New Advances In Squirrel Warfare

I will keep all of my readers updated on the latest tactics I am using against the squirrels. One day, I will find a cure. In the meantime, I will explore different ideas and concepts to help with either getting rid of squirrels, or giving them an alternative to my gardens (or both)!

A few days ago, I put a layer of mulch in about 1/2 the pots that are outside and line the fence. I don't know why, but only certain ones seem to be the favorites of the squirrels. The mulch seems to help! I can see where they are digging, but instead of digging a deep hole in one or two pots, there are dig marks in several of the pots, but none is very deep. It looks like they are being discouraged because the mulch is too thick to work through to get to the dirt.

Peppermint oil does seem to help, but you have to reapply it after it rains. The scent doesn't last very long either. At $14 a bottle, unless I can make a peppermint spray using a few drops in water, it is too expensive to use. You are to soak cotton balls in peppermint oil, then place them in the area that is affected by the activity of the squirrels. Supposedly, squirrels hate the smell of peppermint, and it is supposed to repel them. I do love the smell of my backyard though, when the peppermint smell is strong. It smells like a candy cane factory!

I have some peppermint seeds now, and I am planting them, hoping for nice, big peppermint plants to come out of them.

Now, I have a cool idea, if I could make it work. If you have ever had hamsters, you know how entertaining a wheel in their cage is. What if I could make a squirrel wheel and attach it to a tree in the back? Wouldn't that be cool?

An actual picture of
an exercise wheel that
can be used by squirrels!

I do have a more practical idea though. Squirrels like to dig. I am thinking about making one or two sandboxes in my back yard for the squirrels. I would put a lot of sand, or dirt, in them, and put some corn and/or sunflower seeds in them. The squirrels could spend their time digging for corn and seeds, and it would keep them entertained.

We live on the other side of a wildlife conservation reserve, and we do have a lot of interesting animals out there. You can hear the activity at when, when you go outside. Occasionally, I hear an animal that just bit the dust. Some other larger, stronger animal came along its path, and that was the end of that animal. Sad, but true.

About two years ago, I began feeding the squirrels popcorn. There was a small handful of squirrels then, and their number went up to a dozen. An interesting thing happened though. I fed them popcorn almost every day. They came out more readily as time went on. But the number of squirrels went down. After a while, we had only two squirrels that would come out. Around here, there are hawks that are always looking for something to eat. We fattened up the squirrels, and they became a tasty snack for the hawks. At least, that is my theory.

The squirrels, of course, are back up in number. I got my air pellet gun out and am learning how to aim it. I came really close to hitting a squirrel, although I think all I would have to do is to hit the fence, and that will scare them away.

Next big item to get, is a sprinkler, sensored scarecrow. It is solar powered, and as soon as it senses something in its path, the sprinkler goes off.

We will see how the sandbox works. If the squirrels destroy 1/10th of the garden, that still is a lot, because my garden is not that big yet. But, I will find ways to make the garden bigger, and grow more plants. That way, when part of it gets destroyed, that part won't be missed as much.

Until next time..

Happy Gardening!

Bye Bye Squirrels. I'll fix
your fuzzy little tails, yet!

Specific Problems That I Have Faced In My Gardening Experiences

I have been gardening for 35 years now, and still don't have a green thumb. Should I give up, like everyone else who has these problems does? Should I keep going and try to resolve each issue?

I am writing this with the hopes of helping others who struggle with gardening, especially organic gardening in Central Florida, or other zones that include similar problems as I have had.

I will list the problems and try to tackle them one by one, with educated answers. Please feel free to chime in if you have had tried and proven methods that have worked for you.

1. Lack of water - This wasn't such a problem until we had a serious drought about 16 or so years ago. I watered every day up to that point, but we were put on water restrictions since that time. We can now only use a sprinkler system once a week, and only during certain hours.

Answer: Pray for rain. I'm serious. We had months of no rain, and fires were starting. People were being evacuated from their homes. A lady called from Arizona, and at the end of our conversation, she asked if I had anything she could pray for. I told her to pray for rain. She did. Rain came back to our land, thank God.

Also, I have to do a lot of watering by hand. This gives me good exercise though, so I am killing two birds with one stone (killing birds is not my thing!). You get the point though. Collecting rain with a rain barrel is good and may be necessary for the future (watch out for children getting into rain barrels though. I have heard of children drowning in them). Also, taking a hose and turning the water on low so it seeps out is a really good thing to do to conserve water and, at the same time, water plants.

