Gardens

MWoodside

@reneeannemm, African Marigolds are known to keep animals away.  We are in a metro area, our garden is in the backyard.

dpjennifer

@reneeannemm I have used marigolds to repel deer, so as @MWoodside said that may help with raccoons.  Also, search online because sometimes certain spices sprinkled around can help, or certain plants are great deterrents.

mylittleversailles

@MWoodside @dpjennifer Awesome, thanks. We'll plant some of them in window boxes and put them at the top of the walls/trellis of the deck so hopefully they will just stop coming in.

cooaladolly

@reneeannemm luckily I don't have any issues with raccoons (yet) but my gardens do get attacked as they grow by rabbits. Something you could try would be getting a piece of chicken wire and bend it over the top of your plantings. That way you can tie it down, back and front, in a way that you can open it if you need to tend to them, or when you're ready to replant, but the raccoons  shouldn't be able to dig inside. You may have to cover the side entrances with something as well. The seedlings will still get the same amount of sun and watering without disturbing the caging. Definitely not the prettiest option, but it may deter them. Raccoons are freakin smart.

mylittleversailles

@cooaladolll They are particularly smart (and MASSIVE) here in Toronto. I love and hate their delightful faces. Every couple years they come out with new "raccoon-proof" garbage and green waste bins and within a few months the frigging raccoons figure out how to get into them. DH illegally dumps our garbage now or we have all of it strewn across the deck every. single. night. We're trying the new raccoon proof green bins coming out later this month! 

We're going to experiment with my sage seedlings which are dying a couple nights and see what they are and aren't deterred by. We're scared they may be able hulk through the chicken wire idea because they are so wily. We won't be actually keeping the plants outside at night until we have a better idea of what we're up against.

cooaladolly

@reneeannemm Man, ya know I forget sometimes that the rodents and critters in cities are sometimes a lot bigger and meaner than those in the country, lol. Since we still get pretty cold nights for another month where I'm at I usually don't start putting mine outside til early to mid May anyway, so you should be fine keeping them indoors for now. Especially if you've got good windows for it. You may even be able to harden them off just by having the windows open through the night when the time is right, tho I haven't tried that myself.

catiecatp

In case anyone has issues with deer - my MIL swears by putting human hair out in her garden - though I think it worked better when she lived in the Okanagan (versus Vancouver Island) - there were fewer deer in the Okanagan valley...

MWoodside

@catiecatp, I'm intrigued. Like a few strands? And where is she putting it? Like all over the place or in a certain spot?

catiecatp

@MWoodside - it has been awhile since I've visited her in the summer, but if I recall correctly this is what she does - she has long hair and whenever she cleans her hairbrush she puts it in her garden and on her planters rather than tossing it. My impression is it is something about the scent that deters them - so if you were trying to be strategic you'd want to put it near the tastiest plants, and perhaps on the perimeter if you had a limited amount of hair at your disposal.

I'm not sure if it works well - though it certainly wouldn't hurt - I just know that she has done it in the past and feels that it has worked for her. If this were me I'd try to make some sort of scientific investigation - putting hair next to some plants and not others and seeing if some were left alone more than others... 

dpjennifer

@catiecatp I've definitely heard of people using human hair and even human urine to deter deer, and other creatures.  I've never gone that far though.  

mylittleversailles

We're taking it really slow trying to figure out how to deter the raccoons. It's still a bit chilly at night, so we don't mind pulling in the plants, but it's a physical endeavor to haul out 16 heavy containers twice a day.

Tried turning on the light to scare them when they come. Don't care.

Tried eggshells in the soil because they aren't into prickly stuff. Don't care.

Tried a mint plant near the planter where I've direct sowed greens. Just knocked it out of the way and went on digging. He also digs a little in the tomato planters sometimes, but they don't like the smell of the plants themselves so he doesn't touch those.

Today I'm making a hot pepper and onion spray to use on the perimeter of the deck and on the containers. We'll see.

MWoodside

I got my other 3 raised beds all ready for planting on Sunday. It's been raining here this week and tonight we have plans, but hopefully in the next few days I can get more seeds in the ground. So far I've only planted peas and beans.

Edited to add: garlic is growing beautifully on it's own since it's a perennial. Asparagus looks to be full sized this year! In years past it's been thin and little. So far we've harvested 4 asparagus to eat.  Rhubarb is going strong as well.

mylittleversailles

Our tomatoes have blossoms! They've grown about a foot in the last ten days. The strawberries have teeny-tiny fruits. We're way ahead of the game being in Canadian zone 6b (zone 5 American; our way of classifying is more complicated) because they're all in containers and we were able to baby them with plenty of sun early and pull them inside for chilly nights. I think we're not meant to have hot peppers, as they're all yellow and sad.

