Planting in Threes; Artichokes

A fellow gardener recently shared a little piece of wisdom with me, and I wanted to pass it along to you readers.

This lady bought three tomato plants from me a few weeks ago. She said her father believed in planting in threes: one for the deer (and other pests), one for the drought, and one for yourself.

It’s such a simple idea, but I think it’s quite profound. I notice this in my own garden. I planted six Romanesco zucchini about a month ago. I direct seeded them, and they all started out strong. Normally, two zucchini plants are more than enough for Janessa and I But my new puppy, Sadie, decided to dig one of them up. She definitely counts as a pest.

Last week, a plant at the front of the row started wilting for no apparent reason. The soil there stays a little drier than the rest of the row, so that might be the problem. I still