DH surprised me with a garden! advice please!

naturalmommy · #1 (**permalink**) 05-05-2009, 12:37 AM

Well, Our backyard was a jungle...and I never would garden in it because Dh was supposed to clean it up first.

He spent 2 weekends ago cleaning up the back yard and creating a place for me to garden... last weekend... he surprised me with plants!

he planted tomatoes, peppers, watermelon and strawberries!

i bought carrot and snap pea seeds which havent been planted yet.

im really excited... especially since he let my last tomato and pepper plant die.

I cannot wait to get some new veggies/ fruit that i dont have to pay an arm/leg for!

how do I keep the birds away from them? any safe stuff to put around or on my veggies/fruit to keep them from being eaten before I can get them off the vine?

thanks!

Virginia · #2 (**permalink**) 05-05-2009, 08:50 AM

Here are some ideas: use anti-bird netting to cover your strawberries. Also, scarecrows are supposed to chase away birds. They have some on the market in different shape and sizes, like an inflatable snake, owls and hawks. You could hang something shiny (flash tape streamers, old cds stuff like that) to scare them away. Hope this helps. Thanks; Virginia

FreebieQueen · #3 (**permalink**) 05-05-2009, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virginia

You could hang something shiny (flash tape streamers, old cds stuff like that) to scare them away.

Just a note- hanging old cd's can actually be a Fire hazard. If you are prone to dry spells or drought and you have a cd hanging in the sunshine, it can reflect and start a wildfire.

This came to my attention last year when we noticed burn marks on the lawn.

binkygirl716 · #4 (**permalink**) 05-06-2009, 10:51 AM

Lucky Lady to have such a helping hubby......I started my planting this year also.. have tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, and garden beans... thsi year we added on the squash and garden beans.. next year want to try to container potatoes.. am excited about that....

jaime · #5 (**permalink**) 05-06-2009, 11:55 AM

Good luck with your new garden. I have used the snake and netting over my strawberries and it works fine. Be sure to plant some zucchini...one plant goes a long way

brchbell · #6 (**permalink**) 05-06-2009, 02:22 PM

What size is your garden? You mentioned it was a jungle so you might want to mulch as much as you can around the plants and walk ways. Just use organic stuff that can be mixed into the garden at the end of the season. Cardboard strips work great in the walkways. newspaper is easy to tear and work around plants. leaves and grass clippings. Be careful with a lot of green grass clippings as they will rot and get slimy. I mix them with other things then spread it out. A 2 to 4" mulch can keep weeds from coming back up. The mulch will also hold moisture so you water less. Good luck with your garden!

naturalmommy · #7 (**permalink**) 05-12-2009, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FreebieQueen

Just a note- hanging old cd's can actually be a Fire hazard. If you are prone to dry spells or drought and you have a cd hanging in the sunshine, it can reflect and start a wildfire.

This came to my attention last year when we noticed burn marks on the lawn.

wow... That is us... we are really dry and hot here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binkygirl716

Lucky Lady to have such a helping hubby......I started my planting this year also.. have tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, and garden beans... thsi year we added on the squash and garden beans.. next year want to try to container potatoes.. am excited about that....

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaime

Good luck with your new garden. I have used the snake and netting over my strawberries and it works fine. Be sure to plant some zucchini...one plant goes a long way

thanks so much!!!!!

yeah... it was a jungle... Hubby cleaned a lot, and we are doing more soon.

I think we are adding carrots and snap peas soon, too.

thank you for all your ideas, ladies!!!!

our garden is only about 3 ftX maybe 6Ft. for now. We have an entire perimeter of our grass/yard to use if needed.

redring · #8 (**permalink**) 05-13-2009, 01:46 AM

happy for you!! I told Dh today about your sweet superise and he told me good luck....... got to love our husbends. I love my garden and there is somthing really satisfying about working in it. Enjoy and dont forget to check out seed swaping for free seeds and saveing your own to trade with others. It helps a lot!

naturalmommy · #9 (**permalink**) 06-20-2009, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redring

happy for you!! I told Dh today about your sweet superise and he told me good luck....... got to love our husbends. I love my garden and there is somthing really satisfying about working in it. Enjoy and dont forget to check out seed swaping for free seeds and saveing your own to trade with others. It helps a lot!

thanks!!!!! its been a while since I have been on. DH killed my plants.

our Sprinkler head broke, and he didnt know, so it drowned my plants.

I couldnt salvage them, but we have some more seeds and Ill be planting more next season.