Mr Stripey Packs His U-Haul and Moves On Down
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Well, Mr Stripey looks like crap and I decided I had tortured him enough. The soil was just too packed in the water jug and I don’t think his roots were getting a proper chance to grow like they should. As a result, his growth was stunted and he just looked putrid.
A few positive things did come from the upside down experiment - with the exception of leaf miners, Stripey remained bug free. By being out of the ground, he was not exposed to the common pests that tomatoes usually come across like slugs, cutworms, etc. But at the end of the day, I felt sorry for the little guy and had to give him a new home. He’s now planted out in the garden next to a newly sprouted cucumber. They can hopefully share the trellis as buddies.
Before you make a face because it’s probably snowing where you are - 
— it’s still in the high 80’s here on a regular basis, and probably will be for at least another couple of months. I don’t expect even 60’s on a regular basis until mid-december - IF we’re lucky. Chances are it’ll be in the 70’s. My biggest problem right now is rain. Lots and lots of rain.
Speaking of problems, take a look at my corn:
No, he’s not in prison. I built a cage around the garden box to keep critters out. However, something sinister has been seriously munching on my corn! It started the day I put the seedlings out. I’ve tried insecticidal soap, but it hasn’t slowed the muncher down a whole lot. 
The corn seems to be the only casualty. I’ve managed to kill the lettuce on my own with no outside help and the peppers are doing fine. But my poor corn! Someone recommended Sevin Dust, but I don’t know enough about it to know if it’s bad for ME. I’m not totally organic, but I’m closer to organic than not and really don’t want to put bad stuff in the garden - even if it means losing my corn. Anyone have any good ideas?