What did you do in the garden today?

[Sueby]

@gtaus I wanted to mention to you that if I block off the garden beds in the fall it keeps the squirrels from burying acorns for the winter, then they don't tend to dig around in there as much in the spring disturbing new plantings.

ETA, yes they do not like capsaicin. I sprayed the tree with the water bucket with repel spray (which has that in it) & they haven't been back.

 

[gtaus]

Squirrel-n-ator trap. YEP. Work like a dream.

I have a couple of those small live traps that I could use....

But, like I said, we live in the middle of a forest, and I just know that if I remove a few squirrels currently in the yard, that there are 2 or 3 others just waiting to take over their territory.

On a more positive note, I have pretty much solved the problem with rabbits getting into my gardens. I have a bunch of baby cottentail rabbits running around the yard, and, in fact, they have a nest underneath my elevated chicken coop. But all my new pallet wood raised beds are 16 inches high and I have not seen any rabbits jump up that high into the raised beds.

Here is a picture of my newest 16-inch-high pallet wood raised bed with cherry tomato plants I started inside the house. That picture was from almost 3 weeks ago. Those same tomato plants are now over 4 feet tall! They are way bigger than any tomato plants I have had in prior years. The rabbits stay out of the raised bed, but the squirrels are digging in the dirt and leaving little holes everywhere. I still don't know what they are looking for in all that dirt. Any ideas?

 

[gtaus]

@gtaus I wanted to mention to you that if I block off the garden beds in the fall it keeps the squirrels from burying acorns for the winter, then they don't tend to dig around in there as much in the spring disturbing new plantings.

ETA, yes they do not like capsaicin. I sprayed the tree with the water bucket with repel spray (which has that in it) & they haven't been back.

I did not know that. I might want to make some squirrel screens to cover the raised beds in the fall.

I once heard that squirrels bury nuts everywhere, but really don't remember where they put them. So, in the spring, they just start digging everywhere and sooner or later they will find some nuts.

If your suggestion is correct, and that the squirrels are burying nuts into the raised beds in the fall, that still would not explain why they are digging in my brand-new raised bed I just built this spring. Unless, of course, squirrels really don't remember where they bury the nuts and just dig everywhere looking for them to eat.

 

[Sueby]

I have 36 in high strawberry beds that the stupid rabbit builds her den & has babies in every year.

 

[CNJ]

Just wondering if anyone else got an F1 boot warning when starting up an old computer. I wonder if problem was sent, so we have to update to windows 11? Just a little paranoid..............

 

[jnicholes]

OK, guys, I have a potential crisis in my garden. I need some immediate advice.

As you can see, it might get close to freezing on Tuesday and Wednesday. I’m worried that the cold temperatures these days may kill my garden. I have beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, and sunflowers planted.

If it does get this cold, do I need to take some steps to protect my garden? If so, what steps should I take?

Can someone please help me out?

 

[WthrLady]

I have a couple of those small live traps that I could use....

View attachment 3545434

But, like I said, we live in the middle of a forest, and I just know that if I remove a few squirrels currently in the yard, that there are 2 or 3 others just waiting to take over their territory.

On a more positive note, I have pretty much solved the problem with rabbits getting into my gardens. I have a bunch of baby cottentail rabbits running around the yard, and, in fact, they have a nest underneath my elevated chicken coop. But all my new pallet wood raised beds are 16 inches high and I have not seen any rabbits jump up that high into the raised beds.

View attachment 3545436

Here is a picture of my newest 16-inch-high pallet wood raised bed with cherry tomato plants I started inside the house. That picture was from almost 3 weeks ago. Those same tomato plants are now over 4 feet tall! They are way bigger than any tomato plants I have had in prior years. The rabbits stay out of the raised bed, but the squirrels are digging in the dirt and leaving little holes everywhere. I still don't know what they are looking for in all that dirt. Any ideas?

