The Battle for Cucumber Hill

Owl2


In the blazing August heat, the fight for my square foot garden rages on.  Wave after wave of chipmunks, moles, rabbits and woodchucks have assaulted the fortified chicken wire and we've held on, but for how much longer?  My losses are stacking up - the shredded remains of my pumpkin plants, pepper plants, broccoli, green beans and pea plants will simply not live to produce again.  Painfully, this is my 2nd planting of cucumber plants - the 1st set was completely eaten down to stubs! 

I just caught a chipmunk scaling the chicken wire, but I can't be there to police everything all the time.  Tactics I've tried so far include the famed plastic owl deterrent, the hot pepper-based deterrent that you spread around the border of your garden, and the solar-powered electronic spike that makes noise to scare moles away.  Have you any other suggestions I can throw at it, short of assigning an armed guard with a bb-gun?

It is an understatement that this year has been a difficult one for gardening.  As if the Spring wasn't insulting enough with its near-record rains, the critters and Summer heat are in full swing.  On the plus side, I rescued all my tomato plants from blight, so there should be a nice crop of big red tomatoes in the coming week.  All is not lost, but the battle continues.  Does Mr. plastic owl look pissed to you?  He should be.

Wet Weather - Crops Rotting, Business Is Slow

Media_httpllnwimagecbslocalcom2820090624320x240strawberriesjpg_xbniepdadphjakc

I like rain as much as the next green thumb does, but June here in New England has been pretty dour so far. Nearly every day, we've had some trace of rain and cloudy skies - producing the 2nd least-sunny June on record for the greater Boston region. Local farmers are starting to experience some rot problems with their crops. I picked strawberries last weekend at a nearby farm and found the berries to be smaller than usual but they were exceptionally sweet. There were only a few cases of rot visible so far. Unfortunately, I'm seeing some spotting on my own stunted tomato plants. July had better deliver the heat and sunshine, or it's going to be a lean harvest here.

Square Foot Garden Results

Img_08661

The good news is that the rainy spring in New England is giving my square foot garden an excellent start.  The bad news is that the cold weather crops are literally taking over - the broccoli wins.  There is a nice mix of lettuce, beans, peas, tomatoes, onions and flowers.  I would recommend you give a square foot garden a try.  I'm not sure if I'll ever go back to row planting.  The grid system makes it much easier to visualize and manage crop rotations and it is nearly weed-free.  Kids love the smaller size too - easier to water and take care of.  Next plantings are cucumbers and squash and depending on your organic preferences, don't be shy with the miracle-gro.