I’m finally planting the seedlings that I started back in February 2022 into the garden. I’ve be calling this my micro flower farm. Partly because I started small and secondly because they didn’t get planted immediately and some of the flowers started blooming at very, very, very short heights! How sweet!
The first day I transferred my flats down to the garden from the greenhouse, I thought they would be fine on top of stacked bags of soil. I was too naïve and very wrong, a hungry little furry creature decided to bite off the tops of every single dahlia that I had started from seed. They even went after the Gomphrena, every last one of them.
I’m glad I am finding this out before all of my famed dahlia tubers start blooming. That next day in the garden I saw a groundhog just outside the fence. He looked over at me with a sly look, one of gratitude. In his own words he said Thank you for providing that delicious meal.
Organic pest management is working with nature finding a balance each living thing has a predator and it also has things that likes to eat. Initially, I decided to get organic sluggo, coyote urine, and Repels all. Later on I added copper tape for slugs because they’re still a problem, Japanese beetle traps, solar powered sonar spikes to deter moles voles and groundhogs.
I know it’s starting to get out of hand, especially the smells! And I’m supposed to be working with nature, so where are the predators to these pests? I also picked up a have a heart trap from Restore 28, just incase…that trap is now covered in peanut butter and melon! Its been flipped upside down several times by someone who really likes these tasty treats.
Every day I come out and I find a new pest problem. A lot of times I’m not sure what some thing is and I have to look into researching the animal and whether or not it’s detrimental to the plant I find it on or near. I’m learning so much about insects. So far my intuition has been pretty on point with whether or not something “belongs” in the fenced in garden but because I’m not 100% familiar with where I am I always do research before removing something from the garden. I remove leaves that are nibbled, I spray overly eaten plants with 1 tsp of Dr. Bronzer’s soap in a spray bottle of water.
I laid down weed barrier fabric on two of my rows! A farmer in Goshen recommended it for large open flower fields so I wouldn’t spend my time weeding.
Under and around the fabric, It seems to be a playground for little rodents or voles, an area where there are no predators they’re protected from the sun in a land where there are many rocks within clay heavy soil that these animals cannot dig through easily!
They absolutely love every single hole that I’ve dug and replaced with loose organic soil, fresh tender roots and scrumptious leafy flowers! Oh no, what have I created!? A buffet for these little gremlins, every day I find something new, six or more Plants dug up, tossed aside and it’s become a puzzle game, a game of memory. Which plant, which hole…sometimes they are destroyed, other times the “ animal pruning” creates stronger more resilient plants. Hey, is this it, I’m finally working with nature!
I really want a motion activated Camera down there so I know exactly what is causing the problem!