Yardening Fall #3 2013

We really have been having some great weather, up here. It has been pretty cold but sunny and without any wind it is pretty nice working out there. Wish I had just a bit more energy to do more. I did finish digging out the first row of Glads today. I hope to start the second row tomorrow, I would be very happy if I can dig out 1/3 to 1/2 of the row. I also planted a few spring bulbs a doz Princess Irene Tulips they are marked as fragrant. Also 3 more of those huge Globemaster Allium, I planted 3 of them last year and they are just beautiful.
SSG, Ric said either way is fine.

SSG -- I just pretend they aren't there.

SSG, is there a lot of it or just a little here and there? If just a little, maybe leave it and let it fertilize? ;-)

Would ones dear poo deter other dear? Kind of like urine does?

If yes--you may want to spread it around... G.

SSG, you should be more concerned about the fact that the deer have been in your yard then what to do with the scat.

Do you have any damage to your shrubs?

Deer will eat the azaleas and you won't get any flowers next year. If I were you, SSG, I would use some deer spray. There are too many deer in my area. no spray will stop them. I have given up on keeping them away :o(

Terp, I think the deer were walking up and down my street for the acorns. We have huge oak trees that produce a ton of acorns, even in low-acorn years like this year. The deer didn't touch any of the shrubs, and I haven't seen any signs of them since. I have a feeling they strayed from their usual feeding spots looking for acorns.

I'm still going to get some deer spray, but I'm not that concerned. I *am* concerned about the @#$% squirrels that have dug up some of the bulbs. They also dig around the roots of the azaleas, burying their acorns. And the #$@#% stray cats that are not using leaf litter as their litter box. I don't mind deer scat but cat poo is just gross, especially when you inadvertently vacuum it up into your leaf vac. :(

SSG-

I would say you are right, they were grazing on acorns. No big deal, they were in the front of your yard. You are near the woods but far enough away that it shouldn't matter them passing through to eat acorns. I would keep an eye out on your bushes in the front yard, they are opportune eaters and will graze. I've heard that they are also lazy and a simple two rows of wire (2 foot up and 5 foot) will deter them from your shrubs.

I had told you earlier I had found a pepper spray that deters the squirrels. I inquired about it to get some and was informed that it didn't work, the squirrels returned. Sorry. I know that this has been an issue for you.

We see deer quite often with the woods behind the house but they don't seem to bother any of the plants. On occasion I have seen them drinking from the pond and one year they were cleaning out the bird feeders. We actually put out a feeder for them with wild game food, if they are so hungry they are eating from my bird feeders things must have been pretty bad that winter. When spring came they all went back into the woods and never did damage any of the plants. It was fun watching the small herd of 8-12 come in each night at dusk but I was very glad that come spring they didn't stick around.
Got half of the second row of Glads dug today.

Donner: We have a ton of deer in our neighborhood, but they've never damaged our azaleas. Maybe we've just been lucky!

I, too, have had troubles with squirrels.. add nauseum. What I have found to be REALLY helpful (not 100%, but.. about 90% or so), is to bury hair shallowly around the base of each plant. I have gone to my local hairdresser and had her collect a day's worth of hair for me, and I tuck it in around each plant in my containers out back, and here-and-there around the beds out front. It's been SUPER helpful. The hair gets refreshed once a year; it may need more than that if ya get heavy rains and it gets washed away, but I guess I got lucky to have gotten mostly long hair cuttings, so I was able to tuck it in deeply with still a bit sticking out at the top.. the smell of human works to deter them.

Human hair is sometimes a good deterrent. It also contains nitrogen (I think). The worst our deer have done are browsing in the garden and eating all the tulip buds one year. They also drag ticks wherever they go, and the deer tick is a carrier for Lyme's. I spray Alfie's yard for fleas and ticks.

Yes it has nitrogen.
Ticks have been awful on Addy past few weeks! Our current spot-on-the-back treatment is doing nothing. She picks them up all over because we take her into woods.

shame about the cat poo Terry. its nasty stuff; the disease it can carry is very nasty stuff.
Our cats once started going under the deck for a litter box, in loose leaves atop the white rocks. PEE EWWWW

Speedie--HI! Long time no see.....

Are you saying that human hair deters squirrels--or are you talking about deer?
I have read that it works with deer--they don't like walking over it...

What did I accomplish today???? Sit down--you all! This was a 6 hours straight haul...

I started outside around 11AM and just came in at 5PM. Just beat the dark...

--Amended some beds a bit and planted my 2 Iris I got.
--Mulched my Acalyphas that are going to spend the winter in situ--
with a 2gal. black pot, bottom cut out, and filled with leaves over them.
I put piles of leaves all around the black pots--to insulate them.
I have NO hopes that they will survive. It is an experiment....
--raked a lot of leaves--all around my house--(4 piles) and used my
shredder-vac to suck it all up. Filled 3 of the bags that come with the
shredder...which filled one big (39gal.) trash bag full when all done. .
--Borrowed my neighbor's 20' extension ladder and cleaned the leaves out of
the patio roof gutters..then had to rake all those up, as I just threw them down.
--took down all the chair cushions and pillows from my patio furniture..

--and--as long as i was at it--I decided to mow the lawn. Set it an inch shorter
than usual--and then had to clean up all the sidewalk and driveway of the mess...
Wet grass makes a big mess....

