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Hello! I am rearranging some things in my yard, and as a result I have a ton of extra soil…. My plan was to build a hugelkultur bed with it in the back, but it’s a pretty much full shade under the south facing dripline of some very mature black walnuts. My plan is to focus on a native woodland garden back there, since conditions aren’t great for edibles. I am in Wisconsin, zone5b. Anyone have some advice on building one in the shade? Or photos of yours for inspiration? My goals are feeding the family and the wildlife- preferences for natives if not specifically a crop for us.

I already had the idea that I was going to buy paper decoy nests to keep any wasps from settling closer to our zone 1, but they must have caught wind and one settled right into our back porch roof before I got around to it. 🤦‍♀️ The back porch is central to our main food garden, and is high traffic for us and the kiddos. How do I peacefully ask the wasps to move out? Would the decoys still work now? And will decoys keep other beneficials away? I’d like to find the balance between “pollinator friends” and “please dont sting my children” here. Not to mention how much I really do NOT want to spray anything right there a mere two feet from our food garden. Advice is much appreciated!

It came prepotted and soiled of course, I’ve not got much experience with plants like these, but I figured itd be nice to pick up and see what I can do with it, I bought a considerably smaller strawberry plant too, they both seem fairly healthy however the blueberry plant did have some decaying leaves that I cut off but I didn’t go crazy as not to stress her, my plants are currently just sat open in the sun as it’s gonna be sunny for a while here, any advice from experienced growers on how to maintain them and keep them healthy?

My first year gardening solo and I’m trying to generate and follow living soil practices. Very new so it’s not an exact science (nor will it ever be knowing my brain) but I am doing my best to pay attention. I transplanted these marigolds a few weeks ago and last week I noticed that the leaves are turning purple. What can this an indicator of? I’m worried about nutrients as it seems as though other transplants in my bed aren’t taking off as I thought they would. Bok choy bolted. Lettuce is growing so slowly I haven’t been able to harvest any despite it being one of the first things I put in in mid-March. Chives are doing amazing though! Perennial at this point. Zone 8a/b.