2011 Garden - lost most of my plants

Discussion in 'The Green Patch' started by kckndrgn, Apr 6, 2011.


  1. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    OK, so my 2011 garden started off GREAT. 24 tomato plants, 36 pepper plants (mix of sweet & hot) some herbs, some flowers all doing great.

    Until the night before last.

    I went out to the garden to put in the last of the potato seeds and I find my garden decimated. Some 4 legged creature of the night came in and ate all but 6 tomato plants, most of the pepper plants and even appears to have dug around for some of the seeds I put in over the weekend.

    Couldn't tell if it was raccoon or opossum, the tracks weren't identifiable.

    UGH, oh well, I started some more tomato seeds last night and I'll just have to keep an eye on things to see if I catch the buggers. Short of using an electric fence any natural deterrents to these critters?
     
  2. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Ground hog?
     
  3. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Possible, but I've not heard of or seen any.

    Sent from my Android
     
  4. BAT1

    BAT1 Cowboys know no fear

    Sorry to hear that. We have a rabbit fence around ours. Time to do a little hunting.
     
  5. ylisa7

    ylisa7 Monkey+

    That stinks. At least it was at the beginning of the season....loke that really helps, lol.

    So, did you get your garden replanted? And?

    For 2 years I had nothing bother my garden. This year the turkeys found it along with some 4 legged critter. I'll have to put up a fence.
     
  6. oth47

    oth47 Monkey+

    I put chicken wire around my beans because of rabbits,otherwise I've had no critter problems.I've heard that you can spray human urine around the garden and help keep out critters.
     
  7. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    Use what is know locally as ''A One Eyed Beagle" and a 22lr...
    You can expect a return performance...soon...
     
  8. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I started 12 new tomatoes, just got them in the ground. But I did find a 1/2 dozen or so volunteer tomato plants from last year.

    The garden is doing OK, tho we have been getting too much rain.
     
  9. ylisa7

    ylisa7 Monkey+

    My husband already volunteered for that job, lol.

    What are volunteer tomato plants? I just bought 16 sweet million tomato plants from our local high school. They have a greenhouse and sell plants every year for 25 cents.

    I hear you...too much rain hear also. If it doesn't dry up they will end up with blight. I can't plant in the ground for at least another week.
     
  10. radpug

    radpug Monkey+

    Volunteer tomato plants or any form of plants consider volunteers,
    Are plants that come up from seeds that have fallen from the previous years plants on there own. No work or interaction from the farmer to produce a new plant.
    If the plants were heirloom then thats good, you'll have a vaible plant.
    If it was a hybrid plants could be bad none viable plant.
     
    ylisa7 likes this.
  11. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Last year was the first year that all plants in my garden were heirloom, so yeah, they are heirloom tomatoes. Now I had 3 types, it could any one of the 3 or a combination of the them. I'll find out in a couple of months :)
     
  12. BAT1

    BAT1 Cowboys know no fear

    2011 Garden

    Here it is to date:
    Garden 0501011911a. Garden 0501011908a. Garden 0501011906. garden 0501011909a.
     
    VHestin likes this.
  13. dragonfly

    dragonfly Monkey+++

    Up north I had taken several potted plants, like aloe vera and even some prickly pear cactus...They were decimated overnight by a big eared rat of some type! Chicken wire Fencing was climbed! Now I have an electrical fence system, that will surely ruin their day!
    I put a 1 x 4 cut at an angle for 4 feet long, from the widest dimension of 3 1/2 inches to barely an inch on the opposite end. On the bottom ( flat side), I tacked 1/4 inch hardware cloth on to the wood.... ( ground!) Then I tacked hardware cloth over the top so it forms a wedge design.
    I use a fence charger ( solar powered) to power it. I put the (+) positive wire on the top of the "cage" and the (-) negative wire on the "floor". Anything that crawls in between the 2 screens will eventually get fried! They have to negotiate thru the 2 screens, from the widest area to the narrowest point...They will touch both at some point! 8Kv will get 'er done! Works on snakes too! We got big 2 rattlers in one week!
    Note: be sure to turn the power off and even use something like a wooden handled rake to
    "short" the screens out BEFORE retrieving the "catch of the day/night"!
    It works! No more rat problems!...I didn't even expect the snakes!
     
  14. ylisa7

    ylisa7 Monkey+

    Thanks for the pictures. It looks great.

    dragonfly-It sounds like you have it under control. I love all critters, as long as they stay outside and away from my plants and garden.
     
  15. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    I love all critters too - cooked just right, with a side of slaw or beans...[drooling]
     
  16. VHestin

    VHestin Farm Chick

    I'm starting to have my produce grown in raised beds I made myself cause they're easier to protect from the wildlife around here(also keeps the horseradish from getting out of hand). It's the deer and squirrels/chipmunks that seem to be the main problem. Squirrels/chipmunks will dig something up to eat and leave a pinecone in its place.
     
  17. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    I have made a number of box traps as a deterent to my many rabbits and squirrels. These are not your normal catch and release box traps. They are rectangular tubes 22 inches long, open on both ends, inside dimensions 4.5 inches high X 6 inches wide. These are bait, lure in, catch and kill. There is a slot .75" X 2.5" cut centered on one side on each end. Two screws extend into the box bottom and two more top, side by side, at the midpoint about 1" apart. These are to hold the bait in place. After placing and baiting these trap tubes, a Victor conibear 110 crusher trap is set inside each end. The coil that powers the trap extends outside the box thru the slot. When squirrels or rabbits enter to eat the bait, they become stew meat. The traps very quickly cleanly kill. The traps will be checked 4 time a day. I doubt I will have much of a problem with hairy tailed rats or rabbits, and I always did like a good small game stew.
     
  18. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    [worthless]
     
  19. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    I'll see what I can do. ..... but, the descriptive would be adequate for a non-sewer pipe sailor. You want pictures and a recipe for the stew also?
     
  20. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Yup.
     
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