What did you do in the garden today?

[Liz Birdlover]

They don't die by the bait; I think they die where they hide. I only found one stink rotting one out in my garden and none around the bait. But they eventually disappeared. I set rat cage traps and haven't caught one for over 3 months. I have a Carie Mango tree that has just set fruit. I will be able to tell if they are still around when my mangoes are ripe.

Good morning on this beautiful non rainy (for once) Sunday. I started a brief reply about rat bait, but then began a ramble, hope ya dont mind some rambling thoughts here...

I set some rat baits Friday night after the rain. I don't actually see any dead rat bodies around, but I suspect I may smell them at some point, because I have a nose like a bloodhound. The buzzards have really keen sense of smell, so I am wondering if they will react. They're always gliding around peacefully but if I see one hanging by the place where I knew rats were...well, maybe that means they ate the Corn muffin baking soda mix. I texted my neighbor the link about it, so hopefully she sets some up as well. Rabbit, fox, hawk, opposum, snake, or groundhog can be a pain in the wazoo at times, but mice or rats...yeah they all need to go asap.

Today is a good day to till the new compost area and work on the chicken pens, mixing some DE into their dustbath area. it has been so muddy, some of my poor Roosters have mites, so I am dusting them each today. Hens barely have any, so I guess hens dustbathe & Roosters just watch them Lol. I need to tell them, Hey, Dudes need to bathe too!

Chickweed is really doing fantastic so the flock will be free ranging today since I can be out there with them. Going to try & get DH to finally cut down a Holly, it's been woodpeckered badly, so I can cut to a stump & let it grow as a big rounded shrub like I did to another one. A bird planted a huge pine tree & I let it grow, so the Hollys can be more like big shrubs by the towering pine. DH says he'd rather cut the pine....Noooooo, I love that pine, I love the smell, the sound of wind blowing through it, the soft pine needles around the base, and pine cones to make wreaths. Why doesn't he like it? He's from Maine he's had his fill of pines. Sorry, that pine is not only staying, but I'm planting more. Leave my pines alone!

No wind today, so also a good firepit day, burn some wood scraps & yard debris from neighboring wooded lot dead trees, the previous week's wind & rain brought down.

The moat has re-absorbed back into the ground, so I can see what's going on back there now, lots of awesome chickweed! I originally wanted to plant a permanent asparagus area there, but I'm not sure what would thrive best for an area that sometimes floods a few days, a few times a year. I've been gradually adding soil to raise the ground level back there, it is better than it was, but still floods. The adjacent corn field floods worse. I did try to create a berm between them but the neighboring yard floods even worse & there are trees between us. Any ideas? I could just make it a nice wildflower area for nature to thrive, too. I actually love that idea. Help our birds & bees. I guess it's about a 30x50 area, backing up to cornfields with 2 neighbors yards on either side, the 1 neighboring yard flooding really bad & I planted huge evergreens (Green Giants) down that one whole side of my 2 acre property. The soil is very rich back there. Previous owner planted that awful Bermuda grass Everywhere. Should I still keep trying to build up the parts that collect water first? Then a cover crop to get rid of Bermuda grass? Let me know your thoughts...I found this info, maybe build it up more 1st, then try cover crop before a wildflower area?


"Competitive cover crops are effective for suppressing bermudagrass. Plant a dense stand of rye, winter oats or winter barley in the fall. Harvest this for grain or forage and plow under the stubble. Plant a highly competitive summer cover crop like cowpeas or velvetbeans."

 

[fuzzi]

Good morning on this beautiful non rainy (for once) Sunday. I started a brief reply about rat bait, but then began a ramble, hope ya dont mind some rambling thoughts here...

