The white posts are sections of rain gutter used to support bird net or support strings. Surrounding both boxes is a short electric fence the squirrels dive through the squares.
Do you run the fence off a lawnmower battery and how long do they last? I have been instructed to do that with my tomato garden to keep the deer out but I haven't ever actually done it because of all the cats. They are like drunk college students on a Saturday night. They would sit there and dare each other to lick it.
"Plug in the wall" And I have a Generac automatic natural gas powered generator should there be a black out. I believe they have solar ones now. Premier or some company like that. I only use it when there is evidence of trespassing. Raccoons especially. Very effective. Just not so for squirrels.
Interesting enough I have a crap ton of coons living in the woods around my property and I don't have a problem with them as far as the garden. I assume it is because they come out and eat with the feral cats when I am feeding them. I kid you not. Often a raccoon will wonder up to the trough with all the cats and just push its way to the food just like the cats. Possums will do that too but they hiss the cats away. Had a groundhog once and those things can hold their own with deer when it comes to damaging a garden.
I leaned at another residence that feeding raccoons is a bad idea. It invites more & more. When they come down the street of back yards they make a circle around mine due to the electric fence. It is squirrels and rats I wish I could deal with better.
The raccoons really don't bother me. They don't do any damage. I am not their #1 favorite restaurant. Mainly the little ones. By the time they get big, they scatter.
Started digging potatoes this evening. So far more than I planted so that is always a plus. Have a wheelbarrow full and still not finished. Not quite sure what I will do with them since I hate potatoes more than about once a month. Next will be the corn.
We got three large wheelbarrows full of corn and let the goats out in the corn patch. We have also been picking green beans and field peas, and tomatoes, cukes, okra and squash. Been canning and freezing for three solid days. Everything except tomatoes has been exceptional so far. We have also been getting green peppers. Probably have a three year supply of pickles. If you have a pressure canner you can can the potatoes.
I pickle pickleable stuff but don't can much beyond that anymore. You really don't need a pressure canner to do that. It is just more work. By the time you buy the jars and lids and put in the time, it is just as cheap to buy the stuff. I'll make potato soup or something tomorrow with all the little ones.
I have 22 roses to prune, within the next week as I've almost left it too late already. I used to have 44 but pulled half of them out so the kids could kick their ball without ending up in the thorns. Not looking forward to it as the thorns always manage to get me even through the thick gloves I wear...one of the climbing roses came undone one year and literally slammed into my hand...It (insert expletives here) hurt
I used to think the same thing about buying the jars. But you can reuse the jars. When canning low acid foods it is safer to pressure can to avoid botulism. But freezing is also an option.
Ya, we still can green beans with a water bath. I bought a pressure canner and took it back. It was a lot more trouble than water bath canning and I didn't like the results. I freeze a lot of stuff. Easy peasy.
I used to freeze a fair amount but our deep freezer became too much of a guessing game as to what was still edible and what wasn't so I cleaned it out, moved it out to the shed, and it is a deer meat only freezer now. I don't really eat that either, but it is out there so one of my brothers can store the meat he gets from another one of my brother's hunt club bounty. I had an upright freezer go out while on vacation that was packed full of meat and it was vile by the time I came back and realized it so I have a phobia about that now. I duct taped the whole thing shut and buried the freezer and contents together. It was guy wrenching because it was in August and the AC was cut back and the odor was lethal.
Fava Bean HELP! Some of my fava beans in one planter box keep collapsing. I revive them with water but, they should not require so much Y'think it is air pockets around the roots? Sometimes what they call compost or top soil settles leaving big air pockets. Yesterday I pushed the dirt down around the weakest plants and occasionally got it to push down about a fist sized amount.
Do they wilt in the morning or afternoon. A lot of plants wilt in the afternoon from the sun. If they look good in the morning but wilt in the afternoon...no problem. Next time plant seeds not transplants.
I always use seeds. Except on rare occasions when I don't. No time relationship with the wilting. They do revive an hour or two with watering. Would you know of a good tomato that doesn't require extreme heat? My O.C. coast location seems too cool for tomatoes and Mission Figs. Although Peter's Honey Figs work well. Gracias
If you use freezer bags you can take a magic marker and write the date on the package. Anything doubtful in our freezer goes to the chickens. Waste not want not.
In theory but the only time I can find on of my sharpies is when a 4 year old is running through the house with it
Very abundant and healthy squash. The watermelons are okay but show signs of underpollination (misshapen fruit). A watermelon, unlike a human, can be a "little bit pregnant." Any theories on why the squash would be well pollinated but the melons not?
