The early hot spell we had this year hit right when all my tomatoes were in full bloom, so no tomatoes for me. But, I figured, I have all these wonderfully healthy EB plants, and the fancy new watering system, so I'll just put up some shade cloth and let them plug along until the weather gets more reasonable. Then I'll get fall tomatoes instead, I thought.
No such luck.
I started noticing my plants die, almost overnight, one by one. I was distraught--they looked perfectly healthy, then they would be dead.
Well, I finally got the heart up to go out and clean up the mess today, and found that almost every single plant had chew-marks down at the base of the plant, many of the liners had gnaw marks, and something had been digging holes inside the dirt! I strongly suspect the culprit was a pack rat, which I suspect has already become a snack for the local hawk.
So now I'm wondering, how do I prevent this from happening again? Has anyone else had problems with critters getting under the covers and into the soil of your EBs? And if so, what do you do about it?
Anyone ever have critters getting into their EBs?
jill, sorry to hear about critters setting up residence in your EBs! if your suspect left poop, and if you determine it to be rat poop, planting mint (potted) in the vegetable area is said to deter them. that's what i do.
i also googled, and found this. the good reviews, are excellent reviews, compared to the ones that didn't like the product. however, i have no personal experience.
http://www.amazon.com/Shake-Away-8004520-Repellent-Granules/dp/B000BO4XZI
happy gardening!
thanks, Moonglow! I've used the cat version of shake-away with good success, so I'll have to give the rodent version a try too.
I'll also spread some of my mint around--can't hurt, and it sure smells nice! (to people, at least!)
Never had that problem and hope I never do! Now if it were ants, just use the ant traps available from the supermarkets. Place one under the cover and the bait will kill the queen and thus no more ants.
Moth balls spread around the base of the EB will ward off most any critter especially squirrels and rats as they can not tolerate the odor.
you're welcome, jill.
ted. good to see you posting. i haven't had contact with moth balls in many, many years and last i know, mothballs contain naphthalene, classified as possibly carcinogenic by the international agency for research on cancer (IARC)[9] to humans and animals.
the IARC also points out that acute exposure causes cataracts in humans, rats, rabbits, and mice; and that hemolytic anemia, can occur in children and infants after oral or inhalation exposure or after maternal exposure during pregnancy.
my little boy gardens with me, and i wouldn't take the chance. but that's just me.
sincerely,
annapet
Thanks for the update annapet. I don't have anyone running around in my garden anymore as my grandson seems to have lost interest.
Oh, Tplant, that's too bad--I know how much you enjoyed sharing your garden with your grandson. Hopefully he'll come around again--if I've learned one thing about young kids, it's that their interests can change at the drop of a hat. Or an edible snack, whichever comes first!
You're welcome, Ted.
So sorry to hear about your garden companion losing interest. Mine is still quite interested. He's 7 now, we shall see.
Jill, as long as my little man loves pesto...
My kids are pesto-holics, too, annapet! It always seems a little strange to me--pesto just doesn't seem much like a kid-friendly food. I'm loving it, though--DH doesn't care for it, so when he goes out of town, the kids and I pig out on pesto! :)
jill, strange indeed! packed lunch is uber-easy for me. he hasn't gotten tired of pesto. with the fresh pastabilities available, endless combinations! he's not big on fresh tomatoes yet, but love the oven-roasted marinara.
"pastabilities"--LOL! And who couldn't love oven-roasted marinara?
jill, enjoying the season i hope. oven-roasted marinara is the pay-off! glad i canned and froze tomatoes! i think i'm good through spring!!!
I"m so jealous... we had an early heat spell just when the tomatoes were in full blossom, so I got about 10 tomatoes total off 12 plants this year. Sigh...
Already planning what to plant next year, though! :) Hope does spring eternal!