The battle is on! You go away for a few days and everything goes to h*ll in a hand basket, as they say. I was in Maine for four days and when I came home on Sunday evening, one of the first things I did was check the garden. It was immediately obvious that someone/something had paid a visit. And not in a good way. Everything but the tomatoes and beets had been chewed on, and I mean really chewed. Not just a nibble here and there. The bean row looked like someone had mowed across the top of it. Three of my five cucumber plants were also majorly chewed off. The lettuce, peas and carrots also suffered damage from some hungry critter. Plus the slimy slugs were feasting on the lettuce! I am NOT happy! You work so hard to get things to grow, and it has been a challenge this year with so little sun and not much warmth... You battle insects and weeds. Then a four legged critter comes along and decides to help himself. I am blaming a groundhog. He's been seen... he is big and fat and obviously hungry. Why the heck can't he eat the weeds??!! So, two live traps are now set... Did you know the best bait for a groundhog (woodchuck) is cantaloupe? Or so my online research tells me... I'll let you know if we get him. No luck last night... Keeping fingers crossed for tonight.
After that unhappy discovery, I checked out my (17) hostas. Arrggghhhh! More critters! I have been keeping a close eye on my beloved hostas and up until now, there was no sign of slugs or earwigs. Well, I guess someone told them I was leaving town, and they moved right in. They obviously had a "field day" in my absence chewing holes in the tender yummy leaves... So, yes I'm on the warpath! I'm waging war against groundhogs, slugs and earwigs, and anything else that tries to "move in" to my garden, vegetable or floral.
On a positive note, the raspberries are ripening. Good thing there aren't many low to the ground or Mr. G. Hog would be after those too. He actually had the audacity to run into the raspberry patch last night when hubby found him in the garden... He'll
really be in trouble if he starts in on my berry patch... I picked the first quart of berries this morning. If I can get another pint tonight, I'll be making the first raspberry pie of the season tomorrow... Yummy! Perhaps that will calm me down while I plot my next move against Mr. Hog......
Coming up next.... photos from Maine Quilts 2015, and also my trip to Grand Manan.
Peace,
Linda
"We have descended into the garden and caught three hundred slugs. How I love the mixture of the beautiful and the squalid in gardening. It makes it so lifelike." ~ Evelyn Underhill,
Letters
6 comments:
I have had rain and more rain as well as really cold temperatures early. My condolences about your garden. I just read to sprinkle coffee grounds around the host as to stop the slugs. You have nothing to lose....
Oh John will want to visit once your Grand Manan pictures are up. I look forward to both the quilt show and the island photos.
As for the ground hog...nothing makes me any more wrathy! I completely understand. Hope that he is dispatched to the far side of the moon. There are plenty of delights out in the forest without eating your plants and veggies. Miserable, disgusting things.
Cheeky little feller......he has no business in your garden, he can go somewhere else! Your raspberries look so good, have to say though that my all-time favourite berry is the blackberry.
We don't have Ground Hogs in Australia at all, and raspberries don't grow where we live as its too hot here for them. Can I come for dinner when you have a raspberry pie? LOL. Good luck on your war against Mr. Hog.
Those dang groundhogs. We had one burrow under our garage a few years ago. Never caught him. I see one creeping around the neighbor's fence across the street. My father-in-law has trapped them and says they die of fear when trapped in a live trap. That's about all I know about them except that they are very rude tenants. :)
xx, Carol
Aw that is so disappointing and maddening too, Linda. I have seen a groundhog passing through the yard twice this year but that's all. I'm not sure where he resides. However, the deer have been helping themselves to pea, beet, onion and bean plants and we've caught them in the act and also seen their hoof prints in the garden. They also chewed the sunflowers off - nipped in the bud, so to speak so they are not growing much. I have only seen 2 earwigs so far but I know they are probably hiding somewhere. They are usually quite prolific by mid July but not this year. I hope you enjoy some raspberry pie! Looking forward to your pics of GM. Enjoy the long weekend!
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