I love how you focus on non-lethal methods. Animals are part of our world, and they must search out each meal. Don't blame them for doing what they do. Just find kind ways of deterring them. Well done!
Thank you for all your wonderful and helpful videos. I built 4 self watered raised beds this summer and am setting up some indoor space for starting seedlings and your videos have been my primary resource for it. Now just as I'm trying to solve the squirrel, rabbit, mice issues in my garden: A new helpful video pops up! Thanks. And you garden is so functional, and yet so artistic. I love your work. : )
Fantastic info! I'm just getting started converting my typical 1950s suburban property to a no-mow foodscape, complete with bioswale and food forest. You have just become a top resource. Thanks for all the tips!
Built a few sub irrigated beds based on your videos. They have all done great. The only thing I've found that works to keep the wildlife away is urine. Dog or human urine both work great.
I've watched all winter as the rabbits came through our fence to decimate my perennial shrubs, especially my serviceberries. Thank you for this information. I would not have thought to put a 6 inch lip on the fencing we will be attaching to our cattle panel fence on top of the rabbit fencing we already installed. Our spring will be busy again this year. You have hopefully given us the tools to success.
I had rodents eating our tomatoes, so I put organza bags around the fruit (like the kind that are used at weddings for table gifts for guests). For some reason, the rodents were not able to get to the fruit if the organza bags are big enough so the fruit does not press against the bag and the drawstrings are snug against the stem. I thought they would be able to chew through the organza, but if it is slightly loose then their teeth can't get purchase on the fabric.
Tenax brand bird netting is excellent, too -- strong, doesn't tangle, reusable (their C-Flex deer netting is also top quality). Thanks for the good ideas in this video.
I enjoy the critters and enjoy watching them. I live in a city but next to a vast forest, therefore critters are inevitable. So I plant things they like to munch on along the perimeter. They aren’t keen to come too close so they tend to leave my other plants alone. For me, it works without having to put up fencing or bury metal grills. Living with them in harmony has been as much of a joy as the gardening. Enjoy your beautiful gardens.
That's nice that your critters are so manageable. In my neighborhood, they are not. Mobs of deer will walk right down the middle of the street at night and raid people's properties. They are more than happy to walk right up to the front porch, all the way through the inner yard. They respect no boundaries and show no fear. They can easily decimate a crop and totally ruin beloved plantings. Rabbits too. My fence is the only thing allowing me to live in harmony with these majestic beasts. They can have their vast forests. I'll have my tiny yard.
Do you have a video about how you handle chewing insects? We are zone 6 Northeast Pennsylvania. If this video is from this year you are probably three weeks ahead of us on growth somehow. We started as early as possible; direct sow for a lot of things. Anyway we use spinosad and neem oil but both are so expensive for the amount of plants we need to spray. We want to be as organic as possible but we're realists too. We have planted a lot of marigolds to hopefully deter some things. Aphids on our burning bush is a problem. Lettuce in half wine barrels were destroyed recently; maybe that is deer and we're not seeing any signs of them, not sure. We have Rudbeckia being eaten.
What about bugs? I've yet to grow strawberries. I have never been able to grow strawberries. The ants live under any pot or planter. I love hearing your knowledge.
This video helped me with keeping my dog away from the back privacy fence where there are two dogs on the other side that he thinks he’s going to get at. He barks like crazy and he’s only 15 lbs. Those dogs could eat him alive! I put a small folding fence about 3’ or 4’ from the back fence, but he squeezed through the 4” opening. I had to make a second layer. I’m sick of this big yard, and my filthy white dog!
That's so true! I've begun placing some of my elevated beds on a base of cheap 12" patio stones to stop vermin from undermining the planters. Or a layer of galvanized mesh could be used under the base. The Irish Spring soap is supposed to help as a mouse deterrent as well. That's besides the trapping options, which some people may resort to when things get out of control. I hope you have a good season!
Deers ate periwinkle in my garden and Irish spring soap did absolutely nothing to deter the deer here. Deers also buck rub trees that are less than 10 inches in diameter, repeated buck rub from deer will kill the tree.
Great tips but I’ve tried that deer/rabbit spray repellent and I actually watched a young and hungry rabbit licking it off the leaves before it ate the plant. I guess it thought it was a salad dressing. 😂
The deer spray shown in this video is specifically for deer, elk & moose. It's not formulated for rabbits. So, I'm not sure what spray you were using. Sometimes deer in urban areas can get extremely desperate, depending on food supply and population pressure. But this stuff stopped them in their tracks. They hate it. I just reapply monthly, or when I see that the plant has made fresh growth.
@@Albopepper You’re right it’s different. Mine is “Liquid Fence deer and rabbit concentrate”. Living adjacent to the Cataloochee game preserve in the Great Smoky Mountains we have no shortage of deer and elk but fortunately, at least for now they haven’t found our property. A neighbor’s cow escaped once and destroyed the vegetable garden but so far no major drama this year. 😉🤣
Oh goodness! That would be so frustrating. The same thing happened to my Grandma's garden a couple times. And the neighbors aren't particularly pleasant people. So they didn't do anything to accept accountability for their rogue bovine. I'm glad this season is going well for you!
The spray holds up fairly well in the rain. I didn't need to reapply every time it rained. However, as plants send out new growth, those fresh leaves need to get sprayed. I found it to hold up for about a month as advertised.
It's always good to check local laws. However, I've had a dozen neighbors comment on how much they like the strip. I didn't remove it. I refinished it. Some people will fill those strips in with stones and plants. My approach maintains the access for pedestrians. This includes people parking on the street who need to enter or exit their car. It's actually graded much better than the original grass was, making it less of a hazard. And I get ZERO poop.
