Mumsy's Romantic Garden Advice

[aoxa]

All the talk about experimenting got me thinking about one of my own. Ants and ear wigs are fond of climbing up the trunks of trees. My orchard is in the middle of my chicken yard so anything I do is accessible by them. So I was thinking....What if I took a handful of those sticky fly papers and wrapped the trunk of my apple tree? Sounded like it could work so I did. I watched an earwig climb up to the sticky paper. Pause, and then go back down! Hah! Smart earwig!

The fly traps I have purchased are poison and says to keep away from animals and children. I am sure you checked this out prior to putting it here yes?

 

[MumsyII]

The fly traps I have purchased are poison and says to keep away from animals and children. I am sure you checked this out prior to putting it here yes?

Ingredient's resin, rubber, and mineral oil. The flock came up to see what I was doing and then walked away. It caught lots of flys but that's it. I can see it won't stick over night as the cool damp air is already making it come undone. I'm going to remove it and mark it up as fail.

 

[aoxa]

Ingredient's resin, rubber, and mineral oil. The flock came up to see what I was doing and then walked away. It caught lots of flys but that's it. I can see it won't stick over night as the cool damp air is already making it come undone. I'm going to remove it and mark it up as fail.

That's different from the ones we have here, which I used.. just away from the chickens. The flies were insane. I caught SO many.

I'd use a bug zapper if it wasn't so loud...

 

[MumsyII]

No warning on my fly papers. They do work very well. I have them in the barn and hanging in some runs.

I heard bug zappers can send the inner contents of flys and mosquito's zinging through the air in minute pieces, landing in coffee cups and water dishes. That knowledge sounded disgusting so I never got one.

Speaking of bugs, I do not spray my roses with anything. Aphids can seem to pile up on new growth some years but I watch the small tweety birds go from plant to plant, bud to bud and pick them off. I think over spraying flower gardens may be part of the problem with the decline of the honey bee and other good pollinators. There is conflicting data but I don't spray or dust insecticides on plants or on my chickens.

In the garden and in the flock, I believe balance can be achieved. Just like I use deep litter in the barn, I let birds and beneficial insects control the garden. Some years I may lose a plant or shrub but just as in my flock, the tough survive. The weak are not left to pass their genes on. I raise and hatch stronger birds. I raise and propagate stronger plants.

There are many products available in nurseries that claim they are safe, organic, and will do a host of nice things without harming the environment. That may be true but those products cost a lot of $ I don't have.

Home made remedies work sometimes. I mix Dawn dish soap and spray flys that get into the house. Works most of the time but I get soapy stuff on my furniture.

I've used white vinegar as a weed suppressant and had mixed results. I kills top growth of many weeds quickly on hot dry days but it doesn't kill the roots of tenacious perennial weeds like Buttercup and many perennial grasses. It only slows nettles down here. The nettle spreads by rhizomes. One little piece starts a new plant. And in my climate, grass grows faster than I can spray the vinegar. I find it most useful in Spring on dry days. This time of year I give up. At least the vegetable garden is growing faster than the weeds. Sometimes all we need is to really slow down the insects or weeds. Either by letting wild birds do it or using something like vinegar. Giving the beneficial plants just enough of an edge to thrive. I raise my flock the same way. Some days I win, some days I lose.



I love frogs in the garden. Even a little ninja green one like this guy can eat his weight in aphids.

 

[coldupnorth]

No warning on my fly papers. They do work very well. I have them in the barn and hanging in some runs.

I heard bug zappers can send the inner contents of flys and mosquito's zinging through the air in minute pieces, landing in coffee cups and water dishes. That knowledge sounded disgusting so I never got one.

Speaking of bugs, I do not spray my roses with anything. Aphids can seem to pile up on new growth some years but I watch the small tweety birds go from plant to plant, bud to bud and pick them off. I think over spraying flower gardens may be part of the problem with the decline of the honey bee and other good pollinators. There is conflicting data but I don't spray or dust insecticides on plants or on my chickens.

In the garden and in the flock, I believe balance can be achieved. Just like I use deep litter in the barn, I let birds and beneficial insects control the garden. Some years I may lose a plant or shrub but just as in my flock, the tough survive. The weak are not left to pass their genes on. I raise and hatch stronger birds. I raise and propagate stronger plants.

There are many products available in nurseries that claim they are safe, organic, and will do a host of nice things without harming the environment. That may be true but those products cost a lot of $ I don't have.

Home made remedies work sometimes. I mix Dawn dish soap and spray flys that get into the house. Works most of the time but I get soapy stuff on my furniture.

I've used white vinegar as a weed suppressant and had mixed results. I kills top growth of many weeds quickly on hot dry days but it doesn't kill the roots of tenacious perennial weeds like Buttercup and many perennial grasses. It only slows nettles down here. The nettle spreads by rhizomes. One little piece starts a new plant. And in my climate, grass grows faster than I can spray the vinegar. I find it most useful in Spring on dry days. This time of year I give up. At least the vegetable garden is growing faster than the weeds. Sometimes all we need is to really slow down the insects or weeds. Either by letting wild birds do it or using something like vinegar. Giving the beneficial plants just enough of an edge to thrive. I raise my flock the same way. Some days I win, some days I lose.



I love frogs in the garden. Even a little ninja green one like this guy can eat his weight in aphids.

