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Old 03-09-2009, 01:35 PM
 
4,253 posts, read 9,419,189 times
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Chicken wire comes in different widths, something from up to your waist and higher (3-5 feet)should be a deterrent for cats, as well as for other animals. I suppose a determined cat may want to climb it... I just don't see why if there is other soil around. I've heard of predators urine (bear urine) sprayed on the perimeter but it's urine again (ha!) and where does one get it, I never knew.
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Old 03-09-2009, 01:43 PM
 
1,815 posts, read 5,380,165 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nuala View Post
Chicken wire comes in different widths, something from up to your waist and higher (3-5 feet)should be a deterrent for cats, as well as for other animals. I suppose a determined cat may want to climb it... I just don't see why if there is other soil around. I've heard of predators urine (bear urine) sprayed on the perimeter but it's urine again (ha!) and where does one get it, I never knew.
Oh, I didn't know chicken wire could go that high. Most people around here just use it for rabbits, so it's not high at all. I don't have deer in my urban neighborhood, so perhaps I should go to a garden store further east where they do have deer! Thanks!

I don't know about bear urine, but I know they keep and collect fox urine for trapping purposes. They keep the animals in cages with trays underneath and siphon off the, um, product, and bottle it for sale. We bought some when one of our researchers was trying to attract foxes to our traps to radio-collar them. I'd imagine bear urine is collected the same way. That's probably a dirty job - someone should call Mike Rowe!
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Old 03-09-2009, 06:07 PM
 
Location: A Yankee in northeast TN
15,945 posts, read 20,906,769 times
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We've used mothballs to keep racoons out of our attic, maybe it would help with the cats?
I also know my cats detest the smell of oranges, but that info is probably not very useful in this situation. How would you make your garden smell like oranges....
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Old 03-09-2009, 06:08 PM
 
Location: Nebraska
4,176 posts, read 10,649,862 times
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The Seeds!!! Are In!! The flats!!!!! Are in!!! I am busier than a cat coverin' up on a tile floor, planting my seeds in flats!!!! Whooooooooooo Hooooooooooooo!!!!

(Back later!)

(Holy crud did I REALLY order all THIS????) LOL
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Old 03-09-2009, 07:18 PM
 
Location: Where the sun likes to shine!!
20,549 posts, read 30,275,117 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SCGranny View Post
The Seeds!!! Are In!! The flats!!!!! Are in!!! I am busier than a cat coverin' up on a tile floor, planting my seeds in flats!!!! Whooooooooooo Hooooooooooooo!!!!

(Back later!)

(Holy crud did I REALLY order all THIS????) LOL
Where did you order your seeds from?
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Old 03-09-2009, 07:26 PM
 
Location: Somewhere out there
18,287 posts, read 23,114,535 times
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****WARNING Not pet friendly***********

lialleycat I have used moth balls as well as cayenne pepper in my flower beds and gardens. The moth balls can be deadly to animals, the pepper is just a hot situation they will associate your area with. It takes longer but keep sprinkling it on they will get the message. You must reply after a rain or if you water too.

I have always been told that cat fecal matter will kill plants. If your neighbor's cats have worms they are laying the eggs in your yard for you to track into your pets also.

SCGranny are ya trying to rub it in to the rest of us cold weather gardeners?
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Old 03-09-2009, 10:54 PM
 
Location: Nebraska
4,176 posts, read 10,649,862 times
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LOL Jaxson, I used to live in SC and have a year-round greenhouse - but I moved last May to Nebraska. As it snowed and blew outside tonight, with a windchill of -12, I am planting seeds in flats in a huge south-facing bay window!

No mothballs and cayenne are not mean - what's mean is to put out small pie pans of antifreeze. Just don't let your dog or cat near it.

Younglisa, I ordered the bulk of the vegie seeds this time from Jung's seeds. They were cheaper for the types I wanted - mostly F1s and heirlooms, with some hybrids for some canning and bug/disease resistant or short-growing-time specialties. I did order some other things from Johnny's seeds - I have a pasture I am trying to start natural-seeding with some cattle build-up grasses, and some real clover - not the kind you see by the roadside with the white or red flowers, but the tall kind the animals and honeybees like. I also am going to try some red spring wheat and hulless oats in the experimental garden. I won't have cattle for 2-3 years but building the pasture now makes sense. We bake our own bread here and I want to see if I can get wheat to grow - and oats make a nice addition to bread or cereals.

