Posted on 06/24/2016 2:33:36 PM PDT by greeneyes
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Well, those dates work for me. LOL We don’t really have anything they really like to eat before May 28 anyway.
Hubby always gets a hunting permit. Never really uses it, except this year. I think he might have hit a bushy tailed rodent once or twice.
We used to just live trap them and take them out to our acres north of town and turn them loose. I guess enough of them survived that they are now too smart to trap that way.
I’ll have to try cornmeal as an ant deturent.
That’s interesting. I read a book about making money raising chickens - this guy had a portable pen that he moved daily. Got the chicks in the Spring, Slaughtered and processed in the fall. Put them in the freezer to eat during the winter.
Also had plans on how to make some money selling them. Several of the farms raising grass fed beef around here, also raise the organic feed, free range chickens and sell the eggs, as well as the meat. It was quite interesting.
Hubby and I have talked about getting 3 or 4 and keeping them for the eggs, but neither of us want to go out in the winter to take care of them. Plus he just found a local farmer who will let him buy a dozen for a buck - guy has too many for his own use.
I hear you! :-)
I hate when the varmits dig in the pots! Happens here all the time. The flowers all sound so pretty, hope you can post some pictures when they bloom.
I love a bed of purple, yellow, and white flowers.
It sure seemed to work!
Depending on your location, may I suggest an air rifle to remove them. They are quiet & a lot less likely to go through your neighbors house if you miss. and you do NOT need a permit if you are on your own property. [Per the Mo Dept. of Conservation] A .22 cal air rifle works wonders. I have removed over 10 garden raiders from my neighbors & my garden areas so far this year. And I have counted over 10 bunnies just in my 2 1/2 acre backyard alone, not to mention how many squirrels, this year.
Great minds think alike. Hubby bought an air rifle this spring, and set up some practice targets. In addition to taking care of the bushy tailed raiders, he is teaching grand daughter gun safety and shooting.
I have quite a herd of them, I have 2].177 spring pistons,3] multi pump .22’s, a couple of mech. spring .22’s, a couple of .25’s [both gas spring & mech. spring] & a .25 precharged pneumatic that shoots with 3000 lbs of air pressure & can drop a deer at 125 yards or so.
There is a very long & extremely ugly story on why I can only use air guns.
Well, air guns are better than no guns. One of these days, I’m going to get around to attending the free training on guns that the MO. Conservation Dept. has in St. Louis.
They have several where they provide the guns and equipment. Once I do that, I can decide whether I want to tackle anything other than a air rifle myself.
We had a couple of yellow squash from our organic garden
this week; also some green beans & a few cherry tomatoes.
The squirrels are still coming for our pears & Fang keeps
shooting them & the buzzards love him for it. Oh, yeah, a
few blueberries & raspberries. You learn to enjoy food in
a limited quantity fresh from the garden.
Don’t hate furniture. It can’t help what it is. Polish it
up & use it for furniture & quit carping.
Thanks for the pics. You flowers are about all the flowers I get to see outside of veggie flowers. LOL
I forgot I wanted to ask you a question about roses. I have a yellow Knock Out plant that is very short and has only had two blooms this summer. Someone said it’s because its too close to another plant. She said roses can’t share roots. Have you heard of this rule?
I think this is the 3rd or 4th picking of Blueberries this season between 2 and 3 gallons this year…
First tomato turning color in the greenhouse this year…
I had a male Red Shafted Flicker visit our bird feeders this afternoon. also have Hairy and Downeys feeding on Lady Benders special bird cakes…
We got a bit of badly needed rain in Central Missouri this week. An inch or so. Not enough to get us out of the drought condition that we’re currently suffering, but better than nothing for sure.
I’ve caught up on irrigating the tomato patch. The Big Brown Santa truck dropped off another 500’ coil of 3/4” mainline and a box full of tape terminators and tap valves this afternoon. Now I have the parts I need to fix up the last of the mistakes I made setting up the irrigation lines.
The cucumbers and pumpkins are vining like crazy. Tomatoes are looking better but still not super happy. Cauliflower is ready to pick, garlic is getting close. I’m going to dig a few potatoes tomorrow for a barbecue on Sunday.