@MWoodside My friend just got her asparagus plants this year. She's so excited to establish them and have asparagus in a few years! She says she's got enough for four people, or as it happens to be two vegans.

My husband went out last night and bought and assembled a three person swing. I grew up in government housing - so we didn't have space (or money) in an apartment to have any luxuries as such. It's always been my dream to have a swing to sit on outside, so he decided to make a dream come true. I'll probably never sit anywhere else.

These are my French herbs:


This is my greedy cat Lucy trying to eat mint:


These are the Tiny Tim tomatoes that blossomed first:


This is our ridiculous urban tomato jungle:


And this is a dream fulfilled:

catiecatp

@reneeannemm - it looks like an oasis. I bought two large tomato plants - and even though we had snow this past weekend they're doing fine (though now they're inside for a bit). I also bought basil - because I love basil.

mylittleversailles

@catiecatp It is an oasis! We spend all morning and all evening outside now because it's so private, peaceful and calming. My tomato plants loved that we brought them indoors during a cold couple days; hopefully yours do, too! And yes! Basil! I have three kinds: Cinnamon, which is my indoor basil, Genovese and Thai.

dpjennifer

@reneeannemm I'm jealous that your tomato plants already have flowers on them!  I just finally put them into the garden from their growing pots last weekend.  (the weather here was cold and rainy and I was afraid the nighttime temps and freeze/frost warnings would have killed them if I put them in earlier).  Also, I LOVE your swing!    

I noticed yesterday that some of my strawberries have begun to turn red and I'm super excited about that!

MWoodside

@reneeannemm, WOW! Your plants look awesome! And I love the swing!

mylittleversailles

DH spent yesterday making a new staking system for our tomatoes! They were starting to almost topple over because it's been very windy. They're strong now!

I spend an embarrassing amount of time watching my Brandywine tomatoes because I swear when I look away they've grown.

Spartanrd4

@reneeannemm your plants look beautiful! I am more of a flower gardener myself but DH has some raspberry plants going on that look like have some promising berries on them. We also have 2 blueberry plants but those take awhile to bear fruit and we just planted a grape vine this year. Tomatoes usually grow like crazy!

roper2617

Yay I love gardens! Yours all look so lovely. I'm probably going to get my butt in gear and work on the flower garden this weekend, but for now here's what my veggies are up to. This year I'm growing zucchini, radishes, cayenne peppers, banana peppers, tomaotes, green leaf lettuce, buttercrunch lettuce, Swiss chard and cucumbers. 




Also. Quick question. Does anybody know why my poor cucumbers look the way that they do? They were a healthy looking shade of deep green before I left for camping this weekend. When I got back Sunday evening they looked like this! My father in law was supposed to water my garden, I'm pretty sure he didn't forget. Is this greenish yellow not to healthy looking colour caused by over watering or under watering, or something completely different? And how do I fix it. 

mylittleversailles

@roper2617 Ohh, looking good! I can't help you with the cucumbers - this is our first time gardening. Maybe @dpjennifer knows?

dpjennifer

@roper2617 Well, you can give them some more water just in case.  But it's possible they aren't getting enough nutrients or the right kinds of nutrients from their surroundings.  What are you growing them in?  (soil? compost? manure?)
Also, double check the leaves (especially the underside) to be positive that there are NO bugs on them.  Usually bugs tend to leave more splotchy yellow spots and yours just look dull and yellow overall, so this probably isn't the problem, but is always good to rule out!

Edit: Because I can't remember everything I want to say before I hastily hit the "post" button

dpjennifer

OK, it's been forever and I promised some pictures, so here you go:

These are my strawberry plants, that are growing out of control.  Below are some of the sweet spoils.  
This is my new chicken coop that my husband made!    My garden is attached behind it.
Above and below are pictures of the same area of the garden.  Framing the edge and corner are the tomato plants, and the potatoes are the rows in the middle.    These are all doing very well.

Finally, above are my rows of corn with pumpkins in between (trying some new co-planting this year).   Cut off at the bottom of this picture are my rows of onion and garlic.
AND so far my husband hasn't had time to finish my trellises so my sweet potatoes are still growing in my house, and my peas and watermelon haven't been planted yet.  Phew!

roper2617

Thanks @dpjennifer! I'm growing them in a mixture of sheep manure, compost and peat moss. theres no bugs on them but I think I have found my issue. They've been under watered, odd though because my lettuce that's growing in the same bed is doing quite well. One seems to be bouncing back, but the other 3 cucumber plants look pretty crispy. I'm not giving up though. I gave them a bit of miracle grow to hopefully give them a boost. 
Also, so jealous of all the things you are growing! Looks amazing! 

dpjennifer

@roper2617  Yay!  Glad you found the problem.  Sounds like what you're growing them in is awesome.  I tend to use mushroom manure and whatnot.  And also now chicken poop.    I love miracle grow fertilizer.  I get the watering can singles and go to town... actually did that last night for the first time this year!  
I LOVE gardening.  

mylittleversailles

@dpjennifer CHICKENS. I actually just tried to tag you @dpchickens so ya know where my brain is. They have really complicated social structures. Have there been any coop d'etats yet?? We've looked a bit into rescuing chickens when we've got a backyard, but the yards are so tiny here in Toronto we'd have to do more research if we can ever afford a house here (lolno $1million average for the tiniest piece of crap). Your garden is gorgeous!! 

