Gardening Tip

[Roy]

I guess I am not really a gardener because my plants are growing in buckets and pots, but I found a way to get good water for my plants when rainfall is lacking. Of course, there is always town water, but the plants appear stunted and lack-luster when I am forced to use it.

It was in a magazine article where I read that the water dripping from a/c units is the next best thing to rain water when it comes to watering plants. My a/c units don't appear to drip enough water to make a difference, but my neighbor's unit drips continually, and I collect about 5 gallons daily during the summer months.

When I get really desperate, I will haul water, from the canal behind my work place, in 5 gallon buckets to water my plants with.

The only thing I try to grow are peppers. I have jalepenos, cayenne, and bell pepper. If you have any gardening tips for me or anyone else, feel free to log it in on this thread.
Roy

 

[Reynolds]

I guess I am not really a gardener because my plants are growing in buckets and pots, but I found a way to get good water for my plants when rainfall is lacking. Of course, there is always town water, but the plants appear stunted and lack-luster when I am forced to use it.

It was in a magazine article where I read that the water dripping from a/c units is the next best thing to rain water when it comes to watering plants. My a/c units don't appear to drip enough water to make a difference, but my neighbor's unit drips continually, and I collect about 5 gallons daily during the summer months.

When I get really desperate, I will haul water, from the canal behind my work place, in 5 gallon buckets to water my plants with.

The only thing I try to grow are peppers. I have jalepenos, cayenne, and bell pepper. If you have any gardening tips for me or anyone else, feel free to log it in on this thread.
Roy

If you run your "town water" into a tub, buckets, (anything without a lid) and let it set in the sun for several hours; it will kill the Chlorine.

 

[JonC]

BTW - When you run your act it should drop continually.

 

[Roy]

If you run your "town water" into a tub, buckets, (anything without a lid) and let it set in the sun for several hours; it will kill the Chlorine.

Thanks Reynolds. That sounds easier than fetching water from the canal. We have plenty of sun in south Alabama.

 

[Roy]

BTW - When you run your act it should drop continually.

My small unit may drip water, we don't run it all that often. The big unit doesn't drip. I asked if I should bore a hole in it in order for it to drip, but was told that it wasn't designed to drip.

 

[Deacon]

Spring is here in Pennsylvania but it’s too early to plant yet. The frost date is ~May 10 but this year it looks like it was mid-March. I’m itching to plant.

I’ve not got any plans this year for the garden. Mild winters have increased the deer population beyond anything I’ve seen before.

My wife even managed to hit one (or should I say one managed to hit my wifes car) causing 8k of damage.

the only seeds I’m planting this year will be Castor Beans - totally deer and pest resistant.

Rob

 

[kyredneck]

The only thing I try to grow are peppers.

No tomatoes?

Container grown plants require more water than earth grown.

 

[Reynolds]

My small unit may drip water, we don't run it all that often. The big unit doesn't drip. I asked if I should bore a hole in it in order for it to drip, but was told that it wasn't designed to drip.

Many of the newer units work that way. The fan mists the water onto the coils and the coils evaporate the water. Its more efficient. I installed 2 PTAC units in my shop that work that way.

 

[Roy]

No tomatoes?

Container grown plants require more water than earth grown.

I don't have enough direct sunlight, it seems, for successuful tomatoes. I have grown some lovely vines in the past, but few tomatoes. I live in a trailer park...reason for container grown plants.

 

[Roy]

I’ve not got any plans this year for the garden. Mild winters have increased the deer population beyond anything I’ve seen before.

My wife even managed to hit one (or should I say one managed to hit my wifes car) causing 8k of damage.

Rob

Was your wife injured? How about vehicle damage? Were you able to get it fixed?

 

[Deacon]

$8,000 damage to the CRV, emotionally upset wife but not injured. The deer ran off into the woods and probably died shortly

Rob

 

[kyredneck]

Mild winters have increased the deer population beyond anything I’ve seen before.

Eat more venison!

[add] (got my first deer with a 74' Nova. I've hit 4 kamikaze deer and totaled 2 vehicles over the last 30 years)

 

[Deacon]

The above shot was a video that doesn’t seem to be working. There was a small herd of doe, 10 or twelve, a day earlier, trying to get into my recently planted winterberry bushes.

I live in Bucks County, PA.
Along the I-95 corridor, a highly populated area so practically a no-hunt zone but just enough forested area to keep things green.
Just the habitat deer love; they eat all the low growing forest and then desert on a hosta salad with a side of azalea to fatten them up.

