tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post8744740490790169114..comments2024-03-24T11:10:13.186-04:00Comments on The Gardening Me: Little Garden of Horrors....Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15949946977793864054noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-54589785169094282932020-09-10T23:13:10.698-04:002020-09-10T23:13:10.698-04:00I hear you! I can especially related to the rabbit...I hear you! I can especially related to the rabbit damage. I keep trying and trying to add new things, and occasionally they'll leave plants alone long enough for them to get established. Some survive and come back. Others simply must be protected with chicken wire. Rabbits are my biggest garden problem. We all have challenges, for sure!Beth at PlantPostingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10473637655960119672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-42974374974544629692020-09-07T10:56:59.835-04:002020-09-07T10:56:59.835-04:00Oh, I do feel your pain Margaret! We've had ra...Oh, I do feel your pain Margaret! We've had rabbit troubles here this year. They keep digging up newly planted iris, and I had one get in the vegetable garden through a hole in the poultry netting. Now I have one that sneaks in the greenhouse, where there's lots of goodies to eat! 2020 has been quite a year.Dave @ HappyAcreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03441364543023807886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-30940682686221079782020-09-06T22:14:22.445-04:002020-09-06T22:14:22.445-04:00The hot pepper didn't keep them from digging i...The hot pepper didn't keep them from digging in the same spot again but the plants are still unmolested, for now.Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07812702328134261533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-43015340476438660772020-09-06T08:57:37.585-04:002020-09-06T08:57:37.585-04:00I guess this is the high price for having an abund...I guess this is the high price for having an abundance of wildlife = our 'critters' are smaller but no less destructive.This year however it's the weather that has been the real problem. WE had a lovely bed of impatiens that suddenly looked dead. We thought a neigbour's cat had trampled the plants until one in the tubs suffered in the same way. It seems that the plants couldn't cope with the cold night temperatures. Then the tomatoes are struggling to ripen due to lack of sun.Sue Garretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164518448098182276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-25149165773972614612020-09-06T08:29:34.034-04:002020-09-06T08:29:34.034-04:00Oh no! I can't believe that you are once agai...Oh no! I can't believe that you are once again dealing with critters in your garden - hopefully the hot pepper will keep them at bay. I'm planning on trying pepper too (just need to pop out to the store to grab a big bag of it) and using extra hot thai pepper powder is a great idea. Too bad I got rid of the lemon drop pepper powder that I grew. Even a pinch was SEARINGLY hot & much too hot to use in the kitchen, which is why I tossed it - would have come in handy here (and maybe a reason to grow it again)!Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15949946977793864054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-57637698527221273732020-09-06T08:20:34.753-04:002020-09-06T08:20:34.753-04:00I've read that bird feeders can be a huge draw...I've read that bird feeders can be a huge draw. I've already stopped filling them and will wait until winter arrives before doing so again. As a pre-emptive measure, next season I'll be taking them down for the spring/summer.Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15949946977793864054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-37883741940270245862020-09-06T05:37:27.423-04:002020-09-06T05:37:27.423-04:00Oh no, so much damage. I suppose if it were going ...Oh no, so much damage. I suppose if it were going to happen any year, you'd take bets on it being this year with everything else which has been happening. The only good thing I can say is that you can start again next year, though there's never any guarantees with gardening, we can only hope that things will fare better.Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17436932004631816039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-32289516918365420502020-09-05T18:41:45.517-04:002020-09-05T18:41:45.517-04:00OMG. I know exactly how you feel. It's heartbr...OMG. I know exactly how you feel. It's heartbreaking to see. When I had my year (or 2 or 3) of the rat a couple years ago I was ripping out vegetables just so that the rats (and mice and voles) couldn't eat them (if I can't have them neither can you!!!). I think the last straw was when they got into the bean cage and ate all the flowers, they couldn't even wait for the beans to develop. It just about broke me, it certainly broke my heart and bruised my spirit, I was nearly ready to quit gardening. I was feeling pretty hopeful this year, watching things grow without the benefit of hardware cloth cages and then one day recently, dang it, I discovered that something was munching on the veggies that I had started for winter. I turned my critter cam in that direction and videoed a ground squirrel in action. I trapped that one and thought problem solved and then it started again. Now I've got all the greens and developing broccoli heads liberally sprinkled with pulverized hot Thai peppers. Try a mouthful of that! So far so good... The danged things must advertise where the good spots are, there's a couple of spots in one bed where they keep trying to dig burrows. I fill the tunnels in and they just excavate them again. I've sprinkled those spots with hot pepper also. The traps are set again and I think I need to order another pound of dried Thai peppers. I wish you the best of luck with this challenge and know that I feel your pain. Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07812702328134261533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-86213154046054337432020-09-05T15:16:50.342-04:002020-09-05T15:16:50.342-04:00Good grief ... Kris's post really got to me .....Good grief ... Kris's post really got to me ... I would be so shocked and disgusted to find dead rats in my garden .. and she is so right about poison and the food chain.. that is disturbing as hell.<br />I'm so sorry you have had such a hard time of it .. we have squirrels and a chipmunk in the back garden , but I don't grow veggies so not a lot interests them here .. and we actually (and I can well imagine the reaction with this) throw a peanut or two at the squirrel who leaves after that happens .. some how my husband trained him to JUST LEAVE after he has a peanut .. the chipmunk .. well we are soft hearted because no damage has ever happened with him or her ?I actually leave a little bowl of sunflower seeds for him/her and nothing is touched in the garden .. every situation is different .. but so far this has worked for us.<br />I hope maybe next year things will be better for you ! the fox may well keep your produce safe in a natural course of events ?<br />PS .. Jason's remark made me laugh ;-)CanadianGardenJoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18130452541076704075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-6184203118895404082020-09-05T14:47:45.813-04:002020-09-05T14:47:45.813-04:00I remember how excited you were with that trunk fu...I remember how excited you were with that trunk full of plants you brought home - I'm sorry so many were trashed by rampant critter activity. Hopefully, that fox will not only come back bit will also bring its progeny with it next spring.<br /><br />We had more critters here than usual earlier this year. In addition to the usual raccoon marauders, skunks, squirrels and possums, we had bunnies (not common for us) and peacocks (ditto). I stopped filling my bird feeders and that, plus the coyotes, seemed to take care of the bunnies and the peacocks. The gopher (my first) was the biggest problem but relentless use of a pellet deterrent watered into the soil, installation of solar powered sonic devices and, possibly, the coyotes finally seems to have rid my garden of that pest. Rats are another problem - I lost almost all of my tomatoes to them - but I'm guessing a neighbor has taken to poisoning them as I've found two dead ones in my garden. Much as I'd like to be rat-free, I'm not happy at the idea of rat poison moving up the food chain. Kris Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07097260283693156795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-13476392201869981012020-09-05T12:40:36.522-04:002020-09-05T12:40:36.522-04:00Very frustrating! The damn critters should just gr...Very frustrating! The damn critters should just grow their own gardens and stop mooching off of us. Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00671760671850555664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2884216770926932676.post-51288793550840566502020-09-05T10:09:55.689-04:002020-09-05T10:09:55.689-04:00Oof, I feel you. It is always nice to see animals ...Oof, I feel you. It is always nice to see animals in the yard but when you know they are going to dig up, barrel over, or eat your plants---can't help but throw some curse words out there!Mistihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15152831329347482311noreply@blogger.com