I’ve gotten back to work cleaning out the pond. If Nanner doesn’t blow up and the dry weather continues through the summer I think I’ll be able to re-core the dam this fall.
Thanks for the pics. I dug up some taters today too. Not many just a coffee can almost full. Needed about half for a roast in the crock pot. The rest for baking the rest of the week.
That’s an inch more than we got. I’m going to have to dump a couple of barrels of rain water and clean them out. The lids accidentally got knocked off and yucky stuff got into the water.
Going to bleach them real good, or maybe I’ll just get a couple of new ones with better lids.
It’s been a mixed bag sort of a week, but the two constants have been rain and the garden is growing. Since Thursday night a week ago, we’ve had over 3 inches of rain. I have the largest eggplants ever ... one Ichiban & one Black Beauty. I did not know that eggplants could get so huge! All mine in the past have been infested with flea beetles & spindly - as for produce, maybe 2 or 3 Ichibans & zero (that would be a “0”) off of Black Beauty plants. This year,both plants are loaded with blooms & no flea beetles so I am hopeful.
The tomatoes are all blooming & one plant is loaded - I didn’t read the label & had in my mind it was a determinate & it’s not ... it’s outpaced the old cone-shaped cage so I’m going to have to get some help & install a cylinder-shaped cage .... I got concrete reinforcing wire panels this year & made cylinder cages for my other 4 determinates & REALLY love them - plants came through 70 mph winds and have plenty of room and support. I should be able to bend a panel around the plant that needs help & zip tie it together, but I’ll need someone strong to hold it while I do the zip ties. I could put it together & try to lower it over the plant, but I’m afraid I’ll break off some large branches with tomatoes. It will be an interesting experiment to see if I can get the cage on. Next year, all of my tomatoes will be in the cylinder cages ... did I mention I love them? :-)
The saga of the two new raised beds as come to a close. The last one was finally filled with dirt/compost & I’ve planted two tomatoes in it - one in each end. Since it’s ‘late’ in the season, I got lazy and just put down two packages of zinnia seeds. I cannot wait for them to come up - the colors should be gorgeous. Next year, that bed will be loaded with veggies so I’ll enjoy the flowers this year.
Last night, I picked 3 yellow crookneck squash, one zucchini and 8 cucumbers. Two nights ago, I had a cuke & a zucchini. The cukes this year are “Boston” & they are for pickling. They do not get too big and I am loving these smaller cukes. I make freezer pickles so these will be perfect. They’re still good in salads & you use the whole thing up without having half a huge cuke to save in the fridge. The last two years, I’ve had one Sun Sugar cherry tomato in the garden. It grows at a ‘Jack in the Beanstalk’ rate & takes over everything. This year, the plant is isolated in an area where it can grow on wire (it is!) and not take over everything else. Crazy growing plant problem solved - whew! ... ruh roh! spoke too soon as the Boston cuke is now taking over as the problem plant. It has outgrown the climbing area & is reaching out & grabbing tomato plants. This weekend, I am going to figure out how to raise a panel above the structure the Boston is now climbing on that will give it lots more room. I have some ideas ..... :-)
Some links, if you’re interested:
Using Wire Mesh in the Garden (Concrete-reinforcing wire )
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/using-wire-mesh-in-the-garden-zmaz02jjzgoe.aspx
A 24-inch diameter requires 6 feet of mesh, while 5 feet will do for an 18-inch diameter tower. The wire comes in panels or a roll - I used panels this year (3.5 ‘ high, 7’ wide with ‘blocks’ 6” square for easy access to tomatoes). Next year, I might bite the bullet & get a roll & make cages for my SIL & mom, too. To construct, I overlapped the last row of ‘blocks’ on each side & zip tied - no wire cutting required. The diameter is not quite 25” & working well. In the fall, the zip ties can be cut & the panels easily stored. The cylinders normally do not need to be fastened down; however, with 70 mph winds predicted, I did buy some cheapie (48 cents each) tent stakes & used 2 per cage - they didn’t budge during the storm.
Next year, I am using this wire for my climbing plants to grow on (like peas, cukes, squash). The panel size will work & if I buy a roll, I can custom cut it.
Boston Pickling Cucumber
https://bonnieplants.com/product/boston-pickling-cucumber/
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