I just glanced @ the lily forum, and notice some of you are having problems with rabbits eating your lily bulbs. I had the same problem with rabbits, squirrels and moles. I bought blood meal and red pepper. Mixed the blood meal in with the soil before planting the bulbs. I also put a lot of red pepper on the bulb once it was in the ground and then covered it with soil. If you have already planted your bulbs, you can still shake some blood meal on top of the ground where the bulbs are planted. This is the only thing I have found so far that works. My entire garden was eaten-up in one spring/summer year. I was very upset. Not to mention the hard work and the cost of the bulbs. I also use the blood meal when I put out new garden plants that I have grown from seed.
Blood Meal is a fertlizer (forgot the kind it is) and can be found at Walmart etc. It also helps to feed your garden.
My first time on Daves garden site .
Lilies
Jules-- thanks for giving us the tip on this. The little critters are such pests--and the big ones, too.
Does the blood meal hot pepper treatment keep the animals from biting off the shoots when they emerge from the ground, too, or just keep them from digging to the bulbs?
I suppose it's the smell that deters them from coming close?
thanks for posting. Now lets see some pics of your Lilies?! t.
I wish I could remember who and where this was said, but someone was saying that blood meal is not all that good for your bulbs and may even cause them to decline. Does anyone else remember about this? It sure would be nice to know for sure.
Hmm... can't imagine why it would be. Plantskydd is loaded with it.
Might be that when it breaks down, it is a good source of nitrogen ~ not a bad thing but not something you'd want to use exclusively as a fertilizer on blooming plants.
I do remember some discussion about bone meal not being such a great thing for bulbs as there are much better products on the market.
Stupid question here... what's the purpose of the blood meal?
Donna
Hi Donna, there are no stupid questions! Aside from the benefits mentioned above, it's to ward off critters that want to eat our plants. Smells like 'death' to them.
What about bloodmeal and dogs??
Re rolling or digging up?
inanda
Speaking of what is the purpose, what purpose does aspirin pose to enhance liles? Many of you have read the article in Fine Gardening this month. Never have I heard of aspirin in gardening. I'm an RN, so I have heard of aspirin :0)
As for blood meal, my critters must be immune to it! I've used it with no success. I have used Deer Off and products like it, with more success. It's the reapplying after a rain that is a pain, especially if you are gone. The most troubling time is early Spring. I may have to invest in some protective barrier devices for this. There is some some of petroleum based product out there that you can place on a stick and it doesn't wash away, that you can place nearest the plant. But I wonder about it washing away after a while and it getting into your soil. Friends of ours in Northern WI. claim that a bit of fishing line around your stuff is all you need, deters rabbits, deer moles and even bears! She says the animals don't like the feel of it.
I have had no trouble with my bulbs or flowers using the blood meal and red pepper. I use the blood meal once or twice during the entire growing season. My flower's,herbs, veggies and fruit trees are beautiful with no ill effects from what I use. I would think that the smell of the blood is what keeps the critters at bay. I would never use fishing line in my garden. Critters and birds could get caught-up in it. I feed critters and birds and would never intentionality put something in my yard to harm them. There are a lot of natural alternatives to keeping critters from eating your garden-up. Just look at some garden catalogs & books. Also checking on the web for info has helped me and my husband a great deal with our garden.
julie,
when you say red pepper, do you mean crushed red pepper or more of a powdered type like cayenne pepper? thanks.
your gardening friend and my pekingese gardening doggi,
debi z & franklin