It's become clear to me through posts and PMs that there are some gardeners here just waiting for the chance to discuss gardening!
So, I was thinking... how do you use gardening, or how does it affect you if you need a break, need some respite, need to relax, need inspiration....how do you use it as a therapy tool in caregiving?
What are your activities: Do you go out and pull weeds, read a magazine, design new beds? Look through garden catalogues? Go to garden stores?
And what interests have you added to your gardening? Visit estate or garden displays? Do you go to garden shows?
Does anyone design and plant Knot Gardens? Raised bed planters? Assistive gardens? Pollinator gardens (and have you thought of ways to help the bees and butterflies?)
Are your gardens primarily for pleasure or food, or a mix of both? Do you grow plants for medicinal purposes? Which ones, how do you harvest and process them? Any suggestions?
Do you grow plants that can be used in crafts, such as grapevines for wreaths and lavender for lavender wands? Do you make herbal products such as creams, lotions, chapstick?
What else can you share about gardening and the means in which it nurtures your soul?
I think the birds would quickly fly off, but the music would continue, and hopefully annoy this pesky and inconsiderate neighbor.
Or you could just put a speaker up in the yard and play music at night.
I'm feeling nasty today; I feel sorry for anyone with nasty neighbors like this. I have a few of them too.
Just read your 2 messages. I think you're right; this guy will find a way to retaliate.
Is there a possibility of having that side of the yard surveyed and boundary staked, then putting up a tall barrier wall? Or maybe a tall wall and make it a living wall with ivy growing up over it? The ivy would provide some insulating value if he makes a lot of noise to retaliate.
Maybe a whirligig close to the bird feeder to generate a breeze, but again it's dependent on wind.
I suppose you could sneak out at midnight and throw bird feed on the ground in his yard so the birds go there first, but that doesn't solve the problem.
I think something that scares the birds away w/o harming them might help, maybe even some rain bells? Or maybe a ceramic cat at the base of the feeder?
My thinking hat must be worn out tonight; I'm just not able to come up with any good answers. I'll keep it on for a while; maybe it'll start working if I find something to tempt it.
Passive aggressive neighbour has put a bird feeder right on the property line between our houses, about 5' from my clothesline and within 15' of my door and sidewalk. The jerk already has 4 others in his front yard and freely welcomes all the squirrels too. Any ideas how to make the birds and animals dislike the feeder?
(If I get angry enough I may just mysteriously "disappear" it at midnight).
I don't want to start in containers way too heavy to move. Maybe I will just wander on over there and spread grass seed and wild flowers just keep them out on the outer edges where heavy equipment and work boots won't be.
We live trap and shoot them with a pellet gun. We poisoned for a while, of course we did not compost, then the hawks and migrating golden eagles gave us pause, if they eat the poisoned varmint it is lethal to them, we did not want that.
We also only trap in our fenced in yard, if they know what's good for them they stay out. They don't, by the way. They can't resist the yummy organic delicacies they may get. Last year, we got 2 nectarines before the buggers struck.
Our very hot climate is our main reason for composting, without great soil we would never be able to grow any food. The great thing is that like 95% of all native plants are edible in this area. Some are yummy, others must be a hunger thing😁.
Figs and pomegranates love out weather, go figure.
Not to be gory, but what do you use to trap and kill? I know there are rat traps; do you shoot them or poison them? I honestly don't know what I'd do if I actually saw one.
We have raccoons (which like to crawl down chimneys), opossum, and of course the charming little bunnies, 3 different varieties of squirrels, the probably everpresent mice, and the 2 legged variety of rats (in the city hall).
I once saw a few birds of prey, which I think were buzzards, but I couldn't (and didn't want to) get close enough to them to investigate. It's odd to see that kind of wild bird in this area.
As I wrote, the only reason I would now use a contained composter is b/c of the vermin that the city claims are all over. I'm too lazy right now to research them; I really would prefer open air composting. If you like, I can PM you the URL for the best gardening site I've found, you could sign up and ask; I'm sure you'll get responses from people who do have the tumblers.
CWillie, the 3 pile system would be my preference, but even if the city wasn't rataphobic, one of the nosy neighbors would complain and I'd have to turn all the compost under. This is NOT a gardening neighborhood; it's more of a lawn worshipping neighborhood.
Glad, what's the estimate for when your house will be built? You could plant in containers, but that's still a heavy item to move, and from my experiences in moving, I want to move less, not more!
This year I plan on harvesting prickly pear fruit and making prickly pear and lemon popsicles. I do not like the jam.
