Welcome to the conversation Rosiekitty!
You can have the garden of your dreams.
I've never heard of or seen a Wheel bug so I am enjoying the information and pictures very much.
Morning Glory is so pretty. I've never planted it.
My hoop house for the Potager garden is new this year. I used moisture barrier high mil plastic that my husband brought home from a finished construction job site. It barely covered the whole tent. I cut off excess length to make the doors for the front and back. Using spring clips I picked up at the dollar store. When the summer night time and day time temps raise, I rolled up the sides a few feet and removed the door flaps for added air circulation and ventilation. When the temp starts to drop in another month, I will close it up again to help the tomatoes and tomatillas to finish ripening on the vines.
I was going to remove the clearer plastic and replace it with heavy tarp when I move the HRIR flock out here for the winter, but "the pumpkin that wants to take over the world" may completely cover the hoop house by then.
The rest of the country may be having crazy summer weather but here it is remarkably stable. My husband and I were discussing it last night. We had a warm dry June and July. Good rain the first week of August and now warm again. Perfect vegetable growing weather. August here is usually the only warm month of the year.
A lot of things want to munch beans as they are coming up. Rabbits will eat them to the ground. In my garden flocks of sparrows will eat all the leaves and even pull them up as seedlings. Slugs will get them too. I usually start beans in four inch pots and stagger plant them. I have beans coming in various stages that way. Eventually some survive and they catch up with each other.
