Mystery Marauder

 Something decided to sample our cabbage. Just the one cabbage, so far at least.  Since this garden is fenced, we surmised it might be a small porcupine that could climb the fence, or possibly a raccoon.  But, given that there are ripe tomatoes, crispy kale and sweet corn, cabbage seems an odd choice. We will keep an eye out.
Critter damage, along with insects, diseases, and weather related damage, like big hail or high winds, are to be expected.  You gotta plant extra, and be prepared.  And some years, the pests win anyway..
I lost most of the feed corn crop to turkeys and deer, the winter squash and pumpkins, and now the cucumbers, have been devastated by blight and vine borers.  The potatoes will also be almost a total loss.  Thats just the way it is.

I do have a theory though, that truly healthy soil, biologically active and mineral balanced, pròvide the plant some immunity against diseases, and maybe even reduce some insect damage.  It is like our own immune system.  If it is strong, we just dont get every little cold or flu that goes around.
As some anecdotal evidence of this, the couple of squash plants that came up from the compost pile, where the soils is especially rich, are noticeably bigger and healthier, and have so far been completely unaffected by the blight, or powdery mildew, or even insect damage..  The tomatos growing in the former chicken run, with really rich compost, are twice the size of the other tomatoes, and no sign of blight, even though they are within a few feet of affected plants.
So, that being said, creating healthy soil seems pretty important, doesnt it?

The egg production is picking up. This is two days'worth.  I am getting about a dozen eggs a day, and that should increase to 2 dozen by the end of this month. Notice my liesure time reading choice.