• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Seed Starting
    • Plant Profiles
    • Tools & Equipment
    • Raised Bed Gardening
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Who Ate My Sweet Potato Plants?

May 20, 2010 by Jeanne

Okay, ‘fess up. Who ate my sweet potato plants?

After all the “Am I planting these right?” and questions from the spouse “Are we even going to get $16 worth of potatoes out of the $16 we spent on these root things?” I left the garden bed to be soaked with rain this week. Today was the first sunny, warm day, so I traipsed down to the fenced-in vegetable garden to check my sweet potatoes.

And half were GONE.

Not just “it keeled over and died” gone, with a little sad stem left. I mean – gone. Absent. As if I’d never planted it.

But only in the big bed. The others I’d tucked into the onion bed were all accounted for and perky. Here’s a picture of one, pretty as can be, happy and green.

But where did his friends go? Why am I missing half of my seedlings?!

So what is eating these? The garden is fenced. I checked the fence. It’s tight. No holes or tunnels dug underneath. The ground is soft enough to show footprints….Shadow’s tracks were clear, and I didn’t see deer.

Someone send Columbo. Jessica Fletcher. Monk. Yes, I want Adrian Monk here to figure out the case of “Who are my sweet potato plants?”

Now I’ve got sneak out to Lowe’s and find replacements before the spouse realizes that some critter ate $16 bucks worth of seedlings in one night. Boy, I will never hear the end of that.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Previous Post: « The Garden Path Construction Update
Next Post: Window Box Blooms »

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

As Seen in Porch

 As Seen in Porch

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Explore All Gardening Articles

a zucchini growing in a raised bed

Growing Zucchini in Raised Beds

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

raised bed garden

How to Build a Vegetable Garden Using Raised Beds

a watering can next to a seed tray on a sidewalk

What Veggies Can I Plant Now?

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

Disclosure

Home Garden Joy participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy. Herbal information and recipes on this site are provided for educational purposes only.

Footer

butternut squash growing in a raised garden bed

How to Grow Butternut Squash Organically

Learning how to grow butternut squash organically ensures you know how to grow this tasty, nutritious vegetable in your home garden. I’ll share with you some basic information on growing butternut squash, followed by some organic gardening tips that have been helpful for me here at Seven Oaks Farm in dealing with the various pests…

Read More

herbs in a pink dish

How to Make the Perfect Cup of Herbal Tea

Make the perfect cup of herbal tea, right from your own garden! In May, I gave two free talks on how to grow, harvest, dry, and create your very own herbal teas. This lecture proved so popular that I recorded the narration and uploaded it to YouTube. You can view it below: Supplies to Make…

Read More

tent caterpillars on a pear tree

How to Get Rid of Tent Caterpillars

I spent last Saturday morning getting rid of Eastern tent caterpillars from the apple and pear trees in the orchard here on the farm. Malacosoma americanum, the Eastern tent caterpillar, is a regular visitor each spring. We first spot the shimmery webs on a clear spring day. The small ‘tents’ built by the caterpillars quickly…

Read More

kale growing in a raised bed

Replenishing Raised Bed Garden Soil

Raised bed vegetable garden soil soil needs to be replenished periodically. If you’ve done your job right and selected great soil, and amended it with nice compost, you’re going to have super garden soil for the first few years. Because you don’t walk on a raised bed garden the way that you do with typical…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme