What have you done today in the Garden?

I have been absent for a few days recently because of the exhausting work in the lottie. There was the added challenge of intermittent rain showers. I shall post some pics and and more commentary on another thread so as to not take up too much space here. We have begun harvesting the sprouts and the last of the toms. Made tons of apple sauce and simply eaten the last of the toms on salads. What a flavour those "last toms" have.

 

Thanks Sjoerd. Yes I have been working on that soil. I can well imagine yours is equally deep & rich.

I am a bit worried about that clover, but what's done is done.

 

Sounds delicious Sjoerd

 

Don't worry, mate...just adapt. Chuckle.
Ach, you may have no problem at all.

 

A comment on white clover- I never planted it but it has “covered” an area on its own! It is by my new shed. I actually don’t mind it there. Perhaps it draws the bunnies away from my flowers?

 

so far I have killed 5 mice in the shed. missed 3. I wonder how many I didn't see.

 

Carolyn--we are in the middle of a mouse plague in the allotments at the moment. Io am in charge of the pest control in out quarter of the complex and have caught so many. They are so numerous that one sees several in broad daylight walking around looking for things to eat. I am glad that I am not planting seeds at the moment. I will have to watch out for my sprouts and parsnips.Those darned mice consumed a little less than all of my beetroot crop this year. Gurrrrrrr.
I may have to put off feeding the birds this winter unless we can get control of their numbers. Where are those hawks and falcons when you need 'em!

You are right Carolyn---it is what you don't see that is scary. There are always many more present than what you see. I shall have to consult experts.

 

We used Crimson Clover one winter. Bunnies thrive on it.

 

Oh my goodness! The WIND is blowin like a hurricane here today!! Leaves, tree branches and small pets are flying all over!I I mowed and raked leaves this morning, but I think I’m going to postpone any outside chores the rest of the day. Fruitless the try to clean up leaves, they’re blowing in from the next county!

 

Aha! Sjoerd and Carolyn, you need cats--several cats. I happen to know where you can get some. Not our used-to-be-feral cats, but our neighbors down the hill have an overabundance of cats. I'll even chip in to pay postage!
Here is one of our no-longer-feral cats, Sophia. I harvest in baskets, and then leave the baskets on the porch to be returned to the barn on the next trip. Sophia LOVES baskets.

Other than hauling Sophia back and for in a basket, I've picked peppers, weeded green beans, and prepped the garlic bed.
By the way, we do not have a mouse problem . . . .

 

Heh,heh, heh....you've got this problem solved.
We are not allowed to keep pets on our allotment, otherwise I would have long had a cat in service. Having said that, we once had two cats in house, and a wild mouse. Those dumb cats would not catch the mouse. They just stared at it when it strolled across the floor.

 

Yep just last week I had to chase down the mouse that ran out from under my computer desk and kill it myself. the dog and the cat didn't seem to care.

S, I often bait a trap with a caramel like candy to keep it attached to the tongue of the trap. gets em almost every time. I saw a bucket mouse trap too on youtube. google it. it is a 5 gallon pail witha wire and a tube strung over the wire if I recall correctly. as soon as the mouse gets to the tube it falls in the bucket and drowns. don't forget the water. bait the water with sunflower seeds I think. it has been a while since I saw it. I have been thinking about buying an electric mouse trap. runs on batteries and it kills them as they go into the hole. holds a good many dead mice.
Jane we also have two outside cats... to no avail. they catch stuff but not mice chipmunks, voles, moles or the nasty little shrews.... grr. or if they do I don't see many of them or maybe I should get a rat terrier.

 

Carolyn, my family has used the bucket trap for years in our uninhabited vacation cottage. Our model is slightly different:
1. Drill 2 holes in the top of a contractor's bucket opposite each other. 2. Get a dowell slightly wider than the bucket diameter. 3. Stick the dowell length-wise through a plastic container (eg, a yogurt container). 4. Then thread the dowell through the holes in the top of the bucket. 5. Slather peanut butter on the container. 6. Pour antifreeze in the bottom of the bucket.
Mice are attracted by the smell of the peanutbutter, walk on the dowell, step on the yogurt container which spins & lands them in the antifreeze. The antifreeze stops odor so this model is good for an uninhabited space.
I think though I will try your model in our garage.

 

Carolyn and Cayuga---I appreciated reading your posts. There are some good tips there. I have never thought of caramel as a bait. I use crunchy peanut butter and also Dark chocolate paste for spreading on bread. They seem unable to resist it.....except for two. They won't tough a baited trap with a barge pole. I am going to look into these trap possibilities that you haver mentioned. Thanks very much for the tips.

 

Too early this morning but I planted a Musa basjoo yesterday , the day before s shrub , day before that testing out a Canna in the ground for the winter.
K