I am afraid I must disagree with some of the comments about Jack O'lantern pumpkins not being edible. You just look at them in another way. However it is not something I would use for pie it tends to be low in sugar and high in moisture for that application. I will say in general butternut squash runs circles around any pumpkin for the usual pie or dessert applications. Space efficient, dense, thick flesh and solid vines wins all around. However you use it as pumpkin puree for soups and this was fantastic. I made it with free pumpkins from Ace hardware and nothing works better with my frugality than free. * 5 cups chicken stock or broth * 3 cups pumpkin puree * 3/4 cup heavy cream * 1 lb chorizo cooked and coarsely chopped * 2 tablespoons oregano * 1/2 teaspoon cumin * 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped * 2 potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes * 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped * 1/2 cup and 1/3 cup onion chopped * 1 tablespoon oil PREPARATION: Heat the oil in a large pot. Saute the 1/3 cup onions and the garlic over medium heat for about 1 minute. Carefully add in the broth, pumpkin, chorizo and potatoes. Stir in the oregano and cumin. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer for about 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Stir in cream and serve immediately topped with a tablespoon each of Stir in cream and serve immediately topped with a tablespoon each of cilantro and onion.

John: For a groundhog 200 feet away, your watermelons are right in his back yard. I just now walked up from the garden with a groundhog caught in the trap and dispatched with a single shot in the head from a pellet gun. I seem to get about 6-8 weeks between groundhogs, than another one discovers my easy pickings and I have to get the trap out again. One of my neighbors who also gardens has the same problem, and borrows my trap from time to time. He lives about a block away, and between the two of us we keep the groundhog population under control. Otherwise, we could forget growing anything like melons, squash, beets, tomatoes, etc.. The biggest one I ever caught weighed 17 pounds, but the average is 8-9 pounds. Don't know how big they get in Oklahoma. When there are existing tunnels in the area, it is easy for another one to move in. The tunnels are large and very extensive underground. Smoking them out with those smoke bombs that look like big firecrackers should work but it does not. And they are a pain to use, with very short fuses. My trap is the large 48" model live trap, and cost me about $60.00, but I have used it for close to 10 years now. It has a treadle type release which drops the front door when the groundhog steps on it. I don't think Lowes normally carries them, but they are widely available from other sources if you look around online. I had to tighten up all the little metal clips around the frame with a pliers because they were not tightly installed at the factory. The best bait I have found is peaches or nectarines, which work nearly every time. Other baits like lettuce, cabbage etc. do not attract. There are also commercial baits sold, but I doubt anything could beat a couple of nearly ripe peaches. Once in a while, you may get a possum or a raccoon. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

praying mantis eats BUGS... its a predator.. and totally beneficial to your garden ... google should have told you that ... [momma is even known to eat daddy .. whats that all about????] you should start your own post.. in any appropriate forum .. as your questions cover many different plants ... as to the apple... if tiny ... under a foot or two.. it should have remained potted ... in proper planting media for a tree .... is this from seed from an apple you ate???? ... if so .. genetics tells us.. you might not end up with a good eating apple .... [hint, hint .. research that] or extremely protected ... if in mother earth .... i would have used a rose cone without a top for a year or two ... rake the soil around the plant.. in the evening.. and see if you can see any tracks in the morning ... think rabbit.. or droppings ... most bugs can not strip a plant bare overnight.. you would see chew marks on parts of leaves remaining ... so i am thinking something bigger ... squirrels ... tend to dig up young plants.. trying to look for whatever you hid under the soil.. idiots.. lol ... rather than eating the plant .... but you never know.. they are insane ... start your own post.. and add a pic.. if you want more than guessing ...and i am telling you to encourage you to start and join a new conversation... not chiding you for throwing this at the end of some very old post ... live an learn.. and we like to teach... so go for it... good luck ken

Before I got smart and bought a metal bird feeder, the squirrels destroyed every plastic feeder I bought. They would chew holes in the plastic, eat the wooden dowels, and then devour the bird seed. The bird feeders were hanging on a black metal shepherds hook. One day I mixed hot pepper in Crisco and coated that pole. They would climb 2 feet, then slide back 1. They would jump from a tree and spin as they hit that slick pool. Then the pepper would start heating up their paws and they would shake their paws trying to get it off. Then they would try to eat it off of their paws and start shaking their heads trying to get it out of their mouth. They looked like they were having a seizure. I laughed until I hurt. By night time, I had fewer squirrels. Next day, I had them again, but they didn't look like the same ones. LOL