year end clearance "sale"

that knife looks big and scary!! :)

I have a few of those trays … Last year I bought the little pellets for planting the seeds. They were great -

Merry Christmas; Happy Birthday!

(oh and the herbs… pretty cool.)

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Checked out the knife … I would think the weeds would “scream, then curl up and die from fright” just seeing you coming “at them” with that thing. Heck, no need to actually “weed’ !! ;-)

Congrats on the success of the Herbs!!! I think one of the best aspects of gardening (flower or veggie) is watching the plants grow from day to day. It is really amazing …

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

I’ve got an old hori hori that I used back in my commercial landscaping days. I need to shine it up so that I can show it off (it’s embarassingly old and rusty looking!).

It’s a wonderful tool and will serve you well to help you rule your garden with samurai style!

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

How in Hades do you use such a knife in the garden? I use a pair of pruners and a trowel. Maybe a pocket knife once and a while. Do you live in a jungle and didn’t tell us? LOL. :)

Are you planning on having large pots of herbs inside or outside?

-- wjl - 5a Indiana

The hori hori is a multi-function tool. It’s good for planting bulbs (stab and make a circular motion). The serration on the edge is good for cutting/sawing through any roots that may be in your way while digging.

It’s weighty, and balanced perfectly to hurl at pesky squirrels.

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

So would those be black squirrels you are “hurling” at … LOL!!!!

(Here in Michigan we have the most BOLD Black Squirrels you have ever seen; afraid of NOTHING nor anyone!)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

Yep! Black squirrels are the bane of my bulbs, and they love to harass my dogs.

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

I wonder if it’ll intimidate the raccoons. I’ll bang on the window – They’ll just look up at me, stare, and go right back to eating out of the birdfeeders – two feet from my kitchen window! Meanwhile the cats are cowering in the corner. If I go outside to lob a few ice cubes their way. They’ll stop. sigh. and slowly start climbing down, and slowly lumber off, checking every few feet to see if I’ve gone away. after an eternity they’ll finally make it to the edge of the yard. Bold buggers. At least my chippes and squirrels run away at the merest hint of movement.

-- southern NH. - smack dab in the middle of 5a and 5b - with lots of shade and full sun, in all the wrong places.

You need to escalate.

1) Use a slingshot with the ice-cubes. F=ma
2) Tie the hori hori to the end of a long stick, or one of those paint roller extension rods.

Or, you can whip up a special dose of Muy Caliente pepper spray. The buggers don’t like it one bit.

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

The bird feeder episode (while comically funny) has only happened a few times in the past 5 years – probably perpetuated by the fact I’ve run out of bird seed….
I’ve “been aware of skunks” more recently than I’ve seen the coons.

I like the sound of the pepper route. – can that be scattered to keep everyone out of the veg garden too?

-- southern NH. - smack dab in the middle of 5a and 5b - with lots of shade and full sun, in all the wrong places.

Some companies market a spray. If you’re industrious, you can make your own with a variety of super-hot peppers in your blender. If you’re brave, add a measure of vodka and set aside a glass for yourself.

Just kidding… Take this puree from Hades, and using a basting brush (for the love of Pete, don’t touch it with your bare hands!), dab around the routes of egress for pests.

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

Actually I have dampened the leaves and just sprinkled “pepper” on my plants to keep away the bunnies and it works. But I have bought the pepper spray too and it does work magically.

OHHHHHH, skunks, well that is a whole ‘nother story in my book. Never seen one but man you know they are around by the smell at night. Personally, I DO NOT want to SEE one … so this “night thing” works real well for me—:-)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

Rick was sitting on the deck early one morning and around the corner came a skunk (about 3 feet away). The skunk looked at him, wide eyed. and Rick looked at the skunk, wide-eyed.. and they both headed in opposite directions—Rick running and the skunk sauntering, as they do.

I bet the hot pepper idea keeps a lot of “pests” away…

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I caught a skunk in a have-a-hart trap… luckily for me it was unable to move much in there – couldn’t lift it’s tail. BUT I still put a towel over it, carefully carried it to the woods, opened it carefully – away from me, and Hi-tailed it out of there!

It’s worse when one occasionally get hit on the highway behind our back woods.

-- southern NH. - smack dab in the middle of 5a and 5b - with lots of shade and full sun, in all the wrong places.

Cute story … and funny too!!!

Two years ago we had an ABUNDANCE of rabbits. Cute, but they were eating EVERYTHING. My neighbor woke up one morning to ALL of her Hosta’s chewed right down to the ground. I mean nothing left. I had many expensive Hosta’s that I was growing so was a tad nervous (okay a lot nervous) about the rabbit issue. I remembered my grandfather (he being from the “old country”) saying how he used pepper to keep pests away. Me not real knowledgeable in “poison or pest control” really thought he meant pepper … the table kind; what did I know about spray. So after wetting down my Hosta leaves, I heavily sprinkled my black pepper all over the leaves. Rabbits never touched my Hosta’s that summer.

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

I think I’ll pick up an assortment of hot peppers from the market throw em in the blender and make a pepper smoothie, then go to town on the house and yard… maybe even fill up a spray bottle (or super soaker) with some habanero tea, you know, just in case.

-- southern NH. - smack dab in the middle of 5a and 5b - with lots of shade and full sun, in all the wrong places.

a few years ago my mom had Rick set a trap to catch the critter that was leaving a mess of poo all over our deck.
He caught 2 skunks and 2 raccoons. The skunks never bothered during the trapping process or release.
The one night though, it was interesting as the skunk was sitting in the cage and a big raccoon came along and they “chatted” for a quite a few minutes before the raccoon moved along. (We watched from our bedroom window).

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Ah, skunks. And dogs. One summer, one dog got hit twice, and the other got hit once. Always just as we were going to bed. Apparently the boys got one upset about 20 feet from the house that first time, and shot ‘em both pretty much in the face. I ran outside and felt like I was hit by riot police (not that I would ever have any idea what that’s actually like), I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see.

The dogs were so upset that they didn’t want to come back through the toxic cloud to get inside to get bathed. It was a rough night. You know, we read up on different cleansers and shampoos and other remedies (like tomato juice), but nothing seemed to get the stench out of those dogs for literally weeks. I’m talking like 6-8 weeks.

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

Can’t and don’t want to imagine the smell … laughed, but felt awful for your dogs!

I am loving these critter stories!!!

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

Rick says that when you can see the green mist then you know you are close!!
We were at a corn roast once and my husband, soon after we got there, came up to me and said,, “we’re going home. Now”. what? why? “we’re going home. get in the car.” Ok.. as we started to walk to the car .. yah.. gag… he had been sprayed… how, you ask. Here are his words: “I didn’t know that baby skunks could spray.” He had been in their garden, saw a baby, and picked it up.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I’ve seen the mist, or something like it… back in grade school there happened to be a dead skunk in the middle of the road. We lived in a small town, but on a state highway. Not a lot of traffic, but fast when it came by – we weren’t allowed to ride our bikes.

While my sister and I were waiting for the bus, we got a kick out of all the cars that would swerve at the last minute to avoid hitting the skunk. – You could tell if it were a squirrel or anything else they’d not have bothered trying to avoid it…

we kept watching, as one car didn’t swerve… I remember seeing a cloud come up, almost sparkling in the morning sun, spread out and – UGH!!!! – the bus couldn’t come quick enough after that.

I don’t recall smelling bad all day – just bothered by the memory of that Horrible post mortem revenge spray… and how long it took for the bus to offer us deliverance.

-- southern NH. - smack dab in the middle of 5a and 5b - with lots of shade and full sun, in all the wrong places.

hehehe from a “ha ha” moment to a “doh” moment… :)

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

When the boys were nailed, it was full dark, so there was no discernable cloud…but I’m sure that it was there and that it was in the shape of a skull and crossbones.

There is definitely a difference between day-old road kill skunk stank, and actively PO’d skunk stank. It’s almost as though the stank molecules were alive; and crawling into my nose.

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

A friend of mine was going from his kitchen to his garage (not attached to the house) so when he exited out of the house it was dark and as he was taking a step he thought he kicked a cat then whammo he said all I could feel ws the spray hitting my face then he said he went to anothe step to turn get in his garage to wipe off his face and he kicked the cat again Whammo sprayed again.

I went over to see him the next day and he would not come out of his house to see me but his girlfriend (who I went to college with) showed me the imprint of Dave on the back storm door. I could believe the the mess that little bugger let out. Lessen do not kick the cat. Honestly you did not need to be there for this to be funny at all.

-- Living on the level... Central Ontario...1.25 hrs from TO.......Zone 5a

NO words … just tears from laughter!!!!

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

ROFLMAO!!

-- Living on the square...Metro Detroit

We have skunks here. Lots of skunks. They don’t bother my gardens or my trash, and my critters aren’t allowed outside, so we have had no problems. However, one evening our boarder was sitting on the deck watching the twilight fall, when, bold as brass, up the front steps strolls a black and white “putty tat”. Frank was in the door quite quickly, leaving a clear path for Pepe to stroll the length of the deck and down the back steps.
As far as getting rid of the smell, after the dog’s been sprayed, don’t know. Never found anything that worked, except time.

-- the day you quit learning is the day you quit living.