Try planting garlic and mexican merrigolds (tagetes minuta) around the perimeter. Even before I put up my squirrel fence I never had rabbit trouble in my main garden with garlic plants there. I did have trouble where I planted cucumbers along my shed where I don't have garlic growing. I tried growing those merrigolds a few years ago and they grew like weeds so I chopped them down. I don't need something taller than my tomato plants sucking up all my nutrients.
The best time to plant garlic is in the fall for next year, but you might still get a little growth this year if you planted now. In your community garden can you plant stuff for next year or do you have to start in the spring?
Cassia I am soooooooooo sorry for your loss!!! Knowing how much blood, sweat and tears I've put into my few plants and how upset I'd be if they were wrecked... my heart goes right out to you!!!
Never mind the bites and scratches and misery. I have several mosquito bites on my ankles, and I'm ready to start bathing in Deet. Ugh.
I just bought some of those clearance annuals you were talking about, and I have a big planter for the front of the house -- the long one that hangs off the railing. I have mixed feelings about annuals, but they were 79c for 4, so I'm not complaining. I think I got about 6 packs of 4. Again, with the wind and full sun, we'll see if they last, but I'm hopeful.
OH!! PS. Saw a big fat FROG in the rain barrel this morning!!! Bought another rain barrel but I need to saw the top of it off. Grrr.
Thanks to everyone for the sympathy and kind thoughts.
I was really low and miserable last night and feel better now.
(06-23-2010 09:30 AM)catsnotkids Wrote: [ -> ]I would ditch the chicken wire. It's not durable enough to serve as garden fence - I've never seen it used as a garden fence except in very small beds like for lettuce or something similar. They sell rabbit fence - it's about 28" high and it has small openings at the bottom and larger at the top. It's not that expensive and a worthwhile investment... it's hard to work with but no worse than chicken wire, which is pretty much useless.
Unfortunately changing or buying other fencing is not an option at this point.
It took 5 days fulltime just to dig and install this fencing and I have to make do with used materials for the most part due to a very very low disability income.
The fence is now reinforced in multiple ways.
Chicken wire is what is used in this region to protect from rabbits.
It does work- but my used fence did not show visual signs of structural problems at the soil line, but still broke with the rabbits claws.
I have fixed it four times, for a few hours each time over the last week.
Each time- I thought I had it licked!
I will look for rabbit fence to start replacing some sections for next year.
We do not even have such a thing at the farm outlets like TSC here in Ontario.
(06-23-2010 11:11 AM)mark1030 Wrote: [ -> ]Try planting garlic and mexican merrigolds (tagetes minuta) around the perimeter. Even before I put up my squirrel fence I never had rabbit trouble in my main garden with garlic plants there. I did have trouble where I planted cucumbers along my shed where I don't have garlic growing. I tried growing those merrigolds a few years ago and they grew like weeds so I chopped them down. I don't need something taller than my tomato plants sucking up all my nutrients.
The best time to plant garlic is in the fall for next year, but you might still get a little growth this year if you planted now. In your community garden can you plant stuff for next year or do you have to start in the spring?
We are required to empty the garden each season, so no perennials, including garlic.
I have planted about 40 marigolds (3 varieties) around the perimeter and it made no difference.
(06-23-2010 04:03 PM)cassia Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks to everyone for the sympathy and kind thoughts.
I was really low and miserable last night and feel better now.
(06-23-2010 11:11 AM)mark1030 Wrote: [ -> ]The best time to plant garlic is in the fall for next year, but you might still get a little growth this year if you planted now. In your community garden can you plant stuff for next year or do you have to start in the spring?
We are required to empty the garden each season, so no perennials, including garlic.
I have planted about 40 marigolds (3 varieties) around the perimeter and it made no difference.
You can plant garlic in the spring...it just is better in the fall. My first year I did it in the spring and they still sprouted. I also read onions repel rabbits but I haven't tried planting them.
Your other remedy might be to cover the young plants instead of trying to keep the rabbits out of the whole garden. I don't know what rabbits can chew through but maybe you could find some old mesh kitchen strainers at garage sales or a thrift store. I'm guessing they can gnaw through cheesecloth. You just need to protect the baby plants until they're big enough that the rabbits can't kill them.
(06-23-2010 05:07 PM)mark1030 Wrote: [ -> ]Your other remedy might be to cover the young plants instead of trying to keep the rabbits out of the whole garden. I don't know what rabbits can chew through but maybe you could find some old mesh kitchen strainers at garage sales or a thrift store. I'm guessing they can gnaw through cheesecloth. You just need to protect the baby plants until they're big enough that the rabbits can't kill them.
Covering about 700 plants as they develop would be quite impossible.
Fencing is effective.
In this case I had to utilize USED chicken wire fence that was visually OK and when tested with gloved hands seemed structurally intact, but was not so when faced with determined rabbits.
Reinforcing that installed fence is the best option for time, money and ecology.
It has been done this morning.
Thanks for all the suggestions- but I have it covered now.
My post was more of a whine than a plea for specific suggestions.