2. Caterpillars eating my plants. I have had healthy plants just about die overnight because some caterpillar got into the plant and devoured it. Usually it is a tomato or pepper plant that gets devoured by these caterpillars.

Answer: BT is something that can be used to kill the caterpillar. If it is sprayed on the plant, the caterpillar will eat it as it eats the plant and it will kill the caterpillar. Another effective item to use is Diatomaceous Earth, or DE. It works the same way although it is a different product.

Fossil Power Diatomaceous Earth, Food-grade, Safe for Animals and Humans, for Dusters, Getting Rid of Bed Bugs, Fleas, Ticks and More, Used As a Health Remedy Due to High Amount of Silica (89%)

This garden dust with BT. utilizes bacillus thuringiensis (var. kurstaki) which, once ingested by the pest, kills them within a few days. 

3. Wildlife Destruction - This is a big one. I have all kind of repellents and scare tactics around, but each one only works on certain animals. The biggest problem I seem to have is with squirrels. They come into the garden and dig holes, and by doing that they uproot plants. It's like they are enjoying looking for some kind of treasure, but in doing so, the plants get pulled out and die, many times. 

Answer: Perhaps a BB gun will work, but you have to be there all the time to catch the squirrels in the act. I tried fencing them out. I am now using peppermint oil to repel them and it seems to work. Because you have to use a lot of this, it can end up being expensive. You are to soak cotton balls in peppermint oil because squirrels hate the smell of peppermint. If it rains, you have to replace the cotton balls because the scent will disappear. 

Another idea I have is to distract and entertain the squirrels. I haven't done this yet, but you can buy squirrel baffles and they will spend hours trying to figure them out. I was thinking about making my own by taking a corn cob and attaching it to a flexible pole and attaching that to a tree. Squirrels love bird food, so I make popcorn for them. Eventually, we had 12 squirrels in our back yard looking for popcorn everyday, but for some reason, the number of squirrels went down to 2. I have a feeling they became a tasty morsel for the birds of prey that live around here. You could use an electric fence, but it would probably fry the squirrels. For now, I am just sticking with peppermint oil and popcorn. Perhaps I could buy a bag of sand so they could have their own place to dig. 

                              

4. Twigs, branches, and sticks dropping in the garden on top of plants - This is the most recent struggle I have with my plants being killed. I am working on an answer right now and I think the only thing I can do is to make a cover to go over the top of the plant, but a few feet higher than the plant is. 

Answer: Tomato stakes planted around the pot and a top made of sheer fabric attached to the tops of the poles. Twigs and branches should land on the top of the fabric which will prevent the sticks from falling on top of the plants. Also, you don't want to shield the plant from getting sunlight or water because of the fabric. If it is high enough, it should give protection plus allow sunlight and water to be available to the plant. You could use netting instead of fabric. Just cut it into a circle that will match the size of the pot, put string or twisties through the fabric or netting, then attach the fabric or netting piece to the poles. I would use four poles but six might even be better. 

I use 6' poles but these are 4' ones and they
will work. Walmart has them for around $2
a pole, but amazon has a package of 25 that
cost around $28 and free shipping.

One more thing; make sure you give your plants food! I skipped this for many years and it was no wonder my garden didn't grow. There are several organic plant foods available out there, plus there are other organic fertilizers that can be used as well. 

Always follow directions with using organic fertilizers. You don't want to burn your plants. Been there. Done that. 

Until next time...

Happy Gardening!

GRRRR! Bad Garden Day - There Is Hope!

A Couple of days ago, I noticed some of my potted plants covered with dirt! There were mounds of dirt and holes in the dirt in my pots. GRRRR. At first, I blamed the raccoons since we have many of them, but they only come out at night. If I were to find the culprit, I would have to be awake all night!


  Aha! I found the culprit and it was a cute little squirrel. There he was, digging really fast in one of my pots! I was so angry I went out and screamed at him to scare him away. Then we got out my air pellet gun and learned really quick how to use it.

   Well, I was determined to make an end of the squirrels, so I decided to look for an electric fence that would be adequate for a backyard garden. Everything I found though, was for gardens that were on a lot of property. Plus, the shock from the fence would be enough to kill a small dog or birds. I don't want to do that, especially when our turkeys come around. That would be terrible to find a dead turkey in our back yard!

