Post #280,250
4/1/07 1:24:56 PM
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What do you do about bugs and critters?
I'm thinking about possibly starting a small garden this year. We've got a family of squirrels living in our backyard, and I feed birds at a couple of feeders. We also have the occasional possum and raccoon.
Is it hopeless to think about small outdoor vegetable gardens with all the critters (without a greenhouse)? Have you tried growing Brandwines indoors?
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
(Who realizes vegetables are typically grown outdoors... ;-)
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Post #280,264
4/1/07 4:00:16 PM
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Sounds like our fauna exactly
They don't bother the gardens, for whatever reasons.
I've never tried to grow anything indoors. We don't get much full sun in the house.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #280,275
4/1/07 6:37:12 PM
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Except the rabbits
They get into everything. And one year the black squirrels (do you have those?) dug up 50 newly planted strawberry plants and ate the roots. I was livid. Now I grow them in pots on my deck. I do my tomatoes in pots, too. Works out well.
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Post #280,293
4/1/07 9:17:51 PM
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We battle possums.
They like Dad's strawberrys, too, although they only nick the ripe fruit. He constructed a cage that goes over them, although it's been repaired a few tiems because they figured out how to open an older version.
Wade.
Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
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Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please
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-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne. | · my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] · |
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Post #280,332
4/2/07 11:34:36 AM
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Re: We battle possums.
We have those, too, but they dont seem to bother the garden, except maybe to dig up the lawn a when they hunt for grubs. The skunks do that, too.
Not too long ago we had a possum playing dead on the trunk of our tree out front. It clung there for the longest time, staring at me with those beady little eyes. I stared back. A battle of wills. I finally poked it with a stick. It snarled, I ran in the house screaming like a little girl.
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Post #280,344
4/2/07 1:28:22 PM
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Yes, they are dangerous.
They have sharp teeth and crushing strong jaws. Further they are tough, kind of like a football partially inflated with water and chicken bones - and they're just too stupid to know they are dead.
I've dispatched plenty of possums with my trusty Swiss army knife, generally at 2:30 in the morning when they've managed to get into the pigeon coop, and believe me I'd rather not. The carbine would be a lot safer but it tends to disturb the neighbors more.
In any case, it is illegal to be a possum in the state of California.
Swiss Army knife.
[image|http://www.clovegarden.com/ke/img/ke_swissarmy01i.jpg||||]
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #280,372
4/2/07 5:39:38 PM
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Had to kill a rabbit last night
It was crossing the street in front of my house as I was coming out the front door, and a passing taxi caught it by the hind end. Broke both its legs and pelvis. I dispatched it with a shovel; while it was still trying to go (which was a truly sad sight to behold), there was no way it faced anything other than a lingering painful death.
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Post #280,396
4/2/07 9:01:53 PM
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Oh my
I dont know if I could do that. Even out of compassion. Then again, I couldnt leave it, either. I dont know what I'd do.
Andrew, on the other hand, sounds like he rather enjoys slaying the possums.
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Post #280,400
4/2/07 9:26:22 PM
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There's a beaver joke in there somewhere
===
Kip Hawley is still an idiot.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
[link|http://DocHope.com|http://DocHope.com]
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Post #280,403
4/2/07 9:45:50 PM
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Groan. How does your wife put up with you?
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Post #280,408
4/2/07 10:11:43 PM
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Years of practice
===
Kip Hawley is still an idiot.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
[link|http://DocHope.com|http://DocHope.com]
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Post #280,415
4/2/07 10:30:07 PM
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Any critter that rousts me out of bed . . .
. . at 2:30am needs to realize I'm not going to be pleased and there's going to be consequences.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #280,416
4/2/07 10:31:34 PM
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Okay, now there's a *different* beaver joke in there
===
Kip Hawley is still an idiot.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
[link|http://DocHope.com|http://DocHope.com]
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Post #280,423
4/2/07 11:02:10 PM
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That's what I say :-)
Smile,
Amy
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Post #280,434
4/3/07 4:44:23 AM
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Swiss Army "knife"? ITYM Swiss Army *bayonet*, n'est-ce pas?
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Post #280,280
4/1/07 6:56:01 PM
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Give up
I got deer - they eat everything.
I give up.
I4 NOW!
Impeach, Indict, Incarcerate, Inject
Bush, Cheney, Gonzalez, Rumsfeld, Rove, Rice
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Post #280,285
4/1/07 7:25:25 PM
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Whachoo talkin bout?
You're growing venison in your yard. You just need to work out the mechanics of harvesting.
===
Kip Hawley is still an idiot.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
[link|http://DocHope.com|http://DocHope.com]
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Post #280,296
4/1/07 9:43:07 PM
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crap, maters need 2 things
marigolds as a border around them and newspaper moats when they are little to avoid the cutworms. I have deer, am growing corn. They can share one way or the other. I own a crossbow although living in the county as opposed to the city I could shoot em.
thanx,
bill
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep
reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
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Post #280,331
4/2/07 11:34:18 AM
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Old threads never die!
First post in this thread was 06/2004.
Revived 04/2007.
fwiw, my wife will be trying a garden at the new place. We have: crow, deer, possum, turkeys, coyote, and black bear. Haven't seen the bear or coyote yet, but have heard from various reliable sources (neighbors and vet) that they're here.
Don't know what she plans on planting, all i know is that I'll be doing the digging.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. (Herm Albright)
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