With the hot and dry weather being as it is this is the worst garden we have had in a very long time. I seem to spend half of my garden time fighting with the drought and the other half trying to keep the animals and bugs away. All of my green beans and peas in the upper garden have been eaten and a few green beans in the lower garden. I realize now with putting up the fences to keep out the goats and cows (in case they were to wonder into our yard) I gave a hands up to all the little critters that can squeeze though the fences....Once the little animals are in the gardens our dogs can't get them so they have a smorgasbord available with no one to interrupt them! :( I have tried my soap spray to no avail, I even purchased some stuff from our feed store (non chemical) to sprinkle around the outside of the garden to repel little animals, this really stunk but it did not bother them as more of my green beans vanished! My grandpa always said plant at least 30 percent more than you think you will need because the animals and bugs take what they want, but this is getting ridiculous!
This is what I had waiting for me this morning a total of four tomatoes gone with a few bites out of each and the ants taking the left overs. This is the third day in a row I have had this waiting for me at 7:00am.
We still have a lot of tomatoes on the vines (not ripe yet) but if we keep loosing that many every night......
I am trying something I found in a magazine (fingers crossed) I purchased a big bottle of jalapeno peppers and drained them and put the juice into a spray bottle and sprayed on the few green beans I have left in the lower garden and around the outside of both gardens I hope this works! If anyone has any better ideas please let me know!
This is a bad year all around. With so much dying or dead, the wild animals are at a loss for food too. I have the same problem. I know some people have luck with the hot pepper spray and fake snakes, but I think when animals get hungry they will eat the hot spray and all. I think we are all paying our dues this year. It will be a very lean winter :(
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