New gardeners need help!

lol, relentless

 

For the love of humanity, PLEASE wear gloves before doing that - As nobody wants to see another pandemic circling the globe...

I think actor Bill Murray is going to be very upset when he learns that someone is trying to remake his classic Ground Hog Day!!!

 

LOL

 

OK, enough horsing around for today.

Now since you guys are going to start planting very soon - Just watch this video, after that decide what suits you best.



Notice that around 9 and a half minutes he mentions marigolds...

 

S-H... seriously, relocating animals and especially rodents is not acceptable. you kill them not give them to someone else to deal with. rodents are disease vectors. they carry fleas and to also spread diseases. they contaminate your food. they are not relocatable. you get rid of them humanely by killing them. as a matter of fact here you are not allowed to relocate rodents. you must kill them. it is illegal to move them off your property and rightly so... no one else wants them either.

 

What I actually do, is take them to a flat wide open area. Around midday, when all the hungry whistling kite hawks are soaring up in the sky, (they are native to my area).

So it doesn't take them more then 30 seconds to swoop down and take away these rats. Rodents don't have anywhere to hide around midday in a wide open area of pavement.

This is how I feed them, in accordance with nature, (as these birds exist for this purpose of pest clearing in the wild).

Otherwise, rats have a memory - So no matter how many times you chuck them out of your yard into the street. If they have seen your vegetables growing even once, they will keep on returning.

I didn't mention this, as I didn't want anyone to think that I was being inhumane. Because in my opinion, I really am not - I am only letting the whistling kite hawks have them as food. And sometimes, although rare, but once in a while the rat does manage to run away to safety. In which case I don't do anything, as this is nature also - Survival of the fittest...

I very strongly oppose poisoning. It is highly irresponsible. And inhumane traps which kill and cause suffering, don't really work as well as humane traps, (my observation over a lifetime, which I talked about in detail above).

 

if you can put up a fence to deal with the problem that's probably a better solution. It kind of understandable that the city doesn't want people killing off the little bit of wildlife left in the city.

 

Actually... people are the problem for animals overpopulating the city... there is just too much food and protection and no predators on them. from tint rodents to large animals. the deer are a major problem here as there are no predators for them they have plenty to eat from peoples yards and gardens along with people freely feeding them corn. makes for a terrible drive through the city.

 

this makes a lot of sense. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there are more raccoons and skunks per square mile in my city than in their native environment. lol
But maybe this is worth a little bit of nuance, I mean we've done so much damage already, the fact that some wildlife thrives in our backyards Could be seen as a small win. but some "population control" might be OK too .

 

Actually, rodents aren't as big a problem for me - As highly poisonous snakes are. Leaf nosed vipers to be exact. Been killing them since I was in my early teens... Because of them I now snake proof every place where I stay.

It's a small desert dweller, yet very deadly type of snake, (jumper and tree climber). It's favorite food is eggs of sparrows. Locally it's known as "jharri Walla saanp", meaning snake of the bush. Damn thing is a sand colored creature, which gets into your house through tiny openings in the windows, that small gap under the doors, and through the kitchen exhaust fan, (if there are bushes or vines outside growing that high).

So this is a serious problem in this coastal belt over here. But further inland, there are krait snakes, also very deadly desert dwellers. As well as cobras.

And on top of this headache, about 15 to 20 years ago some genius had smuggled in a few black mambas from Africa. To keep as exotic pets, (hallmark of true insanity) - They eventually escaped and are now breeding within the city limits.

 

Anyway back to the subject. Last thing Eric and Fendi need - Is a drip irrigation system. But, this (or something else like it) needs to be installed afyer everything else is established. Like maybe before the next growing.

So no need to spend any money on this yet. In fact whatever you will save in a whole year on buying vegetables from the supermarkets - You can invest next year by installing this!

Purpose is to increase the pleasure of gardening, while reducing headaches and other stuff which might start to sap energy from us - Specially if it's a repetitive and tedious activity...



And I am off to do something of my own. Which is why I unfortunately now only have time in the mornings.

 

YES YES YES! this makes life much easier. you are only watering the plants in the row rather than making plants wet and susceptible to fungal infection.

 

We've actually been considering what to do for watering so these tips are very timely, thanks all!

 

Hey, welcome! I recently moved to my area, so last year was my first season here. I considered last year my experimental season. It helped me know what to plant this year.
Lettuce, beets, peas, kale, spinach and carrots are all cool weather plants. Oh, and radishes, but I don't like them, so I didn't plant them. All of the others I planted before the freezes were even done. And all but the peas are up, it takes a little longer for any of them to germinate, (because of the cold) but you can get a jump on your garden this way. I have one pea plant, and I won't plant them again. They didn't do well last year either, but I thought maybe it was because I didn't get my raised bed in until May and they do like cool weather. The strawberries will take over, eventually. I always direct sow my lettuce, because even when I lived in the Pacific Northwest I never had any luck transplanting into the garden. Here in Milwaukee the season is so short, I start anything I can early.
I would also start a worm box and a hot compost for your yard waste. Good luck with your garden.

 

@Willowisp0801
Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge gained through experience! We appreciate it!