Back to Eden Gardening

[Nyboy]

Have large dumptruck coming Sun AM , and my nephew and his friend to weed and mulch. Suppose to be sunny hot day, will try out new garden hat !! Hoping to get all flower beds done but know that will not happen.

 

[ninnymary]

Bee, I am so happy for you! This brings joy to me just hearing about your blessing. Good things come to those who wait.

Mary

 

[baymule]

Bee that is great! So happy for you. What a deal!

 

[Beekissed]

Was this a result of your sign out on the road?

No! And that's the thing....our neighbor out by the road has been trying to get electric to a big cabin he built down in the holler there but for a year or so they've been telling him he couldn't get electric unless he put in a septic system first...weird, huh? Like, what in the world does that have to do with electric?

Well, he and his family are really wanting to move there soon and so he called about the electric again and, all of the sudden, he could have electric run to the place and no mention was made of a septic system. That's bureaucracy for you.... Or maybe God's way of getting me some chips? Not sure.

Anyhoo, the electric company had to clear a right of way to the nearest pole and it required cutting a ton of brush and trees and they still aren't done....they've made things really, really ugly out there and exposed a beautiful, shady little holler to the sun and the highway...but I am the beneficiary of the chipped up debris.

BUT, this is the same company that does this kind of work all over the state, so now that they know we want chips(as evidenced by the sign) and were strongly encouraged to get that old lady off their backs by giving us a peace offering....my mother was out there telling them that she maintains that whole road and asking if "all that mess" would be cleaned up properly.

She told them any time they are working in the area to come back and dump chips here, so I'm hoping they will do that very thing. OR, they could not do it now, out of spite for the old woman who has been haunting their work efforts...supervising.

I prefer to think of it as a God thing, as it was certainly mysterious that the neighbor could all the sudden get electric when he couldn't all year long.

 

[Beekissed]

BTE growth as of 7/16...almost 2 months in since establishing the garden. We've gotten many cukes and are starting to get yellow squash...but those vines have been attacked so badly that they are not going to be with us long. Showing squash borer damage at the stems and the cukes are showing fuserium wilt.

The apples on the dwarf trees that I was hoping to get a taste of this fall are systematically being eaten by the squirrels and the deer...the only ones they aren't bothering are the apples that don't have much flavor. Ain't that the way of it...we'll have plenty of those this year but that won't matter much.

 

[Nyboy]

Bet those apples will still make a good pie.

 

[Smart Red]

@Beekissed, ever give a thought to Kaolin Clay? A spray will cover the apples and make them unappealing to the animals. You? You can just wash the coating off and eat.

 

[Nyboy]

Might want to get some barn cats, my friends takes out any squirrels in yard.

 

[ninnymary]

Bee, I've been having the same problem with my apple tree. It had around 22 apples of good size. Now, I'm down to about half that much. Seems like almost every day I find one on the ground that has been bitten into. Same thing with my tomatoes.

Mary

 

[Beekissed]

I plan on getting a few kittens in the fall so I can train them on the chickens before hatching in the spring, but cats don't last long around here...the foxes and coyotes kill them faster than I can get them. We don't do animals in the house and all animals must be apart of the working homestead, so they have to live outdoors to do their job.

We have so many squirrels I doubt cats could keep up with them anyway...we are overrun with squirrels now that nobody squirrel hunts any longer. If my eyesight was better, I'd be hunting them myself but I can't hit the broad side of a barn now.

There's one branch of my favorite three that still has a clutch of apples on it...I intend to cover that branch end with a mesh laundry bag and see if I can at least keep those long enough to taste them when they ripen. By next year I may have thinned out some squirrels and put up an electric fence around the orchard for the deer, but I'd like to know what I'm fighting for, at least! If they aren't even a good apple, I'll not even bother.


We spotted a red fox hunting the local rabbits the other night, so maybe the rabbit population will get thinned a little. If they don't come in Jake's boundary, he can't do his part on them and they've been needing some thinning out.