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Well, in spite of all the rain, my garden is finally looking great. I made my first harvest last night of lettuce for an awesome organic salad.
But you’d never know that from looking at my videos. They’ve been lagging by a couple of weeks from “real time updates” until now. In this episode, I get you to within a week today. And over the next few days, I’ll close the gap even more. In episode 10, you’ll finally be up to date with seeing things pretty much as they happen.
At the close of this episode nine, I let you know I’ll be leaving it for a week and wonder how the garden will look upon my return. Thanks to a steady supply of rain, it exploded in my absence. I often wonder if we should take a clue from Mother Nature about these things and love our gardens less. I know many people who have killed their gardens with kindness.
On another note, I have made some inquires into the financial and logistical possibilities of installing a webcam that can monitor the garden 24/7 with a live link for viewing whenever you wish. I was going to justify it by saying it’s another way to keep me honest by looking in on the garden whenever you want. But truthfully, I really wanted it for me to be able to keep an eye on it when I have to be away. But this morning I learned that the camera cost alone could be up to $500 and then if the site gets a lot of traffic, I could be charged a great deal more by my web hosting company. So, it just doesn’t appear financially feasible. However, if anybody has any insights to make this more doable, I’m open.
Finally, upon returning from my vacation, my first real reunion with my garden in daylight was early this past Sunday morning. As I was taping a segment for your future viewing pleasure, something caught my eye. As I looked up, I couldn’t believe what was happening. A large deer was strolling through my backyard like he owned the place. Now although I understand deer and very common in many backyards across America, I never imagined they would be in mine. I live in a downtown neighborhood, presumably insulated from any wild creature larger than a rabbit. But for two days in a row now, this deer has been hanging out in and around my yard.
Now my focus has changed completely. Up until this point, my biggest concern was water. Now, it’s hoping that my garden will be there the next morning. With a budget too small for a physical barrier and barely enough for a bottle of repellant, what will I do? Believe me, I’m search for answers and I’ll bring you along as I do battle. Stay tuned. This could get very interesting.
About Joe Lamp'l
Joe Lamp'l is the Host and Executive Producer of the award winning PBS television series Growing A Greener World. Off camera, Joe dedicates his time to promoting sustainability through his popular books, blog, podcast series, and nationally syndicated newspaper columns. Follow Joe on Twitter
Verab, I really have not tried to prevent my cats from entering the garden. Although I’d prefer they play elsewhere, they have not been a problem yet with digging in the grass mulch. I’ll keep an eye on them and likely if it becomes a problem, I’ll squirt them with a water bottle. That assumes of course that I’m out there to see it.
Just viewed your 8th episode with the “Smoking Grass”. Cool idea for mulch!! Question: How do you keep your kitty cat from digging in your garden after you’ve mulched? My cat is attracted to dig whenever I put down mulch. I’ve tried putting rocks around that I’ve sprayed with vinegar, but that only works for a day or two.
Phew. Glad someone beat me to the punch on the pee idea. =) At night, I can hear the deer snorting behind my fence. Without the opposable thumbs, they can’t open the gate, alas.
And my garden ALWAYS looks better when I leave it. ALWAYS.
Funny you should say that Michael. Just between us, I’ve already started! LOL. Haven’t peed in the toilet since I saw that darn deer. Now, I’m working through how to share this method of repellent appropriately through video. Hey, the price is right, and if it works like I’m hoping, I feel it’s my duty to fully disclose, right? Stay tuned!
Joe,
Take a pee regularly in your back yard and the deer will leave it alone (as will some other wildlife). You may get more dogs following your trail, but human urine seems to deter all kinds of wildlife. That’s pretty cheap–unless you get a citation from the local P.D.
Mark. Funny you should mention that. Ustream was going through my mind the whole time. I have a friend that streams himself working in his office and often has over 40 people online at any one time watching the stream!?!. Anyway, I will follow up on this. I sure would like to make this happen without spending a fortune to do it. Thanks for the mention and glad you like the premise.
You might want to check out Ustream. All you need is a webcam hooked up to a pc/mac/linux/whatever. Head over to their site and start broadcasting.
As for the 24/7 nature of it, shouldn’t be a problem since the guys at Hak5 have two webcams rolling all the time.
BTw, really enjoying the whole premise.
Clare, this is great! With a tiny budget, I can’t go out and buy expensive repellents. But your recipe sounds doable if clove oil is not too pricey. At this point, I need to put all my resources into defending the garden against the one pest that can decimate it in one visit. So, you can be sure I’ll be pulling out all the free stops as I wage war to defend the Twenty-five Dollar Victory Garden.
Thanks again for taking the time to provide this recipe!
Here is a deer repellant recipe that I’ve heard works. I don’t have a deer problem, so not tried it personally.
To 1-quart spray bottle add:
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
5 drops clove oil
water to fill container
1/2 teaspoon liquid dish soap
Spray at least once a month or after it rains, on roses, flowers and shrubs.
TIPS:
Combine ingredients in the order given and shake well to mix, then add the dish liquid soap, or too many suds will result otherwise. Prepare and use the day made, don’t save it.
After use, rinse out container right away.
Vials of clove oil can be purchased at craft and health food stores.
Worth a try, Joe!