Janet Reed

I ran a boarding kennel and professionally trained dogs for 12 years.  I have seen every accident, attack or incident a dog could have or get into. I had well educated owner clients  that gave their dogs excellent food and care and owner clients who just really never bothered to educate themselves on their dog’s nutrition and care.  

You can feed your dogs bones for years.  But it’s going to be that 1 incident that costs you thousands of dollars at the vet or if you can’t afford the emergency at the vet..then the worst will happen.  

Dog owners have the opportunity to be educated simply by having a conversation with their trusted veterinarian.  I would recommend that no one take the advice of anyone on a forum.  Not me, not anyone.  Ask your veterinarian about giving your dog bones.

Take the screens off your windows in the fall…..amazing

Bark, like decorator bark does not really decompose well.   I tried it once and had bark chunks 3 years later. I have access to bark but would never use it for mulching.That’s a personal choice.  I do use lots of old bark in hugels under deep soil.

The chips I use are like horse bedding; very small.  I re mulch yearly on most spots or bi yearly on a few.  My goal is to not only mulch but to build the soil.  I want things that I mulch with to decompose and make my soil deeper and richer.  And it holds moisture really well.  I water less.

Sometimes around prolific plants (like the cat mint I just cut back) I chop and drop 4-6 inches deep of plant material that serves the same purpose. By spring it’s pretty gone.

Again, if I do get weeds with mulching they are easy to pull.

Hope you’re okay!

Just be sure when you bait the only food available is the peanut butter.  Put everything else where they can’t get to it.

If you bait it….they will come…..

I just built another big flower bed…over established grass.  I put down thick cardboard and all the comfrey cut from about 30 huge plants for mulch.  Then dirt.  I’ve done this many times.  The big old stocks and leaves will be lovely black stuff by spring no matter how bad the soil is on top.  

I used it to top dress my garlic beds last year.  I just pile it on after planting and throw sawdust on top.  No weeds.

If I was going to dry it I would hang stalks and all.  

It’s just more expeditious to pile it on green.

GOPHER HAWK…. You by it on Amazon.  It is the best no fail gopher trap I have ever seen or used.  I cleaned out my gophers in a season.  With one trap.. my friend has three traps and he cleaned his horrible infestation out.

I would never sacrifice asparagus.  I would water heavily and the quack grass pulls easily.  You just need to be diligent.