I also plan on trying the Saguaro fruit, if the winds don't blow them all off. 3 years running the wind has destroyed that wild crop.
As for rock hounding, we are travelers and 4x fans, that is how I find all of my fun rocks. I use them in my garden, I also found a beauty that has gold and silver visible and I use that as a bookend. You never know where you'll find an amazing treasure, so I look everywhere.
Composting can attract varmints, we have a problem whether we compost or not, so we trap and kill, then add to the compost pile. We turn ours weekly for the first month, then water weekly and turn 4-6 weeks until cooked. I never do a very big pile, so a small pitch fork from this side of area to that side is fairly easy. We also start a new pile in a different area so that ground can get nutrients, it helps that we have a large back yard and are not full of plants, yet.
Ticks, ??? I use lemon grass, lavender, peppermint and mums to keep bugs at a minimum around the patios and pool. Never seen a tick, maybe we don't have them, it gets really hot so I don't know if they can survive the heat or it is so dry. I have tons of lizards, so maybe it them, they are the best bug defense ever!
I visited the local nursery on Sunday so have a bit of excitement about getting started. Last year I bought wildflower seeds, blue flax, and a mix. I was hoping I would be set by now, but here I am.
GA- we grow winter wheat
PolarBear, 4 days ago:
"My husband wants to get a compost tumbler. His back is not young anymore and he doesn't want to mix and turn the heavy compost loads. I don't blame him. So, I'm in the market for a good large compost tumbler. They are expensive. Any recommendations?"
Any help for our Bear friend?
I used to collect indoor compost and freeze it in those 5 quart ice cream pails, then bury it in situ in areas that weren't close to where I had just planted. It worked well; even the squirrels didn't bother it as much as I expected.
However, now that the City has proclaimed a rat epidemic, I no longer use food in compost. But if I did, I would get a tumbler.
Anyone have any suggestions for good tumblers for PolarBear?
And to anyone else who might have asked a question that hasn't yet been answered, please don't feel ignored. We have some rain predicted and I want to skim the older answers to see if there are other unanswered questions. (I feel somewhat "maternal" since I started this thread and don't want anyone to feel left out!)
Does anyone else grow their own wheat and have it ground? One year I grew buckwheat but decided after I discovered 12 cardinals in the buckwheat plot that I'd leave it for them. I've never seen that many cardinals together, and clearly they were enjoying a nice banquet.
Daughterof1930, renting is a great idea! And there's a Home Depot close to me. I could save a lot by doing that.
I'm going to check with my local HD, and possibly Lowes, to consider this.
What kind of tiller did you use, and was it effective for your needs? I know some cyberfriends who use Mantis tillers; I think there might have been a Toro tiller as well, but I need to check my research from last year or the year before when I first started considering one (it takes me a long time to decide to buy something like a tiller!).
And I’ve planted several dozen vinca in the front yard, the kind that are annual flowers, in shades of pink and purple.
Ga, the vincas I have self seed which is why I love them. I don’t have to buy every year.
My grandmother had a cider press. I think one of my cousins has it. I’ve got her butter churn and butter moulds. I’ve actually used the churn a couple of times.
I bring a rock home from every trip I take. I have them in my flower garden.
https://www.agingcare.com/discussions/cooking-is-good-therapy-438777.htm?orderBy=recent&page=1#comment862722
That reminded me...does anyone here use a dehydrator?
Real, I didn't know that peanuts can break up the soil, but it makes sense because they produce root systems with the peanuts subsurface. I grew them once, years ago; your comment reminded me of that. Maybe I'll grow them again, with some added coffee grounds so the worms can help break up the soil.
I could also grow sweet and white potatoes. I'm planning to use morning glories and vining plants such as pumpkins as ground covers.
BTW, did anyone know that morning glories can kill unwanted small trees and saplings? I train them to grow on the tree, and they seem to block out air and smother the tree.
Not asking specifically where you lived, but it must be interesting and of a specific geologic category to have geodes. I found a brachiopod in my rose garden; that was a very contemplative moment .... this little fossil that lived millions of years ago somehow was (probably) brought by a glacier and deposited in my yard.
Becky, did you ever get the New Shelter magazines? They were wonderful, as was Mother Earth News way "back in the day." Ever since I saw a plan for a cider press in MEN, I wanted to build one. Maybe....some day....
I loved the times when those magazines were prevalent; there was so much more of a widespread attitude of cleaner living, of more "close to the land living".