I set some rat baits Friday night after the rain. I don't actually see any dead rat bodies around, but I suspect I may smell them at some point, because I have a nose like a bloodhound. The buzzards have really keen sense of smell, so I am wondering if they will react. They're always gliding around peacefully but if I see one hanging by the place where I knew rats were...well, maybe that means they ate the Corn muffin baking soda mix. I texted my neighbor the link about it, so hopefully she sets some up as well. Rabbit, fox, hawk, opposum, snake, or groundhog can be a pain in the wazoo at times, but mice or rats...yeah they all need to go asap.

Today is a good day to till the new compost area and work on the chicken pens, mixing some DE into their dustbath area. it has been so muddy, some of my poor Roosters have mites, so I am dusting them each today. Hens barely have any, so I guess hens dustbathe & Roosters just watch them Lol. I need to tell them, Hey, Dudes need to bathe too!

Chickweed is really doing fantastic so the flock will be free ranging today since I can be out there with them. Going to try & get DH to finally cut down a Holly, it's been woodpeckered badly, so I can cut to a stump & let it grow as a big rounded shrub like I did to another one. A bird planted a huge pine tree & I let it grow, so the Hollys can be more like big shrubs by the towering pine. DH says he'd rather cut the pine....Noooooo, I love that pine, I love the smell, the sound of wind blowing through it, the soft pine needles around the base, and pine cones to make wreaths. Why doesn't he like it? He's from Maine he's had his fill of pines. Sorry, that oine is not only staying, but I'm planting more. Leave my pines alone!

No wind today, so also a good firepit day, burn some wood scraps & yard debris from neighboring wooded lot dead trees, the previous week's wind & rain brought down.

The moat has reabsorbed back into the ground so I can see what's going on back there now, lots of awesome chickweed! I originally wanted to plant an asparagus area there, but I'm not sure what would thrive best for an area that sometimes floods a few days, a few times a year. I've been gradually adding soil to raise the ground level back there, it is better than it was, but still floods. The adjacent corn field floods worse. I did try to create a berm between them but the neighboring yard floods even worse & there are trees between us. Any ideas? I could just make it a nice wildflower area for nature to thrive, too. I actually love that idea. Help our birds & bees. I guess it's about a 30x50 area, backing up to cornfields with 2 neighbors yards on either side, the 1 neighboring yard flooding really bad & I planted huge evergreens (Green Giants) down that one whole side of my 2 acre property. The soil is very rich back there. Previous owner planted that awful Bermuda grass Everywhere. Should I still keep trying to build up the parts that collect water first? Then a cover crop? Let me know your thoughts...I found this info, maybe build it up more than try cover crop before a wildflower area?


"Competitive cover crops are effective for suppressing bermudagrass. Plant a dense stand of rye, winter oats or winter barley in the fall. Harvest this for grain or forage and plow under the stubble. Plant a highly competitive summer cover crop like cowpeas or velvetbeans."

Ramble away!

I like the idea of a flower area, maybe planted with just natives? It could attract pollinators, too.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Added ramble...There's a lot of rabbits here, but one fat mama in particular likes me & the chickens. She often stretches out relaxing by us as we tend to yard work. When free ranging the chickens, their pen doors are open so they can come & go...Ms. Bunny goes into the chicken pens & digs holes right along with the chickens. I have to chase her out. Well, this morning, I found her digging a hole & lining it with dead Bermuda grass. Only trouble is, she did this in my large flower pot, right by the back door & deck. That's my tomato plant pot, the one with the little orange sweet but tangy delicious tomatoes we pop on our mouths like grapes all summer. She just stared at me as I removed the cushy weeds that lined hole. I told her, "I'm sorry you worked so hard to build this, but you can't have your babies in this pot...you've got 2 acres of my yard with numerous trees & shrub cover & 2 acres of wooded lot right next door to choose from. Stay out of the tomato pot please." but I don't think she appreciated it. I know I will be chasing her out of chicken pens again today. Does anyone else have a wild rabbit that enjoys the chickens?

Here she is, funny girl, she lays down beside the chicken pens often.

I took this pic when I was inside the chicken pens, the rabbit is outside the pens looking in.