How I order vegie seeds - In January, I line up all the seed catalogs on the Kitchen table and make a list of everything I want to grow this year. then I write down the prices in columns of each company for what seed, also counting the seeds - some only have 25 in a packet, others have more. Then I compare shipping costs - a BIG part of the cost if you are not careful! as well as compare any 'sales' - and order the basics from whomever is cheaper. Since most seeds are similar and many develop or purchase their bulk seeds from the same places, you have to be kind of careful that a "$25 off your next order!" sale is REALLY worth it when you compare the total prices.

If you think that is a pain in the wazoo, I also create a yearly spreadsheet where I compare growing times, production levels, and annotate any difficulties with produce from year to year... This way I know if, say, the Blue Lake beans won't do well in this type of soil, or are overly attractive to local bugs, or have wilt or mold problems. It's a whole lot easier than trying to remember what failed or why the following year. It also helps if I try a new type of plant, to know if it is what the seller says it is or if it is good for my particular area. When you plan to eat from your garden year-round, throwing away $300 a year or more on seeds that don't sprout or cost more in fungicides, fertilizer, or bug preventatives than they are worth is not an option.

Last edited by SCGranny; 03-09-2009 at 11:15 PM..
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Old 03-10-2009, 01:10 AM
 
4,253 posts, read 9,419,189 times
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Heritage seeds vs others

It's stressing me out. I have plenty of these little bags full of seeds I collected last fall from my own plants. I used to be ignorant and blessed and just kept planting these seeds not noticing any difference in vigor.

But now I know of heritage (heirloom) seeds. Should I buy them for the sake of future seeds? Should I keep planting the ones I got? If I plant my stock, will the seeds eventualy degenerate? Time is of essence now for a decision!

Last edited by nuala; 03-10-2009 at 02:07 AM..
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Old 03-10-2009, 05:54 AM
 
1,815 posts, read 5,380,165 times
Reputation: 789
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaxson View Post
lialleycat I have used moth balls as well as cayenne pepper in my flower beds and gardens. The moth balls can be deadly to animals, the pepper is just a hot situation they will associate your area with. It takes longer but keep sprinkling it on they will get the message. You must reply after a rain or if you water too.

I have always been told that cat fecal matter will kill plants. If your neighbor's cats have worms they are laying the eggs in your yard for you to track into your pets also.
Thanks Jaxson. I think I may try the cayenne pepper. I can't do moth balls as they could potentially poison something and I'm allergic to them myself. But if the pepper doesn't kill anything and just discourages them after perhaps a little discomfort, then that's the way to go. Maybe that and some orange juice!
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Old 03-10-2009, 06:49 AM
 
Location: Nebraska
4,176 posts, read 10,649,862 times
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Gosh, nuala, that depends. If you have been planting the same seeds from the same plants for several years, I'm guessing that those ARE open-pollinated or heirloom seeds. Hybrids rarely seed-breed true; by the second or third generation they return to the primary 'mother' plant or develop some nasty characteristics like woody fruit or a tendency to scab or blight... IF they come back at all; most won't.

But a seed that has produced true offspring for several seasons doesn't 'wear out'. Think of it as the future generations breeding in those little seed pods; tiny babies waiting for dirt and sun and water to reach for the stars!

I bought some heirloom pumpkin seeds this year - but also saved some seeds from the pumpkins I bought this year for my jack-o-lanterns. I'll plant them separately - and see if the heirloom outperforms the unknown. The unknown could be a heirloom or even an F1 (minor crossbreed) and produce greater than or equal to - or it could be a hybrid that will produce small or unusable fruit, or take up dirt space. Either way, the free seeds only cost me a little time and drying space!

I am blessed with a horseradish patch here at the new place. I am thinking that horseradish sauce - watered down - may repel bugs and unwanted critters as well. I dug a 5 gallon bucket of the roots this past fall... Capascin (hot pepper sauce) repels bugs as well.

The fun is in the experimentation... and the occasional cheerful surprises!
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