How did I not think of this. It is exactly what I do at work for network installations, and for exactly the same reason. Instead of doing that on my stakes I’ve got tiny green zip ties which are a pain in the ass to remove.
Thanks for the tip!
I don’t have a garden yet, but I just spent 30 minutes doing battle with a squirrel eating my mangos, and I felt like posting.
He just laughs at my fake owl.
I wouldn’t even mind except they eat a chunk of it and then leave the rest to rot. They’re like wild animals!
We have some birds going to town on my Roma tomatoes. And they always pick the reddest and brightest tomatoes to munch on.
We just put out a fake crow and I also have a human like mask from Halloween I’m thinking of posting near, but chances are we’ll have to cover the tomatoes with mesh in some way. Such a pain.
I forgot you mentioned this. Those velcro straps used for cable management while actually survive hard conditions like winter and 106 degree heat?
If you have some old cd’s, hang them on string nearby the plants so they are free to spin. Some birds don’t like the reflective light.
Good tip, man, thank you!
Plus, the cops won’t know if your plants are exceeding the speed limit!
Trying a new contraption for the tomatoes this year - because I saw it on the internet, of course. A frame for vertical twine supports.
The original idea was to limit each plant to 2 stems, but 2 weeks of vacation nixed that to a degree. Having trouble with vermin (early on probably deer eating entire fruit clusters when they were still small, lately squirrels nibbling on nearly-ripe fruit). Have deployed the verminator (motion-activated power sprinkler), and will add some fencing, too. We’ll see if it was worth it - likely better than tomato cages in any case.
It is my understanding the squirrels do that because they are thirsty. They do that to my tomatoes. I see a perfectly ripe, symmetric tomato. A big one. Yes, this one is going to impress my friends. I got more than two tomatoes this year! At last!! Then I pick it up and it has a bite.
Once I learned it’s because they are thirsty I kinda felt a little bit bad, so I guess it’s okay. I mean, I’d leave some water out for them but then mosquitoes breed. Hmm.
Hell yeah, do you not remember we recycle plastic and shit because it won’t rot for 32042 years or something?
One year, i was growing radishes. This was back when i lived in an apartment, and i had a porch on the roof.
The radishes were just about ready to harvest, and I went on a business trip that week.
I came back on Friday, thinking i would harvest the radishes. I go out on the porch, and i find that a squirrel had dug up all the radishes, eaten the greens, and then just left the radishes there on the dirt. A few days ago, from the look of it, as they were all dried out and gross.
Damn squirrel.
FYI, here is the old gardening thread:
I knew we had one but couldn’t recall the name until now. This one is good though, I say we just ignore the old one.
At Home Depot, Lowes, etc you can get a big roll of green fabric-backed velcro. Works great. Reusable, at least if you keep track of the pieces when you’re done using them for one purpose.
Based on comments here I picked up some velcro and also some netting to apply later today or tomorrow. The old man working at Lowe’s, who looked like he had seen better days of gardening, listened to what I asked about, asked why, then told me thus:
“It’s squirrels making those marks, not birds.” Which jives with:
So in essence, this thread covered all the info I needed. Thanks for the tips, folks!
My wife keeps wanting me to get her some netting, but not to keep things out as much as to offer some shade in the later part of the day.
The velco ties thing sounds like a great idea. And I imagine they are probably sold in the same isle.
The wine berries are coming in.
These are the best berries you can possibly grow. You never see them in stores because they are too juicy and fragile.
For the Lowe’s I went to, they were not. The ties/velcro/etc were near stakes and vegetable fertilizer. The netting was waaaay in the back near other large items like edge fencing and weed roll (the semi-tarp stuff you put down to prevent weeds growing up and into other things above it.)
Here’s hoping it will do the trick.
Our first season with the raised bed is now done. The peas and beans were a complete bust. Planning ahead and getting them planted early enough next spring is the plan. We got some kolrabi and eggplant but not a huge success. The red peppers did okay. Lots and lots of cucumber and tomatoes. The lettuce gave us a continuous supply of salad for some time. We only managed to harvest three strawberries. The squirrels however were well fed. And speaking of squirrels, I did not realize they were fond of tomatoes but they regularly chomped on them.
Also, you get what you pay for when you buy cheap dollar store netting.
Oh wow, nearly forgot this thread.
Same here. Really our problem was by the time the netting went up, the tomatoes were close to the end of their fruiting anyway. Then rain/wind took care of some of the rest, as our plants were staked in the containers, but the containers themselves blew around. :(
Our summary for this year:
Tomatoes were good, for a bit. They petered out not long after the bird/squirrel thefts and that was when late summer heat wave and waning of being consistent in watering started happening. I think next year I’d like to attempt to grow a couple from seed, so I’ll need to decide that even earlier than usual.
Herbs were fantastic, and most of them still are. For the life of me I have the hardest damn time with normal basil. It’s finicky as hell. Too much water, too little water, too much sun, to little sun, etc. The only container that we end up moving back and forth and the only one that seems to be more needy than anything else about specific watering times and amounts. Most of the thyme has died down, we trimmed it to see if it might spring back next year, though I’m doubtful. Still going, though weaker are rosemary, sage, chives, and Thai basil. I could grow a damned Thai basil TREE as fast as it grows around here. I had to trim it back weekly. I’m hoping the rosemary, sage and chives make it over winter.
Peppers, like previous years, are still going. I didn’t like our selection this year, I let her pick and would have liked maybe one hotter than jalapeno. We just had our first frost last week, my guess is the peppers are done.
Busts:
Lettuce - We planted it too late, and it was dead in a month, sped along by the rabbits which were able to get to and tromp all over it.
Oregano - I’m missing something with oregano. Three times we’ve planted it and three times it’s petered out by mid summer. It either needs different sun, planting material, or watering method than what I’m doing.
I’m not familiar with kolrabi, but what did you end up using either for with what you did grow?