Fenton Friday: Bunny Invasion

 
This week was another week of hardly any rain, but instead of record heat - we got an overnight freeze! I had covercloths over all the tender seedlings and everything seemed to pull through fine.I was worried about the flowers getting zapped on the strawberries and blackberries--they look like they are setting fruit and will be okay.

We came to the plot to water and weed today (with temps in the 80s!) and a grown rabbit ran out of the garlic chives and took off across the garden. Then, a few minutes later a baby rabbit ran INTO the plot and hid himself against my fish fertilizer jug (see photo above). I wanted to evict him, but the stinker is too darn cute, so I Iet him stay. He and his mom were likely the ones who ate all my Pea seedlings. I planted new Sugarsnap Peas today and put more wire cages around them to protect them.

I harvested Asparagus, Cilantro, and some Lettuce. The bed shown at right is pre-weeding with the covercloth pulled back. You can see the Cut-and-Come-Again Lettuce in the middle and the Cilantro (already setting flower!) to the right. On the left, is a row of Potato seedlings that are popping up from last year's crop. (Is it just me or do you never, ever get find all the potatoes at harvest time?) I will let them stay and may add some more potatoes in there as the greens there will soon give out in the summer heat.

The Kale and Lettuce seedlings are doing fine. The Radish and Carrot seedlings are not up yet so I may sow new seeds soon.

Dill seedlings have popped up were I had a row of dill plants growing last year. We weeded out most of the dill seedlings, but left a few, and cut back a Mulberry tree that keeps trying to come up there.

In the pollinator strip, the Poppy seedlings are growing quickly. I also really need to weed there--that will have to wait until I get some time next week between garden tours and festivals.

This weekend, we have a booth at the FONA Garden Fair--please come by and see us there!

What are you growing and harvesting in your garden this week?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 15th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton"  into the Search box above (at the top, left on this blog).

Fenton Friday: They're Ba-ack!

Look closely at the photo above and you will see a young rabbit trying desperately to blend in with the surrounding herbs in my neighbor's plot. This little jerk (or his relatives) chewed by Sweet Potato slips that had just started to leaf out! We also suspect he was the culprit that absconded with our missing Cucumber seedlings - when we had blamed the birds or slugs!

I put little wire frames around the other Cucumber seedlings and replanted the missing ones. I also sprinkled used kitty litter around the  Sweet Potato slips, but I may have to resort to more dire methods soon.

In the rest of the plot, we dug up all the Carrots - not a huge crop - but a pretty one. I especially like the 'Purple Sun' ones.

I also dug up the Garlic and laid it out to cure on a rack in my sun-room. Two of the garlic heads were already starting to rot and the cloves slid right out of their peels with a few starting to grow green tips! I thought I was catching them on time, but I guess our long, cool and wet spring got to those. The rest of the bulbs were just fine though.

I planted a few 'Candle Fire' Okra seeds among the strawberries and we re-planted the Basil and Marigold seeds as the first sets never came up.

Next, I plan to finally pull the peas and plant some beans.

What are you harvesting this week in your edible garden? 

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

DIY: Rabbit-proof Cage

By Alexa Silverberg

Bunnies seem to come from everywhere to eat those delicious berries and greens you’ve been growing. See below for easy how-to steps to create a bunny-free zone in your garden.

Materials:

• Drill
• Screws
• Wood*
• Staple gun with heavy-duty staples
• Gloves
• Hardware cloth
• Wire cutters
• A helper
• Safety glasses
• Measuring tape

*we used boards taken off a few old pallets

Steps:

1. Measure your growing bed for how wide and long you need the box to be. Create a bottomless box with sides about 2-3 feet high. You can adapt a raised bed frame.

2.  Have a friend help hold the wood steady while you screw the wood corners and braces securely together with the drill. Repeat this until you have all 4 sides of the box finished.
3.  Put on gloves and safety glasses, they will protect your hands while you drill and while you are handling the wire hardware cloth.

