As much as I love all the great things that nature and gardening can bring to my life – relaxation, meditation and good old stress relief that comes from jamming a shovel in the dirt, there’s nothing that irritates me more than finding my gardens have become a “beast’s” buffet!
Twenty years ago when we bought our home, I was so excited to start gardening. I grew up with a father who had a naturally green thumb. What was once a clay-filled farm field became my dad’s beautiful, rich dark soil garden filled with delicious vegetables. It was wonderful to walk out back and pick a meal’s worth of freshness. Dad was organic before organic was cool, and tended compost box that fed his garden literally for decades .
At one point, he became a huge fan of master gardener, Jerry Baker, and his natural, somewhat unorthodox ingredient ways of dealing with weeds and feeding plants. Dish soap, ammonia and coca-cola to speed breakdown of mulch cut grass was my dad’s favorite, and the primary reason he always had a lush, thick green lawn.
I, on the other hand, am a perennial gardener. While I’ve attempted vegetable gardening a few times, our yard has limited full-sun spots. About the only vegetable that grows well in my yard is a good old potato! The first winter we were in our home, I took a home landscaping class through the local technical college. I laid out every garden bed, planned out landscape lighting, and selected every shrub, tree and perennial. Over the years, I’ve scaled back on the shrubs and focused primarily on perennials. I love a rainbow of blooming color throughout the growing season, which unfortunately is somewhat short here in Wisconsin. And, it’s truly fulfilling to see my labor of blood, sweat and tears turn into something beautiful.
The Grazers Return
But, fulfillment has been short-lived the last few years. Thanks in large part, I think, to more development not far from our home, wildlife has again resurrected into our residential neighborhood. We’ve welcomed turkeys, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, voles, rabbits, owls, hawks, a myriad of birds, toads and occasionally giant bullfrogs. Thank the good Lord the snakes have stayed away!
I can’t count how many times I’ve arrived in my gardens to find I’m growing stems….no leaves, no flowers…just stems. Word has gotten out among the wild ones that we offer an amazing buffet, and the jerks have eaten my plants! Even worse is when the little bastards (pardon the language) simply dig the entire plant out of the ground and leave it, apparently not tasty enough! GRRRR…. Why, oh why, can’t they eat the weeds instead?!
My Quest to Conquer
I bought an expensive product once, guaranteed to keep critters away from plants. Call me a sucker, but if something guarantees it’ll close down my buffet, I’m IN! Better still, it was non-chemical. When I got it home from the garden store, I immediately set to work. I opened the container only to be hit with the smell of a great bowl of chili…that’s right folks, CHILI! What was this miracle product? A combination of spicy, hot spices – chili powder, cumin, red pepper, garlic, black pepper, garlic…all the wonderful ingredients of a great bowl of chili!
Like most deterrents the label said “reapply after rain”. It should have said, “reapply when you smell simmering chili” because my yard smelled exactly like that – CHILI– after a rain! I wasn’t about to spend that kind of money again when I knew a robust trip to the local cheapo store would do just as good… and I’d get a lot more product for my money.
Make Your Own Mix
So, here’s what you do….grab $20 and head to your local cheapo store where everything is a measly buck. Fill your cart with $20 worth of every hot and/or smelly herb or spice they have on the shelf – variety of peppers, cumin, garlic, etc. Bring it home, and pour it all into a bucket. Mix it up, then sprinkle around your plants. Oh…and reapply after a rain!
It’s worked for me for years, folks. I hope it works for you. Let me know how it goes in comments below…
