No More Critters !

I can say with certainty that we have seen the last of the little critters in our garden. Joe has worked diligently in planning, designing and installing an electric fence around the garden. He planned it for quite a bit larger than the current garden just in case I want to enlarge my growing potential in the future. This also leaves room for use to mow, turn the rototiller, or maybe add a bed of raspberries.


Although he made a beautiful gate, he left a 12 foot wide portion which unhooks by special handles on the wires if we ever have the need to get large equipment in there.

The best part about the fence is that keeps my "green" theme going. It is totally solar powered. The battery can store up to 15 days worth of power.



I found these in a friend's garden and just had to order them for mine. They are called "Heliopsis Loraine Sunshine" a type of variegated sunflower. They make a huge statement in a real sunny place and also the perfect cut flower. They bloom all summer too! I love the variegated leaves.

Many of the vege blossoms are now fruiting out and our excitement is mounting. Even though our garden was planted late to most standards in the north country, we are anticipating a huge bounty.

One thing we did not plan for in this area was a huge mound of ants. It is not in the vege garden area. I helped our daughter get rid of her fire ants in North Carolina with a mixture of dry instant grits and white sugar (50/50 mix). Stir it together and sprinkle on affected area. The ants eat it and implode. I'm hoping that it works for us. And yes, I'm still dealing with the squash bugs on a daily basis. But it looks like I'm winning the war.

Northern Version of Caddyshack

I had to share this note about our garden in 2009. We've come a long way since then.

I have a small garden with a couple dozen lettuce plants, peas, cukes, tomatoes, italian peppers, and kitchen herbs. I struggled this spring to get the garden in with all of the cold nights and our several late season frosts. I've been very pleased with the progress to date. Then it happened, I woke up one morning to four heads of romaine lettuce totally missing with the exception of 1/2 inch of core and the roots still intact.

This time of year begins to bring the fruits of our hard labor to the table. It also brings the fruits of our hard labor to our friend, the woodchuck. Call this wonderful, cute creature whatever you like; woodchuck, groundhog, marmota monax. He may be cute on February 2 when we haven't seen him all winter and he sticks his head up to let us know if another six weeks of winter is to be expected. But during the sunny days of July he is no thrill. I am sure that I'm not the only peaceful home gardener screaming that these creatures are too crafty.

I realized that "Chucky" had taken up residence and found two borough openings on the rear side of our shed. I fled to the internet to find a humane solution for our co-existence. Let's try moth flakes. By the time I got to Wal-Mart and back, there were now four holes. I had hoped that I had purchased enough to do all four holes. I poured some in the first hole and discovered two offspring and (I guess I've renamed her "Chicka") making a beeline out of the den and out from underneath the other end of the shed. I continued to pour the moth flakes in each borough with wishful thinking. Next morning, a few more lettuce plants, some peas were and a few tomato plants were nibbled back.

Still wanting to handle this humanely, I did more research on the internet. This time it was a trip to Tractor Supply for a HavAHeart trap. The trap was set up with all of the perfect delectable that any woodchuck in his/her right mind would love. The trap was hidden in an over-sized bed of hostas and I even put some hosta leaves on the bottom of the trap to help disguise it. I retired for the evening in hopes of finding a healthy catch in the morning. Guess what? "Chicka" had pulled the hosta leaves out of the trap like they were blue-plate specials. My garden was also not spared.

I began talking feverously to friends and neighbors as to how this situation should be handled. Many had said that human urine on the boroughs will make them run for the hills. Ah hah!!!!!!! This one I can handle without killing the pocketbook. I rummaged through some boxes in the basement for the old enamel pee pot to put it to good use for the day and into the evening. Before bedtime, I followed "old-timer" instructions and emptied it onto the openings. "Chicka" and her family were not happy about the invasion of the den and scurried out....only to run to the other side of my home and proceed to leave the same present on my back porch.

Okay, I resorted to smoke bombs. It works for one or two evenings and then they just borough back in. I've had daily flashbacks of Bill Murray in the hit movie "Caddyshack" as he struggled against the naughty nature, the likes of our new tenant, as the fairways and greens at Bushwood Country Club were filled, flooded and smoked out. The northern version of this is not far off.

I've learned in a short time the following:
Woodchucks like cukes, tomatoes, lettuce, peas, peppers, pumpkins, broccoli, beans, cabbage, clover, and some flowers. They grow between 16 and 20 inches long and weigh up to 10 pounds. They should be circus performers because they are not stopped by fences...they just go over or under. I personally cannot perform "lead-poisoning" on them and I will probably call a professional to find "Chicka" and her little ones a new home in hopes that they will not have told their relatives that their home is empty and available.

Where Did June Go?

Well this post is way over due. For some reason the entire month of June just flew by. We have spent everyday that wasn’t pouring out trimming and cleaning out old shrubs; cleaning up established beds; graded and planted new lawn areas; and planting a few new things. All of this along with our everyday chores seemed quite overwhelming. We also had 3 weekends of weddings out of state this month and the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Although they were wonderful and wouldn’t have missed them for the world, our vege garden took a back seat to our schedule. This was not the smartest thing to do. I’m paying for it with more weeding and replanting than I normally do this time of year. I truly missed our weekend time. I like working in the garden during the week but love working in the garden with Joe. It is better than our “windshield time”. We garden and get lots of talking and sharing done. There is some very therapeutic about getting the dirt under your nails.

Knowing I didn’t want to spend lots of time moving a sprinkler around the garden this summer, I used a secret we used in our CT garden. I pounded an iron pipe into the ground in the center of the garden. It sticks out of the garden about 3 ½ feet. Then anchored a really nice Gilmore pulsating arm sprinkler in the pipe. It is fully adjustable and reaches all the way to the corners of the garden. I picked up two of these sprinklers at Ocean State Job Lot. They are made with all brass fittings and were only $6.00 each. Last one I had like this lasted over 25 years. Much better than those plastic ones.

The second crop of beans and peas has been planted and coming up. My squashes are doing well after being planted late with the exception of my zucchini. Both of my zucchini mounds have been lost. But at least there is still time to plant a fall crop.

Those potatoes I planted are now showing its above ground growth. I never grew any potatoes before so this is very exciting for me! I can’t wait to taste a few of new potato morsels.

Even the new horseradish bed is showing signs of life. All sorts of green shoots are peeking through the black gold soil. I can’t wait to harvest some of this in the fall. One of my favorite things is fresh horseradish. One just has to make sure to process it with the windows open and plenty of ventilation. Trust me….I learned this the hard way. First batch I ever made put me on the kitchen floor passed out.

More layers are still being added to the lasagna portion of the garden. It is fun to know we are not only growing our garden but growing our garden soil for next year at the same time. I’m an avid recycler. I even took the plastic bucket that the dishwasher detergent came in and am using it for my compost scraps. I cut them up small to use them in the green layers of the lasagna.

I was surprised that the asparagus I planted this year has grown and ferned out. I had to read up on them and learned that you shouldn’t wait two years to harvest. You can harvest after one year. So I’m certainly looking forward to next year. http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1603.html states that the more you harvest the more you stimulate growth on the crowns. This link has a wealth of information on asparagus and is worth the read.

On another note, I use an SPF 80 while in the garden and I still get a dark tan. I don’t get burnt but I’m sure getting “carmelized.” I wish someone would invent garden gloves that wouldn’t give you tan lines. Hmmmmmm.

I can’t believe I’m already thinking of this. But with our short growing season here, one of the things we need to get on our list of things to do is some cold frames to put directly over plants in the garden. We have plenty of old window sashes to work with and should get these done before we have any of our cold nights in September.

Okay .. back to work.