F!#*ing Weeds and Other Annoying Issues in the Home Vegetable Garden

The number one issue of most home vegