A Battle for Strawberries

I have been at battle with chipmunks again. We don't have guns here, but if I did, I'd use them on these little whipper-snappers. (Jacob, Jon, come on over!) They've been going into my strawberry patch and munching one little 'chip' out of each ripe strawberry they see. I've thrown into the woods the same amount of strawberries I've been able to harvest for US.

I've sprinkled dried blood around the perimeter of the garden (yes, available at garden stores), put up two yard-art owls and created a less than heart filled trap. I'm sorry, it had to be done. If anyone would like to trap them and drive them to Iowa, come on over and be my guest. 

Chit-chatting around the playground after church on Sunday, I learned that there are new fangled bobble-head owls where the heads turn. Heck, I'm willing to try anything at this point.  

Thankfully, we did manage to have four bowls of strawberries and ice cream for dessert last night. Strawberries that I collected like a stealth fighter over several days, picking just before they were perfectly ripe.  Why don't chipmunks eat my weeds? Why don't bugs eat weeds? And why do weeds grow with such vigor, compared to my freshly planted pepper seedlings? 

Thank you for allowing me to vent. We were thankful and thrilled to have the strawberries we did from our very own garden. Aren't they beautiful?

Fragile hope and a commitment to thinning!

I feel like I'm walking on egg shells. I am waiting for 'the other shoe to drop'. I am giddy with excitement when I look at my thriving strawberry plants (thanks to our handy dandy fence that's keeping the rabbits out!), but I am petrified that something is going to come along and ruin everything before they are ready! I am having pest stress! 

Just last night I was examining my fruit trees and found that some of them have been anialated by a small green caterpillar. I tried picking them all off one by one and smashing them to smithereens. But, they were everywhere. Nearly all of the leaves had been destroyed, overnight. Finally I broke down and used an organic BT spray, which is a bacterium that disagrees with soft bodied bugs, on the trees whose flowers had already fallen off (kind of like the milky spore concept that's used for Japanese beetles). I didn't spray anything on those trees that had flowers because there is some talk that the BT bacterium may harm the larvae of the honey bee -- as the bees go right to the flower, take in the pollen and nectar, then feed it to their young -- which is at one point, larvae. 

So of course I haven't sprayed my darling strawberry plants. But they are starting to show evidence that some bug or other is going after them. Argh! Garden Stress! They look so wonderful. So cheerful. So hopeful. I even saw one of my honey bees examining them yesterday. (Granted, one -- but hey! We are getting somewhere!)

My mantra this year is THIN THIN THIN. The sign of a novice gardener is someone who doesn't thin their seedlings. I fall into this category. I find it so difficult to pull out or cut down a cute little seedling filled with promise! This exposes my naivete. Although you might think that you will get more 'fruit' with more plants, if the plants are crowded the opposite is actually true. In addition the plants become stressed and more susceptible to disease. Drat. So now I have been thinning and thinning and thinning. 

I've known this since I was a child and witnessed my father pulling out 'perfectly good' radish seedlings from the ground. "WHAT are you Dooooooing??!!" I said. "Thinning" he responded. It just seemed so wrong. 

Here are my peas. (top and bottom) Two rows side by side 4 inches apart with a trellis in between. Last year my peas were attacked by deer and rabbits. We will see if the peas have better luck this year!

Here are my broccoli and cauliflower transplanted seedlings.

And some lovely lettuce that had been growing in my cold frames -- now exposed. It is pretty exciting to have lettuce ready for picking in early May (here in New England, that's exciting!)

Yum.

And my carrots. Another thing that suffered greatly last year because of Peter Rabbit. 

I've been a good girl and have been thinning them out as need be. 

One small potato sprout. Kristi and I are trying a new fangled potato tower made with wire fencing. Inside I've piled leaves, straw, grass clippings, compost and a little dirt. As the sprouts get taller, you cover up the stems with more of the 'compost cocktail' and repeat until you are at the top of the tower. Supposedly this will create a mountain of spuds within each tower. I am a little concerned about possible light exposure to the potatoes growing inside (on the edges) of the towers. Growing potatoes don't like light, and can 'green'. Time will tell. I'll keep you posted! (My Portuguese husband does not seem impressed.)

To the Rescue!

