rabbit fence test and another problem

Today and the rest of the week may as well be full blown summer. Lows in the high 70's and highs in the high 90's.  The mornings are cool enough for me to do a bit of strenuous work (briefly) and mentally try to plan for fall and winter tasks.

Two issues to deal with right now; rabbit fencing and nut sedge invasion.
The rabbit issue is not going away, short of my sitting out in the garden all day and shooing them off or better yet doing away with them. Hasenpfeffer anyone? (Just kidding, not realistic either)

So, the plan is to use bamboo stakes and landscape fabrics on the first try.  The thought being that if they cannot see it, they might not want to jump the 2 foot fence to go after it????
I seriously doubt they are that dumb.  It makes me feel as if I am doing something anyway. The bamboo stakes are relatively cheap and so is the landscape fabric.
I have to think about the actual doing of this project before making a full frontal attack on all beds.

The bunnies are now going after the Mexican Petunias.  That bed is pretty well defined and should be fairly simple (all be it hot) to do.  It is small enough to watch for behaviors, such as them being dumb enough to not know what is behind the barricade.  Then, just watch and document what happens......................

Problem two; nutsedge, I have discovered they reproduce by rhizomes and seeds.  Unfortunately, the moles don't eat the rhizomes.  Plain weed killer will not bother this plant at all. This plant is not a broad leaf weed. It forms "grass" like leaves

This picture is not from my garden as I have powdery sand.  This is the clay soil in the north Texas area.

I have a gravel path in my gardens and they are full of this plant.  I have been pulling and scraping the plants off to no avail.  In fact, I find that I am only adding to the problem.  They have runner type roots and my disturbing them seems to activate more growth.
When the plant is young, its leaves are sharp enough to poke through landscape fabric, which is the base of my gravel path.

Nothing kills this stuff.  I am thinking of a buying blow torch.  Seriously, the current recommendation, other than pulling out while very young and tender to discourage further production down the road. Oh, pahleeze, my knees are screaming at me every morning as it is.
The other recommendation is a product called Image.  I am going to test it out on a heavily infested area of the path and see what happens.  The recommendation is to use a bristle type paint brush and paint it on.  It is quite expensive and will need at least 2 applications.  So, I am not "painting/treating" the whole area, just a patch and watch to see what happens.

More on this later.

Fall is on its way (joke)

Yesterday it felt like fall and then this morning the temp is 80 degrees and 80 % humidity at 7AM.

I fed the plants Thrive this morning.  The cone flowers finally look like they may grow and bloom.  The nibbled ones are putting on nice leaves (some mottled - have to check that out) and even though some of the older plants are dying back, things look hopeful for next season.
I may just have to live with fencing things in and the bunnies out in order to have my gardens back. The moles are another issue and will be quite expensive to drive them away from the gardens.

I read one blog that said the fencing should be 2 to 3 feet high.  Mine is 4 feet because I used left over stuff. I will have to buy some more wire fencing and it is not cheap. So, need to know for sure which height will work best.  At 2 to 3 feet, I can step over as opposed to the task of pulling rocks and edging AND 2 layers of wire fence to get inside to weed and feed.  It was all a stop gap measure in the emergency mode.  Not convenient by any means.
One more thing on my to do list for when the weather cools.

The Autumn Sage is coming along nicely after the compost and re-mulch job a while back.

Today has also been a verification of my choice to buy the smaller metal/mesh garden cart instead of the wooden cart I had.  The sides are a snap to drop, making loading heavy things much easier.  The sides are hinged and don't touch the ground, which is great for over sized bags.  Another big plus is the balloon tires. Pulling it through the sandy/mole riddled yard was a snap!
I am already thinking of other things to haul in it.

Salvia bed

August 18th,  (these 2 posts are out of sink, I don't know how to move this to the right sequence)
I spent the morning clearing the mulch from the bed, then the second morning, the 19th  applying compost and scratching it in a bit.  The mole trails did not get the hot pepper treatment. It was much too much of a job and probably not worth the trouble..........................
Anyway, when I got the compost down, I watered heavily.  I applied the mulch the next day over a landscape cloth again, and watered thoroughly again.
We had a cooler night and in the 90's today.

The pictures are of re mulching and the salvias after
pruning back to the greenest  part of the plants.
The leaves tell me that they are the newest part of the
plant and ready for the next spurt of growth.  These
will hopefully, fill out and be blooming in a month or
so.

The second picture is of the older part of the plant
and the newest growth.

T

We had lovely rain (not enough) two nights in a row.  The rain wasn't heavy enough to wet all the way down through the mulch...................but having watered earlier, the plants should perk up.

Rain lovelyRain

August 21, 2012
After weeks of 100+ temperatures, we are 72 degrees for the high.  It has rained, lightly, off and on, all day.  Too wet to work in the garden.  Just wanted to document for future viewing, that there was finally a break in the temperature and dryness.
The rest of the week will be back in the (normal average) 90's.
The heat wasn't as long running as last year when we had 70+ days of 100 degrees.  I have lost some plants and marveled at the survivors.  I have potted (cuttings and roots) plants that survived.  Hopefully, there will be several plants that I can put in the ground next spring.

I did spend some time today researching the soil amendment needs of plants I plan to use next year.  I have gathered the information in a file on the computer. (I do love my computer!!)

A gardener is an eternal optimist.  There is always next year.  Which, when you think of it is a very healthy philosophy.

I had a women tell me today that I don't look nearly 73.  I think it is the blessing of being able to fight and work with nature and have something I love to do every single day of the year. (And still be able to do it)

So, I am going to plan, starting today, for next heat season.  I have documented the problems of mulch this year and watched the pattern of the flowers that are surviving.  Next year will be better!!  Hopefully, I will document my ideas for future reference.

 This has been a quiet day with a time to think about what the gardens need.  Thank you God, for the down time, which was sorely needed.

Things happening on a lovely rainy morning

We have had 2 lovely (mid 70's)  mornings with a light rain.  Not really enough to wet things below the mulch, but promising never the less.
While I was out communing with nature and watering, I had the joy of seeing a possum lumbering across the place, chased by a mocking bird.  Then, I saw movement up in a tree and watched a tiny downy woodpecker hop from branch to branch. There is also a lot of activity on the pokeberry bush. Doesn't get much better than this.  Thank God for my being able to be out there to see these things and thank God that I can see these things!!

Speaking of mulch: mornings like this give me an opportunity to visit my plants.  A little talking and commiserating with their sufferings and checking why some are not doing so well.  I found out why my lovely Autumn Sage (salvia greggii) has not been doing well.  I have always been able to count on it flowering when other things are not.  I had put down a 3 or so inch layer of shredded hard wood mulch.  In checking for moisture and mole damage, I discovered the ground under the mulch and the landscape cloth was completely  dry AND riddled with mole trails.

So, this opened my eyes, big time.  I am not going to purchase shredded mulch again.   Sure it covers nicely and stays in place, but it will pack down and form an impenetrable mat.  I learned that years ago and then forgot.
That said, in order to give these poor plants a chance, I have to remove the mulch mat and landscape fabric and add some compost, fill in the mole trails (think I will use up my old hot peppers taking up space in the fridge)  Maybe this will encourage the little darlings to go pester some other plant.

This will take a bit of time, as when it heats up I head for the AC.  I do my garden chores from daylight til the sun is peeking over the trees.  I try to stay in the shade as much as possible, so actually have to plan my work to be able to end up in the shade instead of sun before it gets too hot.

Bunnies vs the gardener (I am not alone!!)

I have spent more than a little time reading other blogs with bunny  blues.  One blogger went through a daily, maybe monthly litany of things the (1) rabbit ate.
That seemed to be the topic of several very good blogs. (one bunny). "Maybe 2?"

I, on the other hand, have BUNNIES, everything from large adults to "cute little babies".  Over time, those babies have had babies and they had babies...................................... So, removing the one or two (by what ever means necessary, is daunting to say the least.

Our grandson was visiting last week and he used (my) Beebe gun to chase them off. Kept him out in the fresh air, don't cha know.  He did not kill any, but by the time he left, all he had to do was cock the gun and they headed for cover.  I can hit the big suckers in the butt and they take off. They will mostly scram when I cock the gun.

Animal lovers, for the most part will disagree with "hurting or killing" rabbits. This is an ignorant premise.  The little darlings have litters all year long. They are a rodent and check out the population one rodent/rabbit pair can create in a matter of months.

I am reasonably sure that lovers of cute little rabbits  have not spent tons of work and money on a garden and seen it decimated over night.

So, having ranted in the garden, in the car, at my husband, at my neighbors, at anyone who is in the line of fire on a baaad day, I am doing what I started out to do.
I AM NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN. Learn I will do my darnedest to do.

More on this later

The bunnies won that skirmish

Last night was not a good time.  I thought I had figured out a way to stop the bunnies nibbling off my cone flowers.  Rude awakening!!
I scrounged up some landscape fabric and attached it to the wire fence with zip ties.  Then, gathered up my accumulated rocks and weighted down every bit of the fabric.  Hot, sweaty, discouraging work.  It was 108 and still in the 100's when I was working on this. As of this date, we have had 20 days of 100(+) degree temperatures since June 21 with little or no rain.

NOT A GOOD TIME!!!

Needless to say, the remainder of the evening was spent trying to cool down (mentally and physically) and moping and even some tears.  It was/is so discouraging. Especially since the summers are brutal even without the drought conditions of the past 2 years.

This morning I have been in a more positive mood. There is always something else to do in solving gardening puzzles.
I checked garden blogs for ideas of how to handle the little beastie invasion.
What I learned from that hour or so of searching and reading; this battle has been raging for years and years.  From the volume of suggestions and opinions is this; struggle creates a lot or weird remedies and some that sound promising. It might be fun to meet some of these creative people and talk bunny strategies.

The ultimate end of searching blogs and mulling is that I will change my flower selections.  I discovered an extensive list of plants the bunnies don't like. (Keeping in mind bunnies will eat most anything in a pinch)
I will check on success of these suggestions for a bit and hopefully, pick things for my area that will bloom through out the growing season.  That has always been  my goal. I have attempted (and succeeded) to have some flowers blooming for the bees, butterflies and humming birds.

It should be interesting and hopefully not too expensive or labor intensive.

Too hot to do anything

Thursday Aug 9

I have the green garden cart put together now.  Had to have help.  The cart has sides that "drop" making a flat bed.
I can see lots of uses for this.

The bunnies found some exposed cone flowers that were doing really well. they did not get "captured" by the fencing.  I had blocked them from the beasties and last night forgot.  They ate more than 2/3 of the plants.  There are substantial roots, so maybe they will come back.

Later this evening, I discovered that the little beasties have found a way into the fenced in area.  Slowly nibbling off leaves.

Round one grandma 0 bunnies 1

Keeping busy

Nothing much is happening now that this extreme heat and no rain has set in.
I have purchased a new garden cart.  The old one had sides and bottom of a low grade plywood and just couldn't last outside in all kinds of weather.

The new one is smaller and heavier, but made of metal and painted for outside use. And..... the tires won't go flat.
The only problem, I have to put it together.
The young man who loaded the box into the car said it wasn't difficult. "Just a bolt here and one there and then you add.............." We will see if I can manage it, or have to call on hubby to help. The first hurtle was getting the box out of the car and "waltzing" the 75+ pound, 3x5' box to the patio.





On the agenda for today, before the 102 degree temp., is to trim some branches.  That may mean trim today and gather up tomorrow.  I have a hard time when the sun is full up even when it is cooler. It is already 82 at 5AM.  I have a great toy of my very own.  Don't know how any yard trimming gets done without it. It is called and alligator, manufactured by Black and Decker. It is reasonably priced as well.

What I like is that it is relative light weight for me. I have small hands, but am stronger than the average smallish women.  It works great for limbs of up to 4-5".  The easiest thing is being able to lop the limbs to easier more manageable sizes with it and not the hand tool.