I got a living salad basket at the farmers' market, so it's possibly I am officially addicted to buying/caring for plants. 

dpjennifer

We noticed over the weekend that one of them (they're all females) has been jumping into the food tray to stop others from eating.  So, she's definitely the dominant one.  Nothing else major so far for them.  My family had ducks when I was growing up, so I'm used to some of the social order scheming.  Poultry can be REALLY mean to one another!

I am addicted to buying plants too!  I will probably never be the crazy cat/dog lady adopting all the wounded animals and nursing them back to health... but I crumble in front of a 'sale' rack of plants that are half withered and sad.  I know that with some attention, water, and just plain old tlc, those babies could be alive and well and I could fix most of them!    It's a weakness...

BornReady

@dpjennifer I love the chicken social structure discussion. My neighbors had one chicken, Butterscotch, that had to live in their garage because she was ousted from the coop from her sisters. She lived a life independent of them and would roost around the neighborhood on people's window ledges etc. My friend also just recently rescued two chickens and added them to her already present group... it's not going well. The two new ones live on one side of the coop and the others take the rest of the space.

dpjennifer

TW - animal death
Don't know if I need this TW or not, but figured I'd give a heads up!

@bornready Well at least the sole chicken sounds like she has a good life outside of the social structure!  
Poulty can be super mean!  We had a duck being picked on and it tried to escape the others, got its head stuck and yanked its own head so hard it broke its neck!  
It probably won't work for your friend, but the best way we found to add new members to the group was to change their entire lives and specifically to upset the social order.  We often had mamas that had little chicks that we would separate from the group so that they didn't get trampled or picked on until they were old enough to defend themselves.  When it was late summer/early fall and time to let them in with the rest of the group, we butchered off the older ducks (for meat, not for fun) opened up the entire pen to who was left, and those that were left would spend an hour or two figuring out the new pecking order.  After that, life was fine and everything was normal.  But, trying to introduce just one or two birds to an established order can be extremely challenging. They like their order and they like to know where they stand in that order, and hate new 'members' that can be a threat or don't have a standing.

roper2617

That's so cool, I hadn't realized chickens were so social. 

Little update on my garden, it appears as though all 4 of my almost dead cucumbers are making a strong come back, I just hope I still have enough time in my growing season. It's shorter here, usually we start seeing frosty nights in September. Should have plenty of time for them to produce fruits but I can't help being a little anxious. Fingers crossed! 

mylittleversailles

I keep finding random peanut plants growing under my other plants! A squirrel hides his peanuts and they germinate! Found the second one this morning! So I've named the squirrel Jimmy Carter and we're going into business together.




We had to mulch all our tomato plants because I was watering them three times a day - it's been so hot here and we're in a pretty extreme drought apparently. It's helped a whole lot. We also had some trouble with blossom end rot, so I gave them a calcium treatment and (painfully) threw away the rotted tomatoes. All the ones left seem fine.

roper2617

@reneeannemm Jimmy Carter is a very smart squirrel. Plant this year so he can harvest his own next year!  

Edit: autocorrect

mylittleversailles

Sadly this tomato was rotted throughout from blossom end rot, but look how GORGEOUS the colours are on this Speckled Roman Tomato!

dpjennifer

@reneeannemm Gorgeous coloring!  

Amdogger82

@reneeannemm I can't even tell you how much I love that you named your squirrel Jimmy Carter. He's one of my heroes (the man, not the squirrel, although your squirrel is quite the gardener!).

@dpjennifer Your garden is beautiful. Just looking at the photos is relaxing.

We moved this year. At my old house I had 4 4x4 raised beds and loved taking care of them. Our new house actually had two raised beds, so I have a little bit growing this summer and am looking forward to more in the future! Our yard is a little shady, so I'm not sure I'll be able to turn it into the suburban homestead I dream of, but maybe in time. We planted some rhubarb too, so I am excited to have a (hopefully) big patch of that in the future. I'll try to post some pics, but it's not terribly impressive. 

We also just hooked up a rain barrel to one of our gutter downspouts and after a rainy weekend it's full! This makes my nerdy heart really happy. 

mylittleversailles

@Amdogger82 I'm Canadian, but love Jimmy Carter, too! I'd love love love to see your garden.

Edit missing a key letter