Gardening

[Dynamic]

For me…the plants I brought indoors - I don’t think they are making it in the ground again this year

I’ve been focused on all my indoor plants and the ivy grew two new leaves. I had to move all the plants off my kitchen sill because the cold

And I like their new places

I have a few “floating” plants idk what to do with maybe post pics later of my fav indoor plants

Sent mom home with two plants … one I overwater on accident no matter what (what does it want two drops of water?) she will save it
And I gave her a clipping of a cute vining plant idk what it’s called

Really can’t wait to garden outdoors

I need to figure out what’s going in the deck planter or if I’m moving it to more sun

 

[Friday]

Does anyone have any suggestions of how to get a rat to leave a compost bin? I'm assuming it's a rat as it's digging out half the contents, presumably to nest in there over winter. I've tried banging on the sides and kicking the bin, and putting all the compost back in, but it just digs jut out again.

I don't want to kill it, just convince it to move on.

The only reliable way I know is a cat.

We had a ratapalooza a few months back (nearby construction, so all the displaced rats were looking for a new home), until they discovered the yard waste bins from the apartment complex nearby. Food minus felines? Done.

It’s easier to buy a cat, than an apartment complex?

You can also buy various feline urines from gardening/hunting stores… cougar works a treat on most rodents, just mark territory where you don’t want them… but without a few periodic deaths the effectiveness wears off, over time. Kinda like scarecrows coming the favourite perch for birds. Rats are smart. When no one gets eaten? After a few months they ignore things like scent marking.

 

[Sideways]

The only reliable way I know is a cat.

There’s been studies into this - cats aren’t typically very reliable at controlling vermin. Places that have high numbers of roaming cats have been found to have just a big a vermin issue as places with low numbers of roaming cats.

Prob’ly coz domestic cats are killing for shits n giggles.

Snakes work, though!!!!

 

[Aprilshowers]

Ate you sure it's not a groundhog? We had a family of them living in our compost pile last year and so did our neighbor.

 

[jaccat]

@Aprilshowers no, not where I live. Definitely a rat. I'd love to get a cat but lifestyle doesn't suit. I get neighbour's cats in my garden, but not frequent enough to be any kind of deterrent. As for snakes, they're not exactly common round here!

I'm wondering if there's such a thing as a rodent-proof compost bin right now.

 

[Rose White]

rodent-proof compost bin

There are these elevated drum things that you turn and they have holes so you can water and air gets in. Holes are too small for rodents to get in, there’s a little door you open to put stuff in. I think they are supposed to be for cultivating soldier fly larva which is a way of composting that can do animal products too, but not sure about if earthworms can go in there because I think they would fall out?

 

[Mach123]

Does anyone have any suggestions of how to get a rat to leave a compost bin? I'm assuming it's a rat as it's digging out half the contents, presumably to nest in there over winter. I've tried banging on the sides and kicking the bin, and putting all the compost back in, but it just digs jut out again.

I don't want to kill it, just convince it to move on.

I have some experience with rats but unfortunately for you there are not many nice or easy ways. The rats are intelligent and tenacious. If they are eating and warm and dry they will tend to stay. The professionals use bait stations here. Although they frequent the neighborhood and all our yards they’ve left my compost alone. What kind of bin do you have ? I use this though in the reviews people have said the rats chew through it. Good luck.

GEOBIN® Composter Backyard Composting Solution | Yardfully

Effortlessly turn your kitchen scraps and yard waste into nutrient-rich compost with the GEOBIN Composter. Easy to set up, budget friendly, and sustainable.

yardfullyproducts.com

 

[Dynamic]

I have spring fever and wanted to go in the garden yesterday maybe later if it’s warm

And a joke

You know you’re an adult when you have a garden full of plants you can’t smoke

 

[Dynamic]

ah weeding is relaxing and satisfying

 

[Dynamic]

I bought ginger to cook with, forgot about it and it sprouted! (In 8 spots!) so I’m growing ginger again. (On the deck planter, hoping the leaves provide more privacy.)

—during practice at church we were waiting for a track to transpose so I brought up having a garden at church…Now I’m in charge of that haha. A is doing it with me and of course we will all work together but this post will remind me I can handle this and believe it will be good for me to focus on:

morning glories, tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, and strawberries.

Next to the church lives a guy C and his daughter. She’s 7, very sweet and we bond! She asked her Dad if she could help garden now I realize she will be the closest to the garden and I find that so special for her

At home my garden has been started but—- not entering any contests and definitely haven’t worked much. Hopefully this week I feel stronger

 

[Dynamic]

I am messed up, but I planted 2 tomato and 2 hot pepper plants. moved the rhubarb. I want to split up my lemon balm :) it got so big.

also of course the mints went crazy. but it makes me happy.

 

[Rose White]

Nice @Defaultxlove ! Lemon balm so lovely! And I miss mints, for some reason they don’t do well with me.

My basil from last year is hanging on. I used it heavily. It’s Thai basil, with the licorice overtones. My parsley finally went to seed after two years. The heads all flopped over. My rosemary and oregano are going strong. My one tomato has something which I think is spider mites. They web the leaves, suck out the leaf juice and are super tiny. The tomato keeps trying to shoot out leaves to stay ahead of the spider mites. It shares a pot with a stevia plant which seems stressed but unaffected by the mites.

My yellow canna lilies are blooming. Lovely plant. Sometimes I think of getting more cannas. They do so well in my shady patio. But then I feel pulled to try to focus on native plants. It is difficult to grow anything on that shady patio. Spider plants, (the ones people grow as house plants) no problem though!

I planted a couple sunflower seeds in too small pots and they are already leggy. I also planted some random flower seeds and some thyme seeds. I have like two sprouts. No idea what they are, and very tiny. I’m thinking thyme but not sure. Also some datura are sprouting on the leaf-littered ground. I like datura. They are sort of a weed but also a very showy dramatic flower. I’ve posted pics before of the one that grows on my front patio. It’s one that Georgia okeefe painted. This is from last summer: