very long hot days. It's tough to want to go outside after work.
Amazingly even with the aphids, and neglect I still got a lot out of the garden this year. I grew bell peppers this year, and even though I didn't get a lot I did get the largest most perfect bell peppers I have ever grown. Tons of tomatoes, squash, and other veggies, fruit and herbs. The star of the show has been the Zinnias. They have bloomed and bloomed, and are so beautiful. Different sizes, shapes and colors.  In an effort to be positive I'm calling 2025 the year of the Zinnias.

J I'm so sorry you had a crummy year. Unfortunately it's just happens that way sometimes, but don't give up. 2024 was the year of the pest for me. I built cages, and  draped netting over my veggies. It was a pain, but at least I got veggies.
2025 I learned to trust myself.   I've been gardening for as long time.  I'm not an expert, but I feel I'm a pretty good gardener, with lots of room for improvement. I like to let nature keep the balance in check.  
For some reason this year I discovered stink bugs. I kinda freaked out. I was on the internet trying to figure out what to do, I made a trap, and was out there every night picking them off the plants. At some point I realized I was making myself crazy, and stopped. This may be the first time I'm seeing stink bugs, but thinking back, I probably had them before, and just didn't investigate the problem. eventually the problem fixed itself. Just like it did this year.
A tomato plant died unexpectedly, again I overreacted. I was sure I was over watering, and changed all my watering, which lead to a lot more problems.
An early, and severe aphid attack started to send me into the freakout zone. It was the worst I have dealt with in a long time. It must be the weather, or something because everyone is saying the same. Anyway I seriously considered spraying some organic pesticides, for a minute anyway. I ended up spraying them off with water, and buying ladybugs. It took a while, but the ladybugs are winning, and plants are recovering nicely.
I learned that even though it's great to learn new things, and try different techniques, I also have to trust myself, and hold true to my beliefs.  2025, was a pretty crappy year in the garden, mostly self inflicted. The last couple of years have been a real struggle, so I hope I've learned to stop stressing about what's going wrong, and enjoy what is going right.