I'll pull on it very, very gently with my fingers. If it comes off, great, if it doesn't, Ill leave it and try again a day or two later. If it eventually begins to hinder its development, then it's time for surgery.

I've picked before and pulled off the new leaves. I don't think I will do it ever again!

I'm definitely Team pick, but the drop of water is a great idea! Would a saturated Q-tip work? I've pulled off a tiny leaf before, too but I think that leaf probably wouldn't open anyway, if the seed coat stayed on too long.

A saturated Q-tip could work. Anything to hold the water on the seed to get it soft.

You might wait to pick teams until the article actually runs

Picky, picky....

Team leave it alone here. I enjoy watching it quietly heave itself into the open and push its little seed-coat "roof" up and off the way we do a coat when it gets too warm. Even if it gets a little stuck, it usually finds a way around that.

Ok, i propose this one as it just drives me crazy. Let me explain that where i live in TX, there seems to be a total unwillingness to water a garden. So, they spend the time to till, plant, weed, but they will NOT water so much as 1 watermelon plant! Then, i get to hear " oh, i didnt get any watermelons, it was too dry.
So......
Team water the garden or
Team let the garden tough it out

Water! Auto irrigation is the way to go for those too lazy to drag out their hose. Of course, if they are too lazy to water, they are probably too cheap to put in an irrigation system.

Yeah, this one's a no-brainer! You can let a xeriscape garden fend for itself, and some stuff might survive. But if you want to grow food crops it seems pretty obvious you have to water. Mind you, they probably shouldn't be planting watermelons either! Too demanding.

Does your County Extension service offer any free classes on installing your own micro-irrigation? It's easy, cheap and very water-efficient and I think it's as much fun as playing with Lego. Surely your 'lazy' neighbors aren't all that lazy that they wouldn't install just a small area of efficient irrigation and buy a timer for it?

Oh cool....a Nature vs Nurture question

There are parts of my plantings where I put a plant in the ground, pat it on the head, and say 'good luck' knowing I will never drag a hose out that far. I usually plant these areas in early spring or late fall when I can count on rain to get them settled in. Some make it, others don't. My driveway shrub border is one. Also doesn't get weeded very often, as can be seen from this field side view.



For the rest of my beds, I don't have an irrigation system and occasionally remember to set up sprinklers. I also wander around with the hose & sprayer and blast things that look parched in late summer. But, hey, I live in the Pacific NW.

No question - irrigate!

A small system can be had for $60 to $86 without even shopping for bargains.

A really basic system could be made for $42 - 1/2" tubing + 1/4" dripline + a few fittings.

A wind-up timer (manual) adds $16, so you can set it for "45 minutes" and walk away.

If you want everything watered regularly whether you are home or not, a battery timer adds $40-50 and a professional AC timer could cost $50 to $100.

Or start by spending $30 to run 1/2" mainline from your spigot to your beds and then put multiple hose spigots everywhere in your yard you want them. Then, adding drip irrigation to that network of garden hose spigots would only cost an extra $16-$40.

http://garden.org/ideas/view/R...

$16 - - 100' 1/2" tubing, 240 GPH
$ 8 - - - pressure regulator
$ 9 - - - filter, may not be needed for PC dripline
$10 - - - Tee fittings, valves, barbs

plus

$16 - - - 100' 1/4" dripline, NOT-PC
or
$40 - - - 100' 1/2" dripline, PC
or
$ 7 - - 100' 1/4" tubing (around 40 GPH) plus
$ 6 - - - 30 sprayers, 20 cents each
$0 - $30 - - - stakes if needed for sprayers

$43 + ($16 pr $40 or $13 to 43) = $59 or $83 or $56 to $86

Or you could ask the children at Murchison Middle School. I'll bet they learned about water use when they created this garden from scratch. http://www.greatstems.com/2012...

Water for sure! How dumb to go to all the work and expense of preparing a garden, starting seeds or buying plants, planting... and then let things shrivel and dry up unnecessarily. Where I live I could probably get away with never watering most years, but the plants have enough issues with our short growing seasons... I have rain barrels, and if need be will use tap water.

My house plants, however, have become accustomed to living through long periods of drought and neglect

I don't understand it either, but that's what they do. Every year. Surely they get some veggies, but i never see any. The plants just stand there and do nothing.

OK, this is titled:

His way......Her way?

Her..I always pick the leaves off my lettuce at 3". That way I only have to wash them and eat. No chopping, very fresh, very tender, leftovers go to chickens the next day.

His...husband thinks I should let lettuce grow to a head and then bring in the whole head. That way you get about 100 heads in a week.

Her...I only pick asparagus that's over 1/4" diameter, leave anything under that size for the plant. That's what instructions say to do.

His... Husband likes asparagus under 1/4". Says the bigger ones are too tough. So, I get all the asparagus, most of the lettuce.

What do you do?