As you can see, my strawberries have been under attack. Since last summer Victor has been saying that we needed to put a fence up to keep the rabbits out. After the snow melted a few weeks ago the rabbits have discovered my strawberry plants and have been celebrating the approach of spring with a feast. So, this weekend, we did it. We put in a fence.

I won't lie to you. It was tough. Right now as I'm sitting here typing, my forearms are aching from the exercise -- sore from clinching a shovel all weekend. I can't even begin to imagine how Victor feels. Poor guy -- he was the only MAN on the job and had to take care of the real grunt work. 

The boys did their part trying to pitch in. You know how it goes, it's really more work for the parents to include them, but the whole idea is teaching them about the rhythm and reward of work. 

I'd read up on how to install a fence to keep small munching animals out of the garden and particularly liked one "how to" where they utilized wood posts from trees in the back woods. We have tons of these small trees and they were free. To keep rabbits out, the fence has to be 18-24 inches high.

Victor dug sixteen post holes all the way around our garden approximately 8 feet apart.

Then we dug a trench one foot wide all the way around to lay 

fine mesh wire down to ward off borrowing animals.

Just when we thought we were over the tough part . . .

there was seemingly unending digging to be done.

After two days of solid hard core work . . .

We are close to finished. 

(We used heavier "hog fencing" for support and chicken wire on top of that.)

We still have to set the posts into the dirt by pouring water around them, pressing, pouring and filling. We have to finish digging a narrow trench along the rock wall for one last run of fencing that goes along my rhubarb and asparagus plantings (right now the fencing is just resting along the posts on that side of the garden). And fill the trench with dirt. The fence reminds me of the movie "Chicken Run" . . .  but with some green veggies growing inside I'm hoping for a more charming look. Maybe a few sweet peas growing around the outside . . . even if the rabbits get them. 

Scat!

Scat

Function: noun

Etymology: perhaps from Greek skat-, skor excrement

Date: 1927

:an animal fecal dropping

When I was living in Colorado, reading Farley Mowat's book Never Cry Wolf and preparing for my backpacking trip to Alaska, I became familiar with the term "scat". Once you know to look for it, it's a great way to know what animals are nearby and what they are eating. Well, I can tell you with certainty that a) rabbits are IN my garden with frequency, and b) they are eating my old broccoli plants. Whippersnappers.

They are also hopping through and around my wild blackberries that I'm planning on taming this year. And, clearly, this year I will also be building a fence. Sad, but I've finally embraced the reality that one is needed. I had several encounters with wildlife last season from rabbits stunting the growth of my carrots and beets by nibbling their tops, to deer chomping at my ready to pick peas, and painstakingly trained strawberry plants. So when the ground thaws, I'm hoping to draft Victor to help me build a fence. 

One natural aide has come to my rescue though. Yesterday morning our dog Church was barking as he looked out the slider facing our back woods. I let him out as usual to chase the local squirrel population. But what Church had in his sights was a fox! I wish I could have gotten a picture of him (or her) but I was awestruck looking at this beautiful animal. A very healthy fluffy looking fox with dark red fur and lots of black highlights. As Church came bounding out, the fox, who was checking out our neighbors dog kennel (they have tiny little yapper type dogs), slowly meandered away irritated by the inconvenience of Church's appearance (certainly not scared). Our fox slowly trotted across the back of our woods so that Ripley and I could see him. Ripley asked "Does the fox have sharp teeth?" "Yes" I said. "Then Church should come inside, because I love Church." Poor Church was still way back by the dog kennel running around in circles asking "Which way did he go? Which way did he go?"

Bambi Strikes

Yes, now it's Bambi. It looks like two deer attacked my strawberry plants -- eating leaves and stems on my new plants. Thankfully they weren't completely destroyed. With a little nurturing (and no more torture from Bambi and his friend) they will be fine. Close call. It's funny because I was going to write telling of my strawberry plants' success. They are now creating "daughter plants" for next year -- the little shoots they send out to create a new plant. This year I am to remove any blossoms to boost the plant's energy, nurture the daughter plants for next year when I will actually be able to pick strawberries!

Now, about Bambi ...