Fascinating. I know we have wild bunnies around here, I"ve seen them on the side of the road at night. Haven't yet had one in the garden though. I really ought to consider fencing considering cassia's tragedy and all your fair warnings!!... I've just got so many other expenses right now, ie. just got a new rain barrel for the front of the house ... kijiji for $20 but still, it adds up. If I have spare money I seem to be buying soil. I really should just buy a yard or two and stop buying bags. LOL And then buy some fencing.
Thanks for the tips on rabbit fence.
I will look into local availability.
The current fence is fortified for this year.
OMG OMG OMG! MAJOR NEWS!!!
As you may know, where I now live (deep in the country!) we do not have municipal piped water... we are on a cistern and we have to pay to fill it up. So this grand idea I had for a garden meant that I was going to be paying to water it.
Then the neighbours told me that they had a big rain barrel out back, and I bought a big watering can and used almost all of it up (55 gallons) in about a week!!! I have a huge garden, PLUS the flowers out front! Hauling it one watering can at a time did not bother me -- it's crazy good exercise and I just found the whole thing zen anyhow. I was just worried about running out of water, so I got ANOTHER barrel and just today got it back from the caretaker at work who offered to saw the top of it off for me. I was poised to put it out front this evening on the the other drainpipe when the neighbours came out and told me the had a surprise for me.
TURNS OUT we have a well in our backyard. It's about 100 feet deep and once the landlord tapped it, he realized the water was too sulphuric and undrinkable and he basically abandoned it. But the neighbours knew it was there. So today they bought a pump, 100 feet of tubing, and we spent the last three hours out there rigging the damn thing up. Bill even brought out a SPRINKLER! At first it was hard getting the water out... it was coming out BLACK. Like solid, oil black. He kept cracking me up calling it "Texas Tea". It was just silt, though, and in eventually ran 'clear' (as in GREY, but WAY better than black! LOL). We hooked up the garden hose and sprinkler and SOAKED my vegetable garden for half an hour!!!! With FREE WATER!! FREE UNLIMITED WATER! You city folk don't realize how lucky you are! I always took it for granted until I moved out here!!
So it's STINKY water (very sulphuric, reminds me of a hot springs!) but the pump works great and it does the trick.
And and and!!
Today I was poking around back there and FOUR of my pea plants have sprouted PEAS! Actual pods! I'm so happy I could cry! I have never grown peas before. I can't wait to eat them!!
Okay, sorry but I'm going to bombard you all with the latest batch of photos! I'm so excited. I just can't believe things are actually growing and looking halfway decent. Okay, the plants, not the clay around the plants. LOL Anyhow, I cashed in all my airmiles and got a brand new wheelbarrow, and started to add REAL soil to the front flower garden. It's looking positively lovely. I still need to edge it and build it up more. A big job. But a labour of love. The wheelbarrow makes ALL the difference though. I was lugging bags of soil and trying to empty them one at a time. This is much better.
The veggies are all growing and so far NO CRITTERS. I'm happy, as the neighbours spotted a deer in front of the house on the weekend. He ran across the street and jumped over the fence into the yard with the Great Pyrenees! LOL But all my veggies are intact!
Pictures:
My new wheelbarrow!
Half the garden. I have not weeded and the grass is growing back... ugh. I'll get a lot of work done on the weekend here, but OMG look at the growth! These are the smaller tomato plants, the ones I planted later in the season, plus lettuce, cabbage, peas and squash. So far so good!
The larger tomato plants, all but two started from seed. Peas on trellises in the back.
My front flower garden, with MANY MANY MANY bags of added topsoil and peat moss. It's starting to look actually GOOD! I'm so happy. I need to edge it next, maybe with wood or bricks or something.
You have no idea what a cheap thrill this gives me... my roses I'd kinda given up for dead as I didn't dig deep enough, didn't fertilize properly and had already experienced a couple of blooms that died promptly the next day after I transplanted them. But several weeks later, they are all budding!
Deer! Ack!
Tomatoes look good! Do you have blossoms - I cannot tell.
One of the 21 tomato plants has yellow blossoms. Slow but steady! I pruned them all a few days ago, staying on top of those suckers is big job too.
The peas all have white blossoms, and all of them have peas growing. I need to do more peas next year. I love them! Snow peas and regular peas.
I love fresh peas! So sweet and delicious. I eat them fresh out of the pod.
Peas need to be planted in the spring. They can even be snowed on!
Although they are a cool weather crop, we have reasonable success here in the north with them at this time of year.
They can be resown in August for a fall crop.
Here's a few pics from the garden:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19...53b4db7067
They aren't good because there's no perspective...
We've eaten broccoli and yellow squash so far. We heard that the tomato blight is coming - they have it in Long Island already. So another year of no tomatoes. The heartbreak!!!
The whole garden we grew from seed. The first pictures are of our grow light set up.
CNK I loooove the pics! Even the evil little bunny! LOL
I'm very impressed with your seedling greenhouse set up! AWESOME! And the garden looks so lush and green! Mine is nothing like that (yet). LOL Way to go! Great lilies too!
We have too many zucchini already! We harvested four and are giving more away. Also huge broccoli and there are peppers!
I have ONE beautiful tiny green tomato so far! i'm soooo excited! And we ate all the peas that grew, and I'm eagerly awaiting more! AND!! My Double Delight roses (pink and yellow) bloomed. They are BEAUTIFUL!