 

[Molpet]

Added ramble...There's a lot of rabbits here, but one fat mama in particular likes me & the chickens. She often stretches out relaxing by us as we tend to yard work. When free ranging the chickens, their pen doors are open so they can come & go...Ms. Bunny goes into the chicken pens & digs holes right along with the chickens. I have to chase her out. Well, this morning, I found her digging a hole & lining it with dead Bermuda grass. Only trouble is, she did this in my large flower pot, right by the back door & deck. That's my tomato plant pot, the one with the little orange sweet but tangy delicious tomatoes we pop on our mouths like grapes all summer. She just stared at me as I removed the cushy weeds that lined hole. I told her, "I'm sorry you worked so hard to build this, but you can't have your babies in this pot...you've got 2 acres of my yard with numerous trees & shrub cover & 2 acres of wooded lot right next door to choose from. Stay out of the tomato pot please." but I don't think she appreciated it. I know I will be chasing her out of chicken pens again today. Does anyone else have a wild rabbit that enjoys the chickens?

Here she is, funny girl, she lays down beside the chicken pens often.
View attachment 3774463
View attachment 3774462

The only rabbit tracks I see is up by the house and in the poultry yard. There's several that don't run from me. Also found a bit of fur and a bunch of intestines in the middle of the driveway early morning, so I figured owl.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I HATE fire ants with a passion and they are all over here. I disturbed several nests around the garden and pasture today. Ended up with a couple of stings. I need to take some Borax or something out to treat them tomorrow.

Do you have mounds? If you said they're everywhere...sounds like you may Not have the mound making type. In that case, only bait will work. You need to figure out what type of fire ants you have. The ones I have here are European Fire Ants. They do not make mounds. They create extensive tunnel systems, for hundreds of feet, then have more queens with more tunnels, covering acres & acres. Their home base is who knows where, down in the tunnels, underground. I have followed ants carrying yellow bait, just to see if I could figure out where home was...yeah right, 50 to 75 feet in all different directions. They are also in my yard and I have found them over the entire two acres, as well as the gravel roadway & neighboring yards & farm fields...I'm talkin acres & acres worth. There is no eradicating this particular type, since they're tunneling systems are so widespread. All I can do here is manage the number using spinosad bait, the only stuff that works & is deemed an organic treatment.

The local Ag Extension actually came out here & collected some ants to be properly identified after I emailed them photos. You may want to do that before trying treatments. I too, 1st tried borax. It had no effect at all. Other types of fire ant bait can be damaging to other beneficial insects, etc. Apparently in my case, these ants have been here for many decades. The previous owner & former family farm owner both told me they recalled stinging ants over many decades. I'm the only one that had them identified. The little horrors actually climbed up my shovel handle, got inside my garden gloves & stung the crap out of my hands. My hands swelled up for a week! They climb up shoes inside pant legs...yeah one got my inner thigh. You ever see a crazy woman rip her jeans off running around swatting & screaming in her underwear, you know she just got stung bad. They climb up your shirt & sting the back of your neck under the ponytail. They hitch a ride on your clothing & end up in the house. Try to swat them off, they have a death grip on skin & clothes. Try to step on them, full weight, they emerge unscathed from the ball they curled into. You literally need a freaking hammer to smash them, I'm not kidding. Their exoskeleton is armor!

The product I sprinkle down & see the ants carrying off is Antixx granular. Their numbers will diminish with ongoing use, but they will never totally ever be gone.