I’ve caged many of my shrubs in steel fencing (with barbs facing up) and it seems to work.

Rob

 

[kyredneck]

I’ve caged many of my shrubs in steel fencing (with barbs facing up) and it seems to work.

I\m planting a corn patch for the first time in several years because the coons and deer have wrecked havoc in the past. I've two Anatolian Shepherds now that I've great confidence in to keep my corn safe just as they do the chickens...

 

[OnlyaSinner]

I\m planting a corn patch for the first time in several years because the coons and deer have wrecked havoc in the past. I've two Anatolian Shepherds now that I've great confidence in to keep my corn safe just as they do the chickens...

I gave up on corn once the blue jays found it. Our dog was keeping away the raccoons but the jays were too persistent. I doubt a scarecrow would've helped, unless it was the kind that goes "BANG!" every couple minutes. Deer populations are modest where I live, while on our first trip (October 2009) to visit family when they lived in Illinois we saw total carnage on the westernmost 100 miles of the PA section of I-80, dozens of carcasses, some obviously run over by multiple trucks.

 

[kyredneck]

I doubt a scarecrow would've helped,

They probably would choose a feeder filled with black oil sunflower seed over your corn seed. We've a lot of Blue Jays (along with every other kind of bird), feed them year around, they pay us back by eating tons of bugs.

 

[Deacon]

...while on our first trip (October 2009) to visit family when they lived in Illinois we saw total carnage on the westernmost 100 miles of the PA section of I-80, dozens of carcasses, some obviously run over by multiple trucks.

That’s not to uncommon along that stretch and along the southern PA turnpike.
Usually all you see is a few pieces of meat and a large blot of red smeared down the road. Truckers don’t even stop.

A friend had a fishing setup attached to the front of his pickup. When he hit a herd of deer the apparatus bent and speared one. He drove with it until he reached the next rest stop and pulled it off.

Speaking of garden critters, my wife and I were watching a Great Blue Heron at creek side struggling with the wind in heavy rain this morning and a young beaver chased him away. Only the second beaver I’ve seen in the yard in 30 years.

Rob

 

[Charles Perkins]

We have raccoons, rabbits, possum, and the dreaded mole. This year I began building some raised garden beds to keep the rabbits out (amazing how many there are and how much they can eat). For a time we wondered why we couldn't seem to grow kale or spinach even when we got a more mature kale plant. Our raised beds are approximately 2 foot in height. The racoons have mostly tried to eat our figs which the crows reluctantly allow them to share.

I've also had to cover the top in order to keep the crows out of some of the beds. They seem to love chives, onions, greens of all kinds especially the younger more tender ones.

I'm still building boxes getting them ready for this coming year. I've been using the huegel culture method which I have adapted as so many others have.

5 Steps to Creating the Perfect Hugelkultur Garden in Your Backyard (morningchores.com)

For places like yours this might not work, but planter boxes might be a thought. They could work in walkways, windows, decks depending on the space you have.

 

[Roy]

Fire ants and coyotes dominate much of the landscape around here which has almost eliminated the rabbit population. I am not much of a grower and don't know how big of a threat racoons are around here. In the area where you live, are you not allowed to fire a gun? I only ask because I am a big fan of rabbit stew. I have a double barrel .410 which would be perfect for thinning out bunny-hoppers and stocking my fridge with meat. It might work one time with the crows, but those birds are pretty smart. You need a different tactic each time, because they learn fast.
The hugelkultur garden is something I would consider doing if I owned property. I would imagine that it would be excellent for growing watermelons, cantelopes or pumpkins.
Thanks for educating us.

 

[Charles Perkins]

Fire ants and coyotes dominate much of the landscape around here which has almost eliminated the rabbit population. I am not much of a grower and don't know how big of a threat racoons are around here. In the area where you live, are you not allowed to fire a gun? I only ask because I am a big fan of rabbit stew. I have a double barrel .410 which would be perfect for thinning out bunny-hoppers and stocking my fridge with meat. It might work one time with the crows, but those birds are pretty smart. You need a different tactic each time, because they learn fast.
The hugelkultur garden is something I would consider doing if I owned property. I would imagine that it would be excellent for growing watermelons, cantelopes or pumpkins.
Thanks for educating us.

Sounds like you live near the desert.

It's tempting to think about rabbit stew especially when we find our salad is missing. There are lots of restrictions regarding gun use here though. Hunting in the city is illegal and not a good idea for numerous reasons

The raised garden beds are doing the trick as far as the rabbits go and they were the biggest problem.