Well, I was just about to leave the house with Ripley when I went out to harvest some lettuce and snap peas for a salad at "Grandmama and Gramp's" and discovered THE DAMAGE. I knew it was deer that devoured my strawberries because I actually saw numerous hoof prints in the mud and straw!! Panicking, I went to the freezer and pulled out cayenne peppers to make a pepper spray -- simmering in water for 15 -30 minutes. Then I decided we would make a human urine barrier -- diluted with water -- around my garden. When I went to collect ... the urine ... somehow I managed to spill the container all over my bathroom floor!! Good grief. Just where is the Candid Camera guy? Undaunted, I used what remained and created a barrier around my garden. Meanwhile, I went to the stove to get the brewing pepper spray. When pouring the liquid through a funnel into a spray bottle I managed to slosh the boiling hot pepper spray spilling all over the floor and splashing onto my face, neck and chest! I ran to the refrigerator and pulled out sour cream and began smearing it all over my face, neck and chest. What a vision. Ripley was dumb-founded. Just WHAT is Mommy up to?! First she asks me to pee into a container which she then spills all over the floor. Then, she splashes boiling hot water all over the kitchen and herself ... then smears herself with sour cream! What is UP!? Stay tuned to see if my organic, low budget way of detering deer is effective.

On a lighter note, I did sneak a few stalks of Rhubarb from my new plants (you are supposed to wait for a year). I made my mother's Rhubarb Dessert -- but used strawberries left over from strawberry picking instead of raspberries. Really, the "dessert" is a crisp. Yumola! Here is a picture.

.

Chip and Dale

As in the cartoon show!

I was headed outside again to assess the rabbit situation, and what did I see?! A chipmunk nibbling on my bean sprouts. When he saw me coming down the stairs to the garden he moved on to a rock about 6 feet away and consumed the bean top. Arrgggghh! I confirmed the assault when I looked at my poor bean, it's top munched off, a simple stalk poking out of the ground. Honestly. This is like the cartoon show ... and I'm the poor soul getting laughed at.

Wha sup Dooooccccc?!

I've had two raised beds here for 4 years. I have never seen one rabbit. I went out this morning to see the garden while carrying my coffee and what did I see??! Two of the biggest, fattest, fluffiest rabbits you've ever seen. They look so plump and fluffy they look like they are prepped for Easter pictures with the kids. Back in the 1500's if I'd run into these guys I could feed my family for weeks and weeks. My husband's aunt and uncle in Portugal would be salivating (they raise their own rabbits for food). Good grief. Now I've gotta deal with these guys. Bite the bullet and put up a fence, or marigold the place to death? Can anyone say "Pain in the neck!" ??

Make a note of it ...

Make a note of it ... birds eat PEARS when they are not even one inch long -- right off the tree. Note to self: cover trees after petal fall with netting. All of the pears off my two baby trees -- which granted were a grand total of about 25 pears -- were consumed over one weeks time. I always thought that wildlife ate fruit off the trees once they were ready to eat. Not so. Nope. They don't care. Yesterday I covered my blueberries because I saw a bird getting a little too chummy with them for my taste. It's a good thing. My guess is I'll have to cover my apples too? Good grief. Lament.

Not Bad . . .

Not Bad. Here is my first big harvest of Bloomsdale Spinach and May Queen Lettuce. Wow. Yumola.

In the garden however, I have been riddled with bugs. I've tried all kinds of Neem spray and an Oil Spray -- however when I realized (thanks to friend Vivian) that I was infested with Potato Beetles, I had to use Seven -- suffice it to say, it's not organic. It's pretty mild stuff, but it was either that or kiss my potatoes, tomatoes and peppers goodbye. (this was even after trying to chase these little whipper snappers around my potato plants -- hats off to those of you who have the time, patience and talent for that. 9 times out of 10 you pull a leaf or two off with a beetle. I looked it up on the natural gardening book I've had out from the library for months it seems and that's what they had suggested. Apparently, Potato Beetles are especially prevalent in the small home garden. Terrific. Anyway folks, I gave up. If anyone has any other ideas -- please let me know. Between my fruit trees and veggie garden I've become a bit consumed by pests. I'm seeing bugs I've never noticed before. As a matter of fact, when walking our little miniature Schnauzer "Church" (weird name, I know) this morning I noticed that our birch trees were being CONSUMED by caterpillars. They blended in so nicely you could hardly notice them -- since I had the Seven all mixed up, I gave them a good blast. Fixed their little red wagon.