4.  Start wrapping the hardware cloth around one side of the box.

5.  Have a friend securely press the hardware cloth flat onto the wood, while you begin stapling the wire down with a staple gun. In order to get the staples to stay, the hardware cloth must be as flat and taut as possible on the wood.

6. Staple the edges first to make sure they are secure before stapling the side. Repeat until all 4 sides of the wood box are wrapped in hardware cloth.

7.  Cut any excess of the hardware cloth with wire cutters and crimp/roll the cut edges over, to ensure you can easily reach over the box without catching your clothing and cutting yourself.

8. Place it around the plants you want to protect. There you have it -- a bunny-free box, perfect for protecting all of your favorite crops!

About the Author: Alexa Silverberg is a senior broadcast journalism major at the University of Maryland and is from Short Hills, NJ. She is an editorial intern at Washington Gardener Magazine this spring semester.

Dealing with Deer and Other Creatures in Your Garden

By Ashley O'Connor

“Managing deer and other wildlife in your garden;” that was the topic of Kathy Jentz’s recent class at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD. The publisher and editor of Washington Gardener told an attentive audience of 16 how to humanely handle pesky animals destroying their home gardens. Some of her tried and true tips are below.

For Managing Deer:

• Cage small saplings during the fall to protect them from antler rubbings
• The first line of defense is your dog, just make sure he/she is leashed and no closer than 15 feet from a deer
• Use mesh fencing around property perimeters, but be sure to bring the mesh to the ground (This will prevent the deer from slipping under)

Rabbits:

• Sprinkle the border of your garden with used cat-litter; they hate it!

Moles and Voles:

• Use peppermint essential oil on a cotton ball to deter these critters

Rats:

• Clean up rotting fruit on the beds of your gardens

Crows:

• Scare these birds off with fake rubber snakes

Groundhogs:

• Plant chicken-wire in an L-shape facing out around your vegetable beds

Squirrels:

• soak bird seed in a "flaming squirrel seed sauce” like Cole's brand

Chipmunks:

• Incorporate sharp gravel or Chicken grit into your garden, it won’t hurt them, but the texture will irritate their paws

Dealing with multiple creatures at once? Try an activated motion sprinkler. It’s a great way to scare off any creature, just remember to move its location every few weeks during the season.

About the Author:
Ashley O’Connor, a senior multi-platform journalist at the University of Maryland. This autumn, she is an editorial intern at Washington Gardener.

Fenton Friday: Those Rascally Rabbits

'Kentucky Wonder' Green Beans seedlings

The rains have all dried up and a heat wave has set in. The Cucumber seedlings and Tomatoes are growing by leaps and bounds. I started Zinnia seeds and they are already up, but the Edamame has yet to make an appearance. I will give that another week.

I caught not one, but two, baby rabbits in my plot at the same time this week. This means war! Last year, the rabbits ate my Green Bean seedlings down to the nub each time they emerged. After trying 3 times, I gave up. This season I am taking no chances. I surrounded the green beans with some wire mesh and am hoping it is enough to get the beans started.

How is your vegetable garden growing this week?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 7th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Fenton Friday: Bunny Blues

So the rabbits have found us. I arrived at my plot on Monday morning to find my bean seedlings had been bitten down to nubs. I tucked a cover cloth around them and they mostly seem to be recovering now. I have also chased a rabbit out of an adjacent plot on a few occasions, so the culprit is obvious. What is puzzling though is where our neighborhood feral cat colony (part of the trap-and-release program) has gone. I have not seen any kitties in months and it is no coincidence that now we have bunny issues. 

In the good news department, I had my first 'Sun Gold' tomato of the season. I ate it this morning as I watered the plot. The Watermelon vines are growing like crazy and the Zinnia seedlings are all up and looking good. I am not sure the Mouse Melon seeds have emerged or if those are tiny weeds in that spot, I will give them another week or so to prove themselves.

How is your edible garden growing this week?

About Fenton Friday: 

Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 6th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.)