Very well said! Gardens, chickens, and kids with too much help become less strong and less independent. However, the weeds that grow up in the cracks in our driveway are strong enough to break apart the aging tar, so they do get sprayed with something stronger than them. The chickens do not have access to the driveway and the kids are old enough to know better.

 

[BlueMouse]

yeah. I'm going to have to break down and spray our poison ivy with something stonger as well. I hate to do it but I'm equally tired of getting poison ivy on my feet from walking in the yard. And I need to get a handle on it before the kids are old enough to go play in the woods, since a lot of our woods are practically waist high with the stuff. YUCK. gonna grub some of it out with a shovel, but I can oly do so much that way. I sure do hate that stuff. Amazingly the vinca around the edge of the yard has choked it back though. chalk one up to the vinca.

another question. Can I start elderberries directly in the ground from cuttings? Is it too late in the year to do that, or should I go ahead and start them in gallon pots and expect to plant them in spring? I have one elderberry tree and would like to propegate it to make a hedge of them as a foundation for that shady area. I want to put an archway at the extreme left with a path through to the hammock, then a gate between the two trees with a pathway to the picnic table/grill area. I was thinking of getting one of the black lace varieties of elderberry and planting one on either side of the gate. They look a lot like japanese maple but are hardier in our climate. (although I might try a japanese maple in a sheltered spot, which that is not, because my husband loves them.)

Rambling. Guess I should get off the computer and get back to straightening up the kitchen!

 

[Sally8]

Not sure if it's true but was recently told that if you boil the leaves from Rhubarb plants to make a tea that it is one of the most potent and dangerous weed killers around. You have to keep animals and children away from it. More than enough reason for me not to use. If I have to use anything on my plants, I use Dawn Dish Soap and water. Many years ago, I used Sevin on potato leaves.

 

[armorfirelady]

Blue mouse I believe it was Leah's mom who was trying to find an organic way to kill poison ivy. I don't think she ever posted if she had luck or not.

Mumsy I to love frogs and snakes in my garden. I have a lot of frogs and toads around. Come mating season around my pond they are super loud. But if they keeps the bugs down I am all for it . I haven't seen my resident snake this year. He used to live in my old compost pile but that's gone now. I guess when I move the wood pile I will see if he is still around or not. Last year I found a snake skin that was almost 2 1/2 ft long in the pile . But I rarely see moles or voles around anymore. So he is welcome to stay. To bad he can't catch the chipmunks who are constantly in and out of the garage. They keep hoping they can get into the seed and hens food but its locked up tight

 

[MumsyII]

It seems if I think about it hard enough, the more hybrid the plant or chicken, the less resistant it is to insect or disease. Hybrid tea roses and Grandifloras come to mind. There have been maybe fifty or so planted here over the years. Only a dozen or so are still alive and they look terrible now. We are digging them out this winter.

I used to raise a variety of chicken varieties. Lakenvelders, Buttercups, Polish, Mille de Fleur, and Seabrights to name a few. Not one could survive and thrive under my conditions. I don't blame the breeds but the breeders they came from. Health, vigor, and stamina were not used as criteria for their breeding pens. Color and type was the #1 goal.

Old fashioned kinds of plants that haven't been messed with much are the star performers in my garden along with heritage vegetables and fruit tree varieties. I'm narrowing my focus in the flock as well with heritage RIR and White Silkies from old strains. Zeroing in on preserving the hardy genes in all. It's a process.

I once watched in awe as a Garter snake swallowed a giant banana slug in my garden! I don't see them often, but I know they are out there doing a great job at helping control the undesirables.

About the Rhubarb leaf tea used for insecticide? I've never heard that. If it's that poisonous though, it would harm beneficial pollinator's as well. And spiders in the garden are also beneficial insects at controlling aphids.

Poison Ivy in an area frequented by people, pets, or small children would be a huge concern. I have no idea how you could eradicate that without heavy duty herbicide. Hearing from someone that has would be interesting.


edited to add: I am thinking about the propagation of Elderberry shrub. More on that later.

 

[Jessica Lynn]

yeah. I'm going to have to break down and spray our poison ivy with something stonger as well. I hate to do it but I'm equally tired of getting poison ivy on my feet from walking in the yard. And I need to get a handle on it before the kids are old enough to go play in the woods, since a lot of our woods are practically waist high with the stuff. YUCK. gonna grub some of it out with a shovel, but I can oly do so much that way. I sure do hate that stuff. Amazingly the vinca around the edge of the yard has choked it back though. chalk one up to the vinca.

another question. Can I start elderberries directly in the ground from cuttings? Is it too late in the year to do that, or should I go ahead and start them in gallon pots and expect to plant them in spring? I have one elderberry tree and would like to propegate it to make a hedge of them as a foundation for that shady area. I want to put an archway at the extreme left with a path through to the hammock, then a gate between the two trees with a pathway to the picnic table/grill area. I was thinking of getting one of the black lace varieties of elderberry and planting one on either side of the gate. They look a lot like japanese maple but are hardier in our climate. (although I might try a japanese maple in a sheltered spot, which that is not, because my husband loves them.)

Rambling. Guess I should get off the computer and get back to straightening up the kitchen!

I need something that will kill poison ivy and horse nettle. The horse nettle is the the devil's own creation! You can't pull it up since it will grow from every peace of root. I have tried every weed killer that I can find and it won't die! Cutting it off at the dirt and laying a big stepping stone on it is the only thing that stops it. Our puppy ate it and died so I am sick to death another animal will eat it too!