They invaded Maine & northern states in the 1930s. Look up Eleanor Groden. I spoke with her, she told me the sad truth about these nasty ants.
https://www.maine.gov/dacf/php/gotpests/bugs/factsheets/fire-ants-me.pdf

https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/ants/myrmica_ruba.htm

 

[Molpet]

You need to figure out what type of fire ants you have. The ones I have here are European Fire Ants. They do not make mounds. They create extensive tunnel systems, for hundreds of feet, then have more queens with more tunnels, covering acres & acres. Their home base is who knows where, down in the tunnels, underground. I have follwed ants carring yellow bait just to see if I could figure out where home was...yeah right, 50 to 75 feet in all different directions. They are also in my yard and I have found them over the entire two acres, as well as the gravel roadway & neighboring yards & farm fields...I'm talkin acres & acres worth. There is no eradicating this particular type, since they're tunneling systems are so widespread. All I can do here is manage the number using spinosad bait, the only stuff that works & is deemed an organic treatment.
The local Ag Extension actually came out here & collected some ants to be properly identified after I emailed them photos. You may want to do that before trying treatments. I too, 1st tried borax. It had no effect at all. Other types of fireant bait can be damaging to other beneficial insects, etc. Apparently in my case, these ants have been here for many decades. The previous owner & former family farm owner both told me they recalled stinging ants over many decades. I'm the only one that had them identified. The little horrors actually climbed up my shovel handle, got inside my garden gloves & stung the crap out of my hands. My hands swelled up for a week! They climb up shoes inside pant legs...yeah one got my inner thigh. You ever see a crazy woman rip her jeans off running around swatting & screaming in her underwear, you know she just got stung bad. They climb up your shirt & sting the back of your neck under the ponytail. They hitch a ride on your clothing & end up in the house. Try to swat them off, they have a death grip on skin & clothes. Try to step on them, full weight, they emerge unscathed from the ball they curled into. You literally need a freaking hammer to smash them, I'm not kidding.

The product I sprinkle down & see the ants carrying off is Antixx granular. Their numbers will diminish with ongoing use, but they will never totally ever be gone.

They invaded Maine & northern states in the 1930s. Look up Eleanor Groden. I spoke with her, she told me the sad truth about these nasty ants.
https://www.maine.gov/dacf/php/gotpests/bugs/factsheets/fire-ants-me.pdf

https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/ants/myrmica_ruba.htm

I would have to move

 

[Liz Birdlover]

The only rabbit tracks I see is up by the house and in the poultry yard. There's several that don't run from me. Also found a bit of fur and a bunch of intestines in the middle of the driveway early morning, so I figured owl.

I found a big rabbit body with no head once, could not understand what critter would leave all the good meat & take only the head. I read that owls do that sometimes.

 

[Sally PB]

I start by boiling water. Once it’s heated up, I take those fiery cayenne peppers, slice them up, and put them in a glass jar. I pour the boiling water over the peppers and let the mixture sit for a whole day. This gives it time to really steep and get all the spicy goodness out of the peppers.

How much water and how many peppers?

 

[Molpet]

I found a big rabbit body with no head once, could not understand what critter would leave all the good meat & take only the head. I read that owls do that sometimes.

I have found mink heads and rabbit heads under trees that had owl pellets. Dog pointed out a headless rabbit in the top of hazelnut bushes, about 8 ft up... under a Black walnut

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I would have to move

Believe me, the day they were identified I was really going to put this place up for sale, but since using the Antixx, I do not see them as often. 2020 was the year...since my work shut down I was here all of the time, outside. For some reason there were millions of them! I saw them running along my garden hose as if it was their own personal highway. Well, I found they love moisture, so the hose had condensation on it & that was a dry summer. They were seeking moisture. I got the Antixx & they went nuts for it. I really thought I had gotten rid of darn near all of them. Then we had a lot of rain, and the areas that flood...I saw them there, but luckily I am not digging in that area, neither are my chickens. So...the fire ants did thin out of where my chickens are, as I use the Antixx spring & summer, shake some out where I see the ants about every 2 weeks. But yeah, my neighbors aren't doing anything, & their back lot floods, so the ants over there are probably still thriving. If they are widespread over acreage for decades, they're pretty much here to stay, but at least I rarely get stung now. Antixx has made a significant difference. Plus, I tuck my pantlegs into my socks now. Lol