View attachment 3545444

Ah, but it only catches one at a time. We have 4 of these around the property, smaller sized one for ground squirrels, and DH takes great pleasure in making his rounds to check them.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuWkMkaUxV8

 

[saysfaa]

OK, guys, I have a potential crisis in my garden. I need some immediate advice.

View attachment 3545563

As you can see, it might get close to freezing on Tuesday and Wednesday. I’m worried that the cold temperatures these days may kill my garden. I have beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, and sunflowers planted.

If it does get this cold, do I need to take some steps to protect my garden? If so, what steps should I take?

Can someone please help me out?

There is no simple answer because so many things make a difference. Which variety, what stage of lifespan and growth, whether there has been much variation in temperatures lately, how sudden the drop in temperature, how long it stays at the low temperatures, the humidity, whether the plants are stressed otherwise (moisture levels, nutrient levels, insect or slug or viral or fungus damage).

Do you know the microclimate of your garden? Such things as whether you are at the top of a slope, mid slope, or bottom of a slope or in a hollow. North slope? Whether you are downwind of a pond or lake and how far from it, sheltered from breeze or not and so on.

I wouldn't take any steps with those vegetables at those temperatures if they haven't started flowering yet.

If they have started flowering then I might look up how cold tolerant each is at that stage and go from there. Most likely, it would delay the harvest. It might lower the yield. I would probably accept such losses rather than bother with frost protection. I might not if I had a very small garden or a lot of time or it is getting very late to replant.

If your garden is typically colder than the forecast or the forecast changes to colder as those days get closer, you might consider protecting the cucumbers by covering them with light sheets of some sort (commercial row covers or bed sheets) and/or big containers of water near them. There are other ways that are more difficult and not needed for this kind of temp dip.

Beans would be next most vulnerable. The rest should be fine as long as they don't actually drop below the freeze point long enough for ice crystals to form inside their tissues - tomatoes are most sensitive, then either potatoes or corn. It has to be a pretty hard frost to cause much damage to seedling peas or carrots or sunflowers - they can take down to 25 sometimes if enough other factors help.

 

[jnicholes]

There is no simple answer because so many things make a difference. Which variety, what stage of lifespan and growth, whether there has been much variation in temperatures lately, how sudden the drop in temperature, how long it stays at the low temperatures, the humidity, whether the plants are stressed otherwise (moisture levels, nutrient levels, insect or slug or viral or fungus damage).

Do you know the microclimate of your garden? Such things as whether you are at the top of a slope, mid slope, or bottom of a slope or in a hollow. North slope? Whether you are downwind of a pond or lake and how far from it, sheltered from breeze or not and so on.

I wouldn't take any steps with those vegetables at those temperatures if they haven't started flowering yet.

If they have started flowering then I might look up how cold tolerant each is at that stage and go from there. Most likely, it would delay the harvest. It might lower the yield. I would probably accept such losses rather than bother with frost protection. I might not if I had a very small garden or a lot of time or it is getting very late to replant.

If your garden is typically colder than the forecast or the forecast changes to colder as those days get closer, you might consider protecting the cucumbers by covering them with light sheets of some sort (commercial row covers or bed sheets) and/or big containers of water near them. There are other ways that are more difficult and not needed for this kind of temp dip. Maybe the beans too.

Thanks for all this information. I appreciate it. I will continue to research.

 

[WthrLady]

OK, guys, I have a potential crisis in my garden. I need some immediate advice.

View attachment 3545563

As you can see, it might get close to freezing on Tuesday and Wednesday. I’m worried that the cold temperatures these days may kill my garden. I have beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, and sunflowers planted.

If it does get this cold, do I need to take some steps to protect my garden? If so, what steps should I take?

Can someone please help me out?

Keep on mind your ground is warm, so covering them up as it reaches sunset is great. The earth will continue to release it all night. Tomatoes and peppers I'd cover. Everything else...SHOULD be Ok.