Myron Platte wrote:I honestly didn’t read the whole thread, but I will put my two cents here anyway.
You might want to reconsider cats. You can get one that doesn’t like people (we have a cat like that) and give it a bowl of water and maybe some occasional cat food (cats that are well fed actually hunt more, for fun) and if you live somewhere super cold a cathouse to keep out the worst of the wind. Really, though, food and water are optional. The cat can get those by itself.
If, for some reason you just can’t do cats, you need a different predator. Dogs can be pretty destructive to gardens, and demand more attention than cats, but a good terrier can effectively create a rodent exclusion zone. If you don’t want a dog, either, you could try a snake, or you could create owl or barn owl habitat.
There is one more solution. The long and the short of it is that you don’t have too many rabbits and squirrels, you have an empty niche of rodent predator. If you’re game, you can fill that niche. This could give you a decent income, and you might even end up designing gardens that feed rabbits and lead them directly into your wire traps. Paintbrushes for artists are often made out of squirrel tail hair. There is a market for rabbit meat and pelts. The downside to this strategy is that you have to work, and that you are now devoting more energy to guerrilla gardening semi-tame rabbits than to growing veggies, and if you don’t stay on top of it, the population will bounce right back.
Just want to add; Be careful selling any type of game. It is illegal in many states and carries a heavy fine!
My solution will probably not be acceptable to some. BUT, I was attacked by an uncastrated pony and had to spend a week in hospital in addition to a broken collar bone and scapula. In a similar manner, I had to pass through this pony's pasture daily. After I resumed my routine I bought a 'hotshot', electric cattle prod. Two applications, which did in no way injure the culprit, and he keeps his distance now. I still carry a stick which he regards to be the hotshot and keep a wary eye on him anyway.
I am impressed by Patience dock (Rumex patientia) which I planted for the first time last Fall. To learn about it check out
[url=https://backyardlarder.co.uk/2021/03/patience-dock-plant-profile/]
It still tastes good in my 90 degree weather. Just gather the newer leaves.
Eino Kenttä wrote:I sowed true potato seeds for the first time this year. They germinated well, but I think I didn't manage to give them enough light, as they quickly grew extremely leggy. Some of them are shaping up decently now, but still with rather long, fragile stems. The problem is they're still a couple weeks and some transport away from planting, and I'm concerned they might break. So I thought, why not prune them, and use the cut stems as cuttings? That would reduce the risk of them breaking, and best case I'd have two plants for each plant I have now. Some things I've read suggest that it should be possible to get them to root.
So what do you all think? Should I do it? Have you done it? Are there other, better solutions for this problem? (I've thought of simply planting them deeper, but that would need an extremely large pot.)
I start seeds early March for transplants and set them out after my last frost date. When they begin to make suckers, and the suckers are 3-4 inches long, I will root them for fall tomatoes. I take some plastic 'dish pans' and drill drainage holes about an inch up from the bottom. I then fill the pans with river sand and insert the suckers into the sand. The area below the drain holes acts as a reservoir so that they never go dry. I seldom loose a cutting with this method and never use rooting hormone.
Hope this helps...
Nancy Reading wrote:A new experiment for me this year.... I'm going to try growing potato plants from the sprouts. These were from large baking potatoes (I think maybe King Edward judging by the pink sprouts) that started sprouting in the box.
potato sprout
I've put three in a smallish pot to develop roots and will see how they get on. The potatoes were eaten - they were fine.
It turned out that I had plenty of my 'skye blue' potatoes so I don't need to propagate those, although I may do a few sprouts from those since I was concerned about some mottling on the leaves last year, that I think my be a virus. I've read somewhere that sprout propagation can help 'clean up' infected tubers, so it will be interesting to see if plants from the sprouts look healthier.
That should work, especially if the sprouts have started roots. I remember my grandfather saying that during the great depression they would peel the potatoes, eat the potatoes, and plant the peels! now that is real economy...
Suzette Thib wrote:Hello, in South Louisiana too. Definitely trying to start cool weather crops as "Gardening in the Humid South" suggests but this drought is making it way too hot. Sowing pumpkins and squash and trying to keep my okra wet enough that it wants to produce. Might lose the pumpkins and squash to an early freeze but at least they are growing! Broccoli is growing in the shade of the okra and tomatoes are trying to produce. Some long beans sprouted and I might get a crop of them if this heat keeps up. Any suggestions of what wants to grow in this hot dry weather?
Hi suzette,
If you are near the latitude of New Orleans then your planting windows are about two weeks ahead of mine for Spring.
Now is my time to plant Bok Choi, Fun Jen, Red Giant Mustard, Beets, Tokinashi Turnips [The best tasting turnips, even turnips haters enjoy then), Chard, Minowasi Radishes and Chinese Cabbage. Last year I had all these survive a 10 degree night with row cover. I realize you are asking about heat tolerant crops but these are planted in the heat, kept watered, and go on to do really well as the weather cools.
Just as N.O. is two weeks ahead of me in Spring, it is two weeks later in Fall on average.
Thank you! I didn't get to try the Japanese turnips but I have some on order so I will be prepared for October/November.
What varieties do you like to plant now? One farmer told me to do Irish potatoes and a gardener is thinking about getting beans ready. Please include varieties if you can, as that was very useful. I had great success with the bok choi and moderate with the mustard greens (i didn't get the same variety, but boy what a hardy plant!!!).
I have planted Lettuce, Mustard, onion sets (long day varieties), Beets (Merlin), Chinese Cabbage (Golden Beauty), Kale (Russian Red), Minowasi Radishes, Chard (Fordhook) and Irish Potatoes (Pontiac and La Soda). The potatoes just went in yesterday, almost three weeks late, because of rain but they will produce if we don't have an early hot Summer. I have Tomatoes (Booker, Opalka, Black Cherry) started in flats. Also Eggplants (Ping Tung) and Basil (Lettuce Leaf) started. It is a bit early for beans. They require a soil temperature of 60 degrees at 4 inches depth for good germination.
