Begone, Ye Backyard Predators!
My daughter and I are battling nature like never before in our gardening efforts this summer, with a little bad luck added. It started with the green beans that didn't come up--a mere three plants in a twelve-foot row. Was it the birds we saw hanging around, or something else? I put up a few aluminum foil flags around the edges, replanted the open spots, and watered faithfully every morning as well. A mere two more bean plants showed up. Dismayed, we checked the seed packets we had purchased. They were dated 2009. Good gravy! My anger flared at this point. We will never purchase seeds at that general store again. Fresh bean lovers we, we decided to try once again, with new seeds. Since my foil flags were not holding up well at this point, we also spread netting over the veggie garden. With no new results, we concurred we had erred in not planting the garden soon enough after breaking the soil. Other veggies were doing poorly, too, by this time.
I should have been warned when I saw a rabbit one morning in my highly prized annual bed a few weeks ago, but I decided just to "keep my eyes open" for possible trouble later. We left shortly thereafter for four days of family fun in Michigan over the July 4th weekend, and guess what we found when we returned? One whole corner chewed away, with a few flowering heads neatly clipped off. Fortunately the damaged plants were survivable yet, so we put up a fence---chicken wire, so I could still view my beloved "riots of color" from my kitchen sink window ( Chicken wire is close to invisible at this distance.) I also stuck into the damaged area a few more flowers from the neighborhood nursery.
We had not had these kinds of trouble before but, as with life, each year brings something new--sometimes bad, but a lot of the time good. The beans that are there are coming and we will soon know the joy of picking and eating veggies fresh from our yard. A bit late this year, but if the frost holds off, we'll still do well--along with frequent trips to the summertime farm markets.
Enjoying the fun of summer, despite our predators and bad luck this year,
Margaret
P.S. My regulars will notice that I have frequently been posting late in the day this summer. With my ornery back more ornery than usual and my helpful daughter still recovering from a somewhat debilitating ailment earlier this year, I hired a teenager from the neighborhood to help me keep up with yard work over the summer. I have to be out there with her the mornings she can come--usually Tuesdays. So look for me on Tuesdays, later in the day.
I should have been warned when I saw a rabbit one morning in my highly prized annual bed a few weeks ago, but I decided just to "keep my eyes open" for possible trouble later. We left shortly thereafter for four days of family fun in Michigan over the July 4th weekend, and guess what we found when we returned? One whole corner chewed away, with a few flowering heads neatly clipped off. Fortunately the damaged plants were survivable yet, so we put up a fence---chicken wire, so I could still view my beloved "riots of color" from my kitchen sink window ( Chicken wire is close to invisible at this distance.) I also stuck into the damaged area a few more flowers from the neighborhood nursery.
We had not had these kinds of trouble before but, as with life, each year brings something new--sometimes bad, but a lot of the time good. The beans that are there are coming and we will soon know the joy of picking and eating veggies fresh from our yard. A bit late this year, but if the frost holds off, we'll still do well--along with frequent trips to the summertime farm markets.
Enjoying the fun of summer, despite our predators and bad luck this year,
Margaret
P.S. My regulars will notice that I have frequently been posting late in the day this summer. With my ornery back more ornery than usual and my helpful daughter still recovering from a somewhat debilitating ailment earlier this year, I hired a teenager from the neighborhood to help me keep up with yard work over the summer. I have to be out there with her the mornings she can come--usually Tuesdays. So look for me on Tuesdays, later in the day.
