Annie Collins

I am very glad you posted this, Nancy. I've been going back and forth with someone who is selling a used scythe and it's been getting complicated trying to set up a time with him so I can check it out and possibly purchase it. I was just getting to a point to tell him to forget it since it's not something I really need being that I use a ride-on mower for most of the mowing, and the property would be too large for just using a scythe, but I like the idea of using a scythe for at least part of the property, especially a field that we've let go natural that isn't working out how I hoped it would. So I have to take it down periodically which the scythe would be wonderful for (once I learn how to use it properly). Your post has inspired me to continue to be patient with him.

August 30th and just noticed that our plum tree is blooming.

We mix some Borax with some maple syrup (because that's the only kind of sweetener we have) and it works beautifully. I put some of the liquid in a juice bottle cap and put it down wherever I see any ants.

I just read that the wider the dark green stripes, the riper the watermelon will be, and therefore the tastier. So far I have found that to be true, but I have only tested that on the last 3 watermelons - not quite enough yet to make it so. I will continue testing (before the season is over).

David Wieringa wrote:

Bonnie, can you share the approximate dimensions of the garden and fences?  What type of fence is it?

I currently have a large (175' x 200') garden that I inherited.  I had great success with a 3D electric fence (two wires on the inside and a 3rd wire 4ft away in the middle) for deer, but I'm struggling with grass on the edges and other animals like ground hogs.

I don't have chickens currently, but had great success with them keep areas cleared in the past.

I'm not Bonnie, but below is a link to a great video by Tom Bartells of growfoodwell.com explaining and showing the "psychological deer fence" in detail. I learned about it from him many years ago, and let's just say that I was very excited to learn about such an effective and inexpensive method of deer fecning. In another video that he has on his actual site, he also mentions putting chicken wire fencing around the bottom of the outside fence to keep rabbits and other smaller mammals out. I'll just link both, they're about the same fence, but two is better than one sometimes.

On youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL4vX4N_dyg

A different video about the same fence by the same person, done a few years before the above one with a couple of other bits of information about it (from the page on his websire https://growfoodwell.com/build-a-deer-fence/:
https://gfwvideos42014.s3.amazonaws.com/deerfence.mp4?_=1

Barbara Simoes wrote:Having a fruit tree in the center would certainly be pretty, but it does  give shade...

Yes, fruit trees can get pretty large if allowed to do so. However, it makes sense for manageability reasons to keep them small. There's a wonderful book called Grow a Little Fruit Tree by Ann Ralph that explains how to do so. And it doesn't need to be dwarf varieties, either. In fact, she recommends not growing dwarf varieties and explains why in her book. I decided to follow her method after recently moving to a property with an old pear tree on it. It's still producing copious amounts of fruit, but more than half of them need to be reached by ladder which is not ideal. The tree also needs pruning which, again, will require a ladder. So the new fruit trees I just planted are being kept small. They have responded very well so far.

anamaya farthing wrote:Does anyone know if a black walnut can live near a Paulownia tree? I have a black walnut seeding that sprouted near a mature paulownia.  thanks !

I'm sure you know that unless you live in the area of origin of the Paulownia, it is considered a highly invasive tree? If not, it may be a good idea to do a bit of research on it.

They love mountain mint plants! It's crazy! All the bumble bees, native bees, and honey bees, actually weigh the plants down so that they're bending over from all the weight of all the appreciative insects on them. And they're so easy to grow as well. Nothing fussy about them. You'd just need to see if you are in the right area for them, of course.

Ooh, this does look quite doable to build. And if one used a couple of pallets screwed together and a bit of higher 2x4s, one could start to have something big enough for some serious storage. I like it!