I am glad I mowed my lawn. I know this is the last time for this year.
With the weather forecast coming for this Sunday--I will be happy this is done.

Now I am in and chilling---big glass of wine nearby.

Today is/was inventory at my HD. We have all hauled non stop to make sure
everything is straight and countable. I hope we got a good score--which measures
the amount of "shrink" in %'ages. I think???? last year we had 2.3--a decent score.
I don't work again until Sunday...won't know till then.
I have had "premonitions" in my head that our score will have a "6" in it. --we will see....

I wish Curtis (SM) a good rest now that this is over...he said he may take the weekend off...
G.

Deer started being a huge problem for me about five years ago. It certainly is a challenge and I don't think any one method by itself deters them. I now mostly plant things that they don't seem to like, my dad sprays with a cycle of three different repellants every two weeks during the spring and summer, and I have hunters thinning the herds all through hunting season. It helps, but I still find some things chewed down to the ground. Always fun trying to outwit them - NOT!!!

Gita, you sure stay busy LOL!

I hate, loath and despise the creatures!!! The only thing they're good for is feeding wolves and throwing in the pot! I manage to keep my garden growing by planting deer resistant plants and wrapping and netting the ones that aren't. They tend to leave my back garden alone because my Corgis guard it, its the front with no fence and the lilies and holyhocks and roses that they go after.

Yehudith, not glad to hear that you have similar deer problems, but glad to not feel so alone with the severity of the issue. The one tangent that my mind went on from your post is Corgis! I think they are adorable dogs. They were also a favorite of Tasha Tudor - don't know if you know who she was, but she was a formidable and inspirational gardener up in New England. She passed away in June 2008 well into her 90s.

Oh yeah I know who she was. I sobbed for days because her complete collection of antique garments went up for auction and I couldn't go. I was a big collector back then. I have Cardigans (the ones with tails) I think she had Pembrokes (the ones with out tails). I love corgis. Everything about them is huge except for their size.

Now that the ground has frozen solid, I'll spread a thick layer of straw around the rose bushes, crape myrtles and other stuff. This has always worked for me and I've not had a problem with vermin using it to live and hide in during the winter. As a matter of fact, when I pull it away in the spring I find all happy little clematis plants so snug and warm and green under every rose bush!!

I remember from an ancient Victory Garden episode that late winter is the time to manure rosebushes. Because the ground is frozen you don't have to worry about burning the bushes.

I guess I'll wait until some of the ice and snow melts and the temperature rises a little.

The past couple of years, I got some flowers in January (hellebores and crocus), but I wasn't expecting mid-winter blooms this year due to our temps being near normal.

Well, I just noticed some hellebore buds! Hooray for winter blooms!

yay!! guess I should go out and check mine, too!

If you have Black Pussywillows take a look at them. Mine is showing a slight swelling.

I just ordered a bunch of lilies from B&D. They have an awesome sale going on right now. They're shipping in the spring and don't charge you until they ship. Can't beat that!

Yehudith

If anyone is interested in Atlas Nitrile and Thermal gloves, there's a co-op going on here:

http://allthingsplants.com/thread/view/21431/Interest-Thread-Atlas-Gloves-Co-op/#end_of_thread

hey, Sally, I really enjoyed your DG article on Choice Evergreens! :-)

Thank you! Half the topic was done for me, as you and ssgardener alerted me to Soft Caress, and Gita pointed out Goshiki at HD…I want them all now of course. And thanks again for your picture!

A team effort--yay! :-)

Nice collaboration all! HD shrubs are 50% off now. All Goshikis gone...camillias avail. Don't know about other HDs.

I've checked on the garden between downpours. sheesh- imagine if this were snow....
New vole entrances in the spinach bed.
Compost doing well, even has BSF larvae active.
Asparagus tops were all mashed so I cut them off. The ones with berries I left in the bed to drop seed.
No sign of garlic yet.

I meant to comment on the article, SallyG. Soft carress is very interesting and YES, it is a brilliantly named plant.

I read the article too, and I'd never thought of getting the Soft Caress before, but now I want one too. A really cool article Sally And The Gang! =)

Goodness, the downpours yesterday were torrential!! Yeah, DH and I were talking also about "What if this were snow!?" We'd be snowed under for aeons if it were!!

Hey!

I drove to NJ in those torrential downpours!!! ALL the way! 3 1/2 hrs!
Hard to see.......the constant need for attention and alertness was
very tiring. But--I got there OK.

Sally--please link your article to me here? I have not been on DG
since Sunday PM.

Thanks! Gita

We're so glad you were OK Gita. This year must have set a record for horrible holiday travel weather with Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Here's the link to the article "Choice Evergreens…"
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/4584/

I treated myself to some time in the garden- weeding the spinach and putting ammonia soaked pieces of old socks into vole holes.

Glad you made it through the storms okay, Gita--what a traveler's nightmare it's been!

Sally--good luck with those voles!

Sally, Could you bump us a continuation? Slooow loooad.

oh my yes…go to
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1345697/

thanks for nudging me Ric! I do also run into threads in which: I hit go to New, then I have to enlarge, then the whole thing is much longer, so I'm scrolling…a minor annoyance.

This message was edited Dec 29, 2013 10:15 AM