We love our turkeys. They have been around
for many years and we have watched them
grow up. They still come around and they seem to be used to us now.

   On the gardening list I am on, they discouraged me from ordering the electric fence, so I put it on hold. But the good news is that we had some people over tonight for a cheese making class, and they were into gardening. The man suggested that I just leave it alone as the squirrels only destroy about 1/10th of the garden (or that might be the percentage of his garden they destroy!). That got me to thinking, maybe I could make a sandbox for them and put real sand in it. Maybe it would help pacify their need for digging. I could make popcorn for them, and then they would be tasty morsels for the hawks.

   One other good thing that happened tonight was that one of the mystery plants was identified! I had a plant growing that I didn't recognize, but I knew it was a real plant, so I put it down with the other potted plants. It is a vining plant, and it suffered from the cold weather, but if the roots are still alive, the plant will be ok. The man identified it as a grape vine. Come to think of it, I did grow grapes one time, and I could see how it looks like a grape vine.

My grape vine when it was a baby.

   My lychee plant was uprooted but I think it will be ok. So, my next plan of action is to order some bird spikes. In the reviews, some told how it helped deter squirrels. It is less than half the price of the electric fence and probably a lot safer for small children and animals like turkeys, to be around. 

  So, I will feed the squirrels and provide a sand box for them, outside of the fence in the back (our property goes beyond the fence. Let's hope that the bird spikes provide a good answer for this dilemma. If they do, I will order more and place them inside the big garden in the back, which they also destroyed twice.

I have a pepper plant that I was reluctant to put into a pot since the squirrels were out there, but now I can try these ideas and see if they work. Will post pictures in the future of the outside plants.

Using Your Hair As Bird Nesting Material

   I have a lot of hair stuck in my brushes and combs, but nothing goes to waste at my house. I was reminded of this when I cleaned out a comb a couple of minutes ago. I actually had to cut the hair out of the comb to get it off. I threw it outside for our little feathered friends to use to make their nests with.

  Did you know that squirrels make nests too? One of their favorite items is cut up newspapers. I did this one time in my garden. I cut up the black and white papers and dumped them into the garden beds, and when I came out later on, there was a trail of newspapers leading to a tree in the back. The squirrels must have thought I put the newspapers out just for them!

   What are some other items that birds use to make their nests with? What are some advantages or disadvantages of having birds in the yard?

   The disadvantages are obvious; birds will eat any berries that are ripe and ready to pick, so you have to get out there before the sun comes up and pick them as soon as they ripen.

   The advantage of having birds around is that they can transfer seeds or even pollinate plants. They really are a good part of our ecological system.

   I have a pet bird and she has made nests out of material that was used to make her cage cover. She made a pretty nice nest too. Now when I cover her cage, I have to remove the coverings in the morning or she will chew up the blankets covering her cage. She finds nest making using the blankets covering her, very therapeutic.

Easy, Convenient Greenhouse for small potted plants

I saw this picture on Facebook, and it looks like something worth investigating. Now anyone can make a small, portable greenhouse where you can even put the lid on top to keep moisture in and cold air out. I have done something like this already, and my big mistake was to let water sit in the bottom. I would recommend never to do that. The water is stagnant and already has bacteria in it and it could be sickening. It doesn't look like you have to do that though with this kind of 'green house'. It looks neat, and clean, so perhaps I will give it a try too.
 
   The picture came from a Facebook page called, 'Grow Food, Not Lawns'. They also have a web page found at: http://growfood-notlawns.com/

Picture from "Grow Food, Not Lawns"

What Gardening Lessons Did I Learn This Year?

I want to share a couple of things I learned this year about gardening in Central Florida. I spent a lot of money and time planting peppers and tomatoes in fabric pots. What did I learn?

1. I learned that tomatoes do not grow on my back balcony. The tomato plants that were on the balcony really struggled to survive. I even bought lamps that would help provide sunlight, but all the tomatoes died. I am now putting the tomato plants in fabric pots along the fence in the back yard. I will report how they do in the places I have put them.

2. Strawberries also need sunlight. I had Alpine strawberries in a hydroponic system and they all died. They got very little sunlight, and by the time I got the lamp for the plants on the balcony, most of them had died. I have strawberries outside in the garden, and some in pots. They seem to be doing fine.

