What did you do in the garden today?

[Liz Birdlover]

I had a neighbor tell me that relocating captured wildlife (at least in my area) is illegal.

I've relocated many groundhogs over the years. I take them to a place miles away, that has a lot of land with acres of wild growth at the end of a 2 mile long road, nearby is a bit of parkland mowed grass with paved walking trail & a water processing business all fenced in is on that road, but folks working there do not mind. A mile of that road is planted every year, corn usually, but the groundhogs are not really hanging out down there, they seem to stay in the large wild growing area & pretty much have a small colony that coyotes keep in check. It's a good spot to be a critter without humans getting ticked off. It is illegal to relocate them, but no one cares. The odd thing is...right after I relocate a few, I may be groundhogless a season or 2, but at some point, a new groundhog shows up...yup a new Hog comes to town ...so more times than not, there is usually a big, fat groundhog living under one of the 12x24 sheds. I really need to get a good photo of the dude here now...my goodness, he is HUGE! Neighbors get groundhogs, too. I guess Boss Hog likes Neighbors, probably has a thing goin' with the girl hog next door. I do see groundhog babies in Spring but every day there's one less...Foxes? Eagles? Coyote? Apparently, someone is having baby hog lunch. But the Big Boss Hog fella, no one messes with him!

 

[Sueby]

Love the bean trellis! A lovely & functional idea.

& they're so easy to pick!

I got a rat trap from TSC. Not the wooden kind, this is a double trap, set in an enclosure. I've gotten about a dozen chipmunks and 3 red squirrels. Peanut butter as bait seems to work well.
this trap

For the larger critters, I use live traps. Hubby relocated 1 red squirrel, but I have shot the rest. 4 possums, 1 rabbit, 1 wood chuck. We are overrun with critters this year, possibly due to the very mild winter we had.

I haven't removed it either. I did notice a slight difference in taste, but I have a rather blunt sense of taste and smell.

I cannot even tell you how many chipmunks we've gotten with this trap - we don't even bait it anymore. We would sometimes get 2 a day. We stake them down & did have a skunk get his paw stuck once, DH went out & released him. We've gotten rats & mice if it's baited.

Speaking of, I set out mouse traps in the garden. I found, what I thought to be, a mouse nest in a greenstalk behind the celery. & the dog agrees. Something has been eating my eggplants, but just the teeny ones so I don't think it's the groundhog so he gets to stick around for now. I'll be replacing the garden fencing so he can't get in next year anyway, I'd rather not have to dispatch him, he's kind of cute.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Just a dumb butt I am. I cut up some jalapeno and Serrano peppers for my stew and forgot to wash my hands. My nose started itching and I had to scratch it now my nose is on fire.

Better than your eyeball, though

 

[Jenbirdee]

i added coffee grinds and banana peels

 

[Liz Birdlover]

We've been getting Rain 🌧 Finally! Getting some daily since Friday & supposedly many days this week. Gives me a break from watering because time is something that seems to be in short supply these days. I swear in summer there are not enough hours in the day, despite longer daylight, I am still always trying to catch up. Anyways...getting an MRI of the hip later today. I don't know if that is where this pain is originating or not. I really don't have time for this crap. Ain't got time to hurt! (Like movie Predator, Ain't got time to bleed ) Seriously though...it's 2024, shouldn't we just be able to fix the body with a bionic part ordered from Amazon? As a kid in the 70's watching Bionic man & woman, I really had high hopes we'd be there by the 2020s.

Anyhooo...Rain in the garden, I weeded easily last night after work, sat my butt on an upside-down 5 gallon bucket & plunked chicken craving greens into another 5 gallon bucket, which they devoured with great delight.

Picked us some veggies & had a wonderful dinner.

Best squash I've ever grown since moving here. Shhh, don't tell the SVBs where I planted this year. They haven't found it...yet, anyway.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

i added coffee grinds and banana peels

I do that, too. DH says don't do that, it's too much acid (coffee) but the blueberries & tomatoes are loving it. I crush egg shells into the mix as well.

 

[Sueby]

Seriously though...it's 2024, shouldn't we just be able to fix the body with a bionic part ordered from Amazon?

I keep telling my nephews they need to 3D print me a new spine. They're really intelligent engineers, feels like they should be able to do that.

 

[Burnt Brass Homestead]

Hi everyone!

We harvest food from our gardens almost on a daily basis

All of the work is definitely paying off

 

[WthrLady]

I got a rat trap from TSC. Not the wooden kind, this is a double trap, set in an enclosure. I've gotten about a dozen chipmunks and 3 red squirrels. Peanut butter as bait seems to work well.
this trap

For the larger critters, I use live traps. Hubby relocated 1 red squirrel, but I have shot the rest. 4 possums, 1 rabbit, 1 wood chuck. We are overrun with critters this year, possibly due to the very mild winter we had.

I haven't removed it either. I did notice a slight difference in taste, but I have a rather blunt sense of taste and smell.

I use the dual tunnel trap by tomcat for out ground squirrels. Works a treat!

 

[DemeterAD9]

Been assessing the garden daily, often thrice daily! Starting to see some diseases but that’s pretty normal as the growing season is on the down swing. As always, the cucumber’s demise is approaching first.

Had a rain storm last night and my tomatoes which are offically taller than me, are falling over. I hate using the wire hoop things because of this. I did my best to straighten them as the poor marigolds were being smothered

The first of many tomatoes is ripening! Good thing because the blight is coming on too.

Lots of EZ sauce roma hybrids developing, hoping to make some decent sauces.

Tried out some new winter squash varieties. Mashed potatoe squash is doing almost too well, about 30 from 6 hills. Most new female flowers are being aborted so the plants may be capped out on viable fruit. Squash vine borers my play a part too...

Delcatas not as productive but doing well. Maybe 10 or so from 3-4 hills.

And next year’s seeds are already planned. Crossed delcata pollen to a mashed potato squash. Will be keeping the seeds and see how it goes! Now hopefully I remember what the twine around the stem means.

Noticed today the supposed yellow zucchini is something else. No idea what yet but l’ll have a clue in a few weeks.

And of course the humble potato, this one was a volunteer when a spud survived the MI winter and sprung up between the summer squash.