2025 Garden Thread

Patrick said:
I hope so! It was from Dr Pawpaw.

we don't have chipmunks, which is good. we have groundhogs, but with everything else to eat, a simple cage keeps them out.
I should go check the trap.
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You’ll know if it’s a female from the flower size/shape.
What variety?
I can swap some fruit with you. I always get a ton.
Also would be interested in swapping scion wood? My tree is multi-grafted. Always looking to add variety. 😁
 
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pibbles said:
I had one year where I relocated 35 chipmunks to another area 15 miles from my house after reading that as many as 35 chipmunks could live comfortably within 1 acre. My apologies to neighboring Alloway twp!
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That's like 1000 miles of driving...
 
Was out of town for 4 days. Got back yesterday. Got out to the garden this evening to water the broccoli and cauliflower seedlings. Didn't need to. All of them are gone. Plants consumed down to the stems.

So, the bird netting did nothing, It is still in place undamaged. So, it's not birds or any other animal bird sized. Rodent traps still have bait and are unsprung. So, likely not rodents.

I do broccoli and cauliflower seedlings every year and this never happened before. Last year, I transplanted the broccoli and cauliflower seedings the end of March and they were fine.

My current suspect is slugs. I read they can strip an entire bed of small seedlings down to the stem in a single night. If it is slugs, I must have quite an infestation. I will go out tonight and see if there are any.
 
SAM said:
Was out of town for 4 days. Got back yesterday. Got out to the garden this evening to water the broccoli and cauliflower seedlings. Didn't need to. All of them are gone. Plants consumed down to the stems.

So, the bird netting did nothing, It is still in place undamaged. So, it's not birds or any other animal bird sized. Rodent traps still have bait and are unsprung. So, likely not rodents.

I do broccoli and cauliflower seedlings every year and this never happened before. Last year, I transplanted the broccoli and cauliflower seedings the end of March and they were fine.

My current suspect is slugs. I read they can strip an entire bed of small seedlings down to the stem in a single night. If it is slugs, I must have quite an infestation. I will go out tonight and see if there are any.
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That was my original guess, but are you seeing their slime trails? Leave out a lid with beer, if they are there you'll catch some
 
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qclabrat said:
That was my original guess, but are you seeing their slime trails? Leave out a lid with beer, if they are there you'll catch some
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This is unlike slug damage I've seen before. Unsure what is doing this. Plants are gone down to the stem at ground level. Gone. I did find a couple (three) leaves outside the box the first time this happened. Leaves were undamaged. So, I thought an animal, mice or birds, was the culprit.

Went out last night and the only slug I saw was one eating the peanut butter in a mouse trap. I'll put out some beer tonight and report back.
 
Three saucers of beer dug in level with soil last night. No slugs today. Don't know what I have, unless I've got slugs that don't like beer and rodents that don't like peanut butter.

🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁
 
Update on my war with unknown eaters of brassica seedlings:

As of Wednesday, all broccoli and cauliflower seedlings were gone down to stem at ground level. Brussels sprout seedlings, which are also brassicas, located right next to them, were not taken. Weird.

Saturday:
Sprinkled Sluggo everywhere.
Installed plastic deer fencing over the broccoli and cauliflower bed. Made of tough poly with quarter inch mesh, which should exclude most critters. Made sure it is pinned to the soli and buried the edges. Critters might chew through it but It's the best I can do.

Yesterday evening:
Switched to cheese bait in the rodent traps.
Planted four sacrificial seedlings under the fencing, two broccoli, two cauliflower.

Today:
Nothing in traps. Bait still present.
Sacrificial brassicas still present.

So, success? I'll wait another day or two before putting out the rest of the brassica seedlings.
 
Since the sacrificial seedlings remained unmolested for two nights, I put the rest of the broccoli and cauliflower seedlings in last night. Some were close to the edge of the 1/2" mesh deer netting (misspoke that it is 1/4"), so I was worried the critter might be attracted.

Went out this morning and one plant was cut and dragged over to the other side of the box was not gone. It looks like the critter, whatever it is, wanted to take the seedling with it but could not get it through the netting. It got in by chewing a hole right at ground level.

Cut plant on right and and dragged over to left
IMG_7422.jpg

The hole it made to get in. The plant was dragged over close to the hole but did not make it out.
IMG_7425.jpg

So, aside from the 1/2" plastic deer netting I had on hand, I also have some 1/2" mesh pvc coated 19 gauge welded wire left over from when I built the berry enclosure. I didn't use it in the first pace because I didn't have enuf to enclose the seeding bed. Turns out, I had enuf (in two pieces) to put around the seedlings and then use the 1/2" poly on top.

Dug it in a couple inches deep and staked it down and put the poly netting on top. So, likely the critter can't chew though 19 gauge wire and would have to climb about 2 ft up and chew through the poly top to get in. Unless it digs. We'll see how motivated it is. The war continues.

IMG_7429.jpg
 
SAM said:
Since the sacrificial seedlings remained unmolested for two nights, I put the rest of the broccoli and cauliflower seedlings in last night. Some were close to the edge of the 1/2" mesh deer netting (misspoke that it is 1/4"), so I was worried the critter might be attracted.

Went out this morning and one plant was cut and dragged over to the other side of the box was not gone. It looks like the critter, whatever it is, wanted to take the seedling with it but could not get it through the netting. It got in by chewing a hole right at ground level.

Cut plant on right and and dragged over to left
View attachment 259686

The hole it made to get in. The plant was dragged over close to the hole but did not make it out.
View attachment 259687

So, aside from the 1/2" plastic deer netting I had on hand, I also have some 1/2" mesh pvc coated 19 gauge welded wire left over from when I built the berry enclosure. I didn't use it in the first pace because I didn't have enuf to enclose the seeding bed. Turns out, I had enuf (in two pieces) to put around the seedlings and then use the 1/2" poly on top.

Dug it in a couple inches deep and staked it down and put the poly netting on top. So, likely the critter can't chew though 19 gauge wire and would have to climb about 2 ft up and chew through the poly top to get in. Unless it digs. We'll see how motivated it is. The war continues.

View attachment 259688
Click to expand...
The battle is real. I have a camera pointed at my groundhog trap

Today's harvest. First purple!

IMG_8718.jpeg
 
SAM said:
Since the sacrificial seedlings remained unmolested for two nights, I put the rest of the broccoli and cauliflower seedlings in last night. Some were close to the edge of the 1/2" mesh deer netting (misspoke that it is 1/4"), so I was worried the critter might be attracted.

Went out this morning and one plant was cut and dragged over to the other side of the box was not gone. It looks like the critter, whatever it is, wanted to take the seedling with it but could not get it through the netting. It got in by chewing a hole right at ground level.

Cut plant on right and and dragged over to left
View attachment 259686

The hole it made to get in. The plant was dragged over close to the hole but did not make it out.
View attachment 259687

So, aside from the 1/2" plastic deer netting I had on hand, I also have some 1/2" mesh pvc coated 19 gauge welded wire left over from when I built the berry enclosure. I didn't use it in the first pace because I didn't have enuf to enclose the seeding bed. Turns out, I had enuf (in two pieces) to put around the seedlings and then use the 1/2" poly on top.

Dug it in a couple inches deep and staked it down and put the poly netting on top. So, likely the critter can't chew though 19 gauge wire and would have to climb about 2 ft up and chew through the poly top to get in. Unless it digs. We'll see how motivated it is. The war continues.

View attachment 259688
Click to expand...
Have you considered baiting the traps with brassica seedlings?
 
SAM said:
Since the sacrificial seedlings remained unmolested for two nights, I put the rest of the broccoli and cauliflower seedlings in last night. Some were close to the edge of the 1/2" mesh deer netting (misspoke that it is 1/4"), so I was worried the critter might be attracted.

Went out this morning and one plant was cut and dragged over to the other side of the box was not gone. It looks like the critter, whatever it is, wanted to take the seedling with it but could not get it through the netting. It got in by chewing a hole right at ground level.

Cut plant on right and and dragged over to left
View attachment 259686

The hole it made to get in. The plant was dragged over close to the hole but did not make it out.
View attachment 259687

So, aside from the 1/2" plastic deer netting I had on hand, I also have some 1/2" mesh pvc coated 19 gauge welded wire left over from when I built the berry enclosure. I didn't use it in the first pace because I didn't have enuf to enclose the seeding bed. Turns out, I had enuf (in two pieces) to put around the seedlings and then use the 1/2" poly on top.

Dug it in a couple inches deep and staked it down and put the poly netting on top. So, likely the critter can't chew though 19 gauge wire and would have to climb about 2 ft up and chew through the poly top to get in. Unless it digs. We'll see how motivated it is. The war continues.

View attachment 259688
Click to expand...
Could it be birds? Seems whatever it is can snip the plant but not pull them out. What type of traps were you using?
 
qclabrat said:
Could it be birds? Seems whatever it is can snip the plant but not pull them out. What type of traps were you using?
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Probably not birds. Whatever broke through the plastic deer fence found it's way back out through the same hole. Multiple times I've seen birds get through a gap or hole in fencing and not be able find their way back out.

I'm using a couple classic mouse traps and several plastic indoor/outdoor rodent traps. Nothing has touched them or the bait.

BTW, no brassicas were cut last night. My third attempt at fencing may be working... So far.
 
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