3. Tomato plants cannot touch the ground. Whenever that happens, the plants die in the area where the stems touched the ground.

I am trying lettuce, celery, cabbage, and broccoli in the hydroponic system, since they don't require as much sunlight.

Composting Trials and Errors

Well, I have never really been successful at composting and I'm sure there are reasons why. One of the main reasons is that I have only skimmed through the main instructions and missed the heart of the activity! Well, now that I have 4 different compost devices, one of them being inside the kitchen, I have to learn how to do this, or my house will be a wreck!

    When I first did worm composting (vermicomposting), my worms died not too long after I started the worm bin. I realized that the composting material was too dry, and perhaps that was why they all died. So, I make sure now, that I put all tea bags and moist food scraps into the worm bin so they don't die. But now there is so much moisture and liquid in this worm bin that I am not sure this is right either.

   I have two composting bins in the garage, and bags of this stuff with micro-organisms came with each one. When I first put food scraps into these compost bins, I also layered the food scraps with this micro-organism stuff. The liquid that came out smelled like beer so I knew everything was right on. And it stayed right on for about a month, then all the compost began to smell bad and no more 'beer' smelling liquid. Mold covered the former food scraps now. What went wrong?

   After studying a little on composting, my big mistake seems to be not having enough 'brown stuff' in my compost bin. So now I add some newspaper with black and white print to it. Also, adding leaves to the compost bin is helpful, although I have not had the time to collect the leaves from the back yard.

   I also bought a compost grinder which just tears up the food scraps to make them smaller. Some people have actually bought an extra blender or container to chop up the food scraps to make them smaller. The smaller the food scraps, the quicker the compost. My two compost bins seem to have a lot of liquid in them as well. I think they both need more newspapers and leaves, and also putting more of the micro-organism stuff on it periodically will help.

   This past month I had no time to work on the compost bins, and one of them is beginning to turn it's smell from 'beer' to rotting beer, so it needs attention again. We don't want so much liquid in it that the bad bacteria begins to grow. So, I will fix them up and hopefully use them soon, so I can start them again.

   The kitchen compost bucket is full of scraps. I need to put them into the compost grinder so the results can go into one of the compost bins or into the worm bin. Even the worm bin needs newspaper scraps in it. Those will help make compost turn into good compost, and the worms will thrive on it as well.

Some composting helpers:

I have this book but sadly, have
not had the time to read it yet.

This compost holder is helpful to have in the kitchen.
I used to use a large margarine tub stuck in the fridge,
but this idea is a good one. You can get bags to go inside,
and also it comes with a carbon round thing that goes in
the top to help keep odor down.

I have two of these and think I can use both at the same time.
The Bokashi is a combination of oatmeal bran and micro-organisms.
The resulting compost will have a nice smell, kind of like beer, if it
is made right. I also use this in my kitchen compost bin. Next step
is to find the recipe so I could make my own.

I have this compost grinder. Some just use an
extra blender container for grinding up food
scraps. Food and scraps should be in small
particles for it to turn into compost faster.

I tried to find one that resembles mine, and this is the closest
I could find. A worm bin that holds worms to make compost.
I have heard that worm castings make the best compost. 

Every worm bin needs the worms to go in it!
The worms need to be 'Red Wrigglers'. Many
confuse the worms with night crawlers which
are not good composting worms.

I got this book years ago and
it is easy to read and helpful
in understanding how worms
turn food scraps into compost.
A good 'how to' book on worm
composting

      I hope these items are helpful to you. Some of them are the same exact items that I am using, while others are similar, but probably do the same exact thing.

   Items to use in the compost pile or worm bin might include; vegetable peelings, fruit peelings, coffee grounds, tea bags, leftover bark from tea (such as willow-make white willow bark tea for headaches or use as aspirin), leftover veggies or fruit. Meat products should not go into the composting pile (would attract neighborhood animals and wildlife), although Mary Appelhof puts bones with meat in her worm bin occasionally.

   Of course, you could always get a big tumbler bin to fit in your back yard, or you could make your own compost bin right on the ground. If there is no fencing around it, neighboring animals might like your food scraps and could be visiting your yard on a regular basis seeing what is on the menu today (Been there. Done that).

Happy composting!!