Let's Talk about Gardens

@sueinmn Our little town started a trading hub online. No cash, just barter. Trading seeds and starts back and forth, or trade for eggs, yard work, homemade soaps and lotions, etc. I don't know what will grow here, and don't have the knowledge to keep it growing ;)) My neighbor started some sunflowers for me in their greenhouse.

@jimhd Yeah...deer. We have 5 who regularly make our front yard their bedding place each night. Pretty to look at, drives the cat crazy, but what a mess! We also have squirrels and fox to contend with for munchers. No big deal as to the cougar and bear, they don't bother the plants!

Ginger

In my previous home, we'd come home late at night, and the group of deer that was bedded down in the front yard looked at us, but stayed put as we walked past them into the house.

One year the town herd became more than a nuisance so the council asked a local hunter to thin out the herd, targeting first any injured ones and ones that were weak from an illness. The deer were threatening kids at school, and it's not good for wildlife to get dependent on the things they grazed on in town, and to become too used to people. The herd seemed always to swell in numbers the first day of hunting season.

The same was true with coyotes and cougars. They attacked some horses which subsequently had to be put down, and scaring the kids at school. But the cougars did help thin the deer population.

Jim

@sueinmn Our little town started a trading hub online. No cash, just barter. Trading seeds and starts back and forth, or trade for eggs, yard work, homemade soaps and lotions, etc. I don't know what will grow here, and don't have the knowledge to keep it growing ;)) My neighbor started some sunflowers for me in their greenhouse.

@jimhd Yeah...deer. We have 5 who regularly make our front yard their bedding place each night. Pretty to look at, drives the cat crazy, but what a mess! We also have squirrels and fox to contend with for munchers. No big deal as to the cougar and bear, they don't bother the plants!

Ginger

Can't get garden seeds? There has been a run on online seed companies on the internet, so some have quit taking orders and others show delayed shipping - but all is not lost!
Look in your shed or garage! If you have partial packets of seeds a year or two old, they will probably grow just fine. If you look on line, you can find ways to test germination - it only takes a few days to see if seeds are viable. Here is one link: https://www.southernexposure.com/how-to-test-germination/
Another tip - at this time of year, there is often a rack of seeds in the grocery store - maybe not the exact variety you would like, but we're all having to adapt.
And it is one of the places we still need to go to - so it's not an extra outing.
One final idea - ask your gardening neighbors or friends if they have extra seeds or plant starts to share - these can be left on your front step to practice social isolation...
Happy gardening!
Sue

Thanks for the prompt, Sue! Today is The day I go to the garage and select some "saved" seeds to send my grands! Sigh, I am sometimes far too proficient at procrastinating about some things. Just Do It sister! vbg

Thanks for the prompt, Sue! Today is The day I go to the garage and select some "saved" seeds to send my grands! Sigh, I am sometimes far too proficient at procrastinating about some things. Just Do It sister! vbg