Fed up with the garden

[Yander]

My garden very year to year depending on how much time I have to spend in. It it always grows something and usually more than I can eat and give away.

I've always been bad about cleaning my garden out at the end of the year I'm usually done with gardening by the end. What I've learned from that is a lot of things (kale, chard, tomatoes) will come up on their own volunteer in my beds and even around my beds.

This yeah I didn't plan any kale and yet I had more kale than I can even begin to eat, volunteer. Been feeding it to my chickens. They love kale.

This Year has been a low priority year for my garden. Too many other projects for helping other people (kids, MIL)

 

[Oaktree]

My garden very year to year depending on how much time I have to spend in. It it always grows something and usually more than I can eat and give away.

I've always been bad about cleaning my garden out at the end of the year I'm usually done with gardening by the end. What I've learned from that is a lot of things (kale, chard, tomatoes) will come up on their own volunteer in my beds and even around my beds.

This yeah I didn't plan any kale and yet I had more kale than I can even begin to eat, volunteer. Been feeding it to my chickens. They love kale.

I'll add dill and lettuce to the list of plants that self-seed and come back year after year. Weeds too. Almost always miss a few potatoes each year so I'll get a few of them in the spot they were last year. Don't do kale (ugh). Growing season here is too short for tomatoes to self-seed...along with squash & peppers they need to be started inside, usually in early March.

It does take some time to find the right balance of enough of something without an over-abundance. We do some canning/freezing, but don't get carried away with it. I'm not particularly fond of tomatoes, so I'll mostly plant plum tomatoes for canning/sauce, with maybe one cherry tomato plant for my wife.

 

[Torvy]

Any kale is more than I can eat.

Growing crops whether in a garden or a field is subject to the variation that is part of weather/climate/life since the beginning of time. Some years are great, others are bad. Lots of variables. If it was too consistent, life would be pretty boring.

 

[jyoutz]

Now we got hit with high winds, nothing extreme like on the news, but enough to beat things up.
Just one thing after another.

It’s been a challenging garden year. For me, in addition to wonky weather we’ve had a squirrel invasion that ate the lettuce and some potatoes. I have trapped 6 in the past week. Operation squirrel continues and hopefully I can get most of them.

 

[jyoutz]

Any kale is more than I can eat.

Growing crops whether in a garden or a field is subject to the variation that is part of weather/climate/life since the beginning of time. Some years are great, others are bad. Lots of variables. If it was too consistent, life would be pretty boring.

I can’t eat raw kale, but it’s not bad sautéed with other greens like Swiss chard.

 

[masseyrider]

Squirrels...? squirrels...? squirrels...? we don't need no stinking squirrels.
I find the best solution for squirrels is a double ot buck colonoscopy.





For them.

 

[jyoutz]

Squirrels...? squirrels...? squirrels...? we don't need no stinking squirrels.
I find the best solution for squirrels is a double ot buck colonoscopy.





For them.

I don’t have all day to watch the garden with shotgun in hand. A little peanut butter on bread or cracker does a good job of catching them.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I don’t have all day to watch the garden with shotgun in hand. A little peanut butter on bread or cracker does a good job of catching them.

After you catch them, then what? It's not legal to relocate wildlife more than a few hundred feet where I live, so I relocate them to their maker. I figure if I'm going to break the law it might as well be worth it.

 

[jyoutz]

After you catch them, then what? It's not legal to relocate wildlife more than a few hundred feet where I live, so I relocate them to their maker. I figure if I'm going to break the law it might as well be worth it.

In my case, I have some open rangeland about 1/2 mile away. I just put the trap in the back of my UTV and go release them there. Not that I have a soft spot for squirrels, but it’s easier and less messy.

 

[Torvy]

Squirrels...? squirrels...? squirrels...? we don't need no stinking squirrels.
I find the best solution for squirrels is a double ot buck colonoscopy.





For them.

.22lr seems a bit more practical for tree rats.