The sugar snap peas have finally grown almost high enough to hide "The Thing".
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It's not a pretty structure, but it is doing what it was meant to do. The birds haven't touched a single leaf of lettuce.
So, what did I do? Last night I built "The Thing II".
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This one is covered with netting. It will protect my existing spinach and beet greens from leaf miners. In a week or two, or whenever the spinach bolts to seed, I'll plant some cabbage. Then it can protect the cabbages from cabbage moths. In the fall, after the cabbage is harvested, I can plant more spinach and beets.
Elsewhere in the garden.......
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The potato/onion patch is looking fantastic! The first planting of corn, just barely visible at the bottom right of the picture, is about 4" high now, and the more recent planting, front center, is just now popping up. The cucumbers in the pot are beginning to put on some growth, as are the nasturtiums in the two pots that are hidden by the cucumbers.
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The potatoes are beginning to blossom.
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The shelling peas are showing multiple blooms.
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The Chinese cabbage is bolting already. I guess I'll pull it out and try again in the fall.
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The chive blossoms are so pretty, I hate to see them fade.
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Tomato Alley is doing great, but the peppers haven't taken off yet.
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The west garden tomatoes are just a little behind in growth. The strawberries in this bed are blooming now.
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Five more tomato plants next to the garden shed. Lettuce seedlings are growing under the blue box, waiting to be transplanted into "The Thing I"
The Thing seems to be working very well for you. I hope The Thing 2 proves to be just as helpful. Everything is growing so well! I am sure the peppers will kick into gear soon.
ReplyDeleteRachel, the peppers got a bit of a setback when we got a couple of days of high winds that left them rather dry and tattered. I only lost one plant though, so I'm thankful for that. The tomato plants were much sturdier, the winds didn't phase them a bit.
DeleteLooks very nice! I asked my hubby to build me one for next spring to protect from leaf-driller that wiped out all my asian greens. The rest of the garden looks gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteJenny, I never had a problem with those pests until these last three years. On the other hand, I used to have problems with tomato horn worms and Colorado potato beetles, and they have been completely non existent during for several years now.
DeleteHi Annie, Your gardens always look so neat and tidy and luscious! I love your Thing I and your Thing II. Will have to see if my wonderful gardener will build me one! I am not as handy as you! Thanks for your asparagus input. Nancy
ReplyDeleteThank you Nancy. You're very lucky to have a husband who likes to garden with you! Mine fixed my sprinkler last night, so I guess I'll keep him around for a while longer ;-)
DeleteI need about 15 of your Thing(s) to protect my blueberry bushes from Mrs. Robin. I told hubby last summer to build me something like that. Still not done. Perhaps I need to hone my carpentry skills. You've done a great job with yours. Glad it's stopped the birds (and the miners and so on and so on) There's a lot of pests out there (besides me!)
ReplyDelete:)
Enjoy the day!
Sue, last week I bought myself a cordless drill/driver. I always hated having to change the bits back and forth to drill the holes, then drive the screws. It just seemed to take forever. Now I use Mr. Granny's for a drill and mine for a power screwdriver, and I can just sail through these small projects! I also found, several years ago, a stapler (non-electric) that can be easily used by my weak, arthritic hands. I love it! Add in MY electric miter saw and a hammer, and it's a piece of pie.
DeleteI'm glad your "Things" are working for you. In regards to enemies my enemies is slugs. I wish there was a "Thing" I could build to keep them out!
ReplyDeleteEveryhting looks great, as usual!
Ed, Sluggo is your friend, but dang it's expensive! I had my worst problem with slugs last year, when I used straw as a mulch. This year I've kept the mulch away (so far) and the only place I've had to use Sluggo is around the rhubarb.
DeleteI like your "things". You could put plastic on them in the fall. Though then they would probably blow away unless they were tacked down. Your garden is growing well. My corn doesn't want to germinate.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, that was my plan for overwintering spinach. I'd like to fill Thing II with it and cover it with plastic. I might have to add a section of 1"x2" at each corner so I could clamp it down to the garden box below, or attach "legs" that could be pushed firmly into the soil.
DeleteI think your Things look great! Much better than some of the things I use to keep critters away from the garden.
ReplyDeleteDave, I don't mind sharing a bit of my garden with those critters, but they're taking more than their share! I have another small lettuce bed that was being destroyed by birds, so I snapped together some heavy white wire squares, the kind I used to make temporary cages for our rabbit, and set that over the lettuce. The openings were just large enough for the birds to get their heads through and yank the small plants along the edge right out by the roots. Back to square one on getting that bed covered!
DeleteLooking good. What's the size of the netting?
ReplyDeleteDavid, that is just regular nylon netting from the fabric store. The kind they use for bridal veils and tutus ;-) It comes in 72" widths, and less than $1 a yard.
Deletewhat an inspiration you are! I think your "thing" is very attractive. I have been trying to protect some strawberries from the birds and my husband created a type of wire cage to keep them out...only problem is that it also keeps me out! He didn't think of a way to harvest the berries without removing most of the structure! But he does try to help! :-)
ReplyDeletePatricia, The Thing I just has lightweight plastic fencing stapled to it. On the top, I stapled it only to the back board, and it's held down by slipping the netting over three screw heads that stick out in the front. I put a couple of "S" hooks on the fence behind it, so I can hook the top up and out of my way to get to the lettuce. Thing II has the netting just clamped to the top for easy removal. Both structures are light enough for me to just pick up and move off the beds if I want, as they are made with 2"x2" lumber for the four corner posts, and 1"x2" lumber for the rails. Thing II is a bit too deep for easy reaching, I should have made it 16-18" high instead of 24"!
Deletewow everything looks amazing....including thing I and II
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mrs. P. Gotta keep that lettuce safe from the birds. I don't want to lose my title!
DeleteYour garden is a work of art, I mean it is just ridiculously hard to compete with. How are we supposed to compete with what you got going on over there? Don't you know you are making it very difficult for your fellow bloggers? Looks great as usual Granny! :)
ReplyDeleteThat is quite a compliment, Kris. I do have my failures you know...bolting plants, a cabbage that just keeled over and died yesterday, without any explanation (later I discovered an ant hill at the base of the plant, and the ants were burrowing into the root!), birds are chewing on my Brussels sprouts. There's always something! Luckily I have a few successes too, and I'm very thankful for them.
DeleteGreat thinking with your thing 1 and thing 2! LOL! Your garden is looking very happy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Holly. Nothing better than a happy garden....unless it's a happy gardener!
DeleteI like your "things". I may have to construct something similar to use in my beds - particularly the mesh netting one as it would be great to use with carrots to keep the carrot fly off of them.
ReplyDeleteGarden is looking gorgeous and productive!
Kitsap, I like them better than just draping the material over the plants, which was flattening them when I watered. I do think I might cut Thing II down from 24" high to 16-18". It hides my flowers!
DeleteAwesome!!
ReplyDeleteFamily Circus, thanks!
DeleteThe garden is impressive. Simply gorgeous, Granny!
ReplyDeleteSide note : After writing out "gorgeous *comma* Granny!" it reminded me of a recent cartoon I've seen. A photo of a grandmother. Caption being "Let's eat Grandma!" then "Let's eat, Grandma!" and finally "punctuation saves lives"
:) Since then I'm on a mission to save lives.
Awww, Stay @ Home, I liked "Simply gorgeous Granny"! Lack of punctuation makes smiles :-)
DeleteIsn't it awesome when you can outwit the birds?!!! :)
ReplyDeleteErin, not only birds, but leaf miner flies and pretty little white cabbage moths!
DeleteI almost asked for permission to show a photo of your Thing One and Thing Two, so I could circumvent any confusion between yours and mine ;-)
I had no idea birds messed with lettuce, are they after insects on the leaves? Love the fence around them though, very nice. Your garden is so pretty; wish ours could look so clean; nut grass is taking over everything!!
ReplyDeleteLoretta, no....they are after the vegetation. I have a terrible problem with sparrows and quail. The quail haven't bothered the garden much this year, as my new next door neighbor mowed down their habitat at the back of her yard, so they have now moved on to an unknown location. The sparrows got so bad I had to plug the holes in the birdhouses to keep them from nesting there. They still nest in the arborvitae by the shed though, and I can watch them as they ravage the unprotected lettuce. Fortunately, they left the peas alone this year. A flock of sparrows can decapitate those in seconds! They also eat the leaves of some of the brassicas. My Brussels sprouts have been munched. They don't seem to care for the color red though, so they usually leave the red leafed lettuces alone.
ReplyDelete