by Connie Oswald Stofko I was intrigued by this tip. I have rabbits in my yard, and in the spring they munch on everything, including my rose bushes. But here is a way to use the canes from rose bushes to protect your other plants from hungry rabbits. This tip was shared by a reader named Susan: We had problems with rabbits munching our morning glory vines (or any lovely vine, for that matter). When I trimmed the rose bushes,…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Do rabbits make nests in your garden? Do cats use your garden for a litterbox? Here is one tip to solve both problems. Make the space less appealing by breaking it up with sticks. In addition to sticks from a tree, you can recycle disposable chopsticks, Popsicle sticks, old plant tags and plastic forks and spoons. In my garden I have a metal spoon that was damaged when it fell into the garbage disposal. Don’t go…
by Connie Oswald Stofko We have already accumulated so many tips on keeping gardens safe from rabbits, deer and other pests that it surprises me to find that gardeners have found even more clever ways to deal with critters. Here are more tips that local gardeners have shared with me. Deer and rabbits Previously, we told you that placing dryer sheets in your garden could keep deer and rabbits away, but when the smell goes out of the dryer sheets,…
by Connie Oswald Stofko You can never have too many tips for keeping deer and rabbits away from our plants. Even if we find something that works, the animals often get used to that technique and we have to try something else. Here are a bunch of tips. One is from me, but the rest are ones that local gardeners have shared with me. (These tips are often shared in quick conversations, so I often don’t have the name of…
by Connie Oswald Stofko When it comes to dealing with pests such as deer and rabbits, the bad news is that there is no single technique that works all the time. The good news is that there are lots and lots of things you can try. When I speak to gardening groups, I get a chance to talk with gardeners, and they’re happy to share what works for them. I’m always coming across new ideas on how to deal with pests….
Keep deer, rabbits, squirrels and mice away with Bounce dryer sheets Use Bounce dryer sheets to keep deer away, says Bob Bracikowski of Opportunities Unlimited in Niagara, who showed us recently how to create a succulent garden. In the vegetable garden at Opportunities Unlimited, everything was being eaten, week after week. “During my lunch hour I could watch the deer eat the cabbage right in front of me,” he said. Then he tried a tip he got from a farmer:…
by Connie Oswald Stofko The image at left is lovely if it’s on a Christmas card, but aggravating if it’s actually happening in your garden. I’ve written before about ways to keep deer and rabbits out of your garden. Even if you read those articles when they were published, take a second look and make sure you take a look at the comments sections. Readers have followed up and shared great tips! I think it’s time to address the…
by Connie Oswald Stofko Our yard is overrun with rabbits. They chomped on my gladious. They decimated my delphinium. I planted four straight, healthy, nearly perfect sunflowers along the fence, as well as two scrawny, twisted specimens. The rabbits ate the four perfect plants and sidestepped the others. I kept seeing my campanula toppled over, and discovered the rabbits had built a nest right in my garden, trampling plants as they made their way in and out! We used to…
by Connie Oswald Stofko I had a poor garlic crop this year. Instead of large bulbs with separate cloves, I got small bulbs without any separate cloves. I don’t know what I did wrong. For years I have planted garlic with no problems. I think it’s the easiest food plant you can grow. John Farfaglia, extension educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Niagara County, concurred. “It’s hard to go wrong with garlic,” he said. Though garlic is usually easy to grow,…
– Visit markets. Learn how growers work in an urban (or suburban) setting. Get tips for your own garden. There’s something for everyone at Urban Farm Day to be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, August 17. It’s free, self-guided, and no tickets are required. There will be 17 local growers. Download a map in advance or use the Google map. Highlights include: Special ticketed events are: For more information, visit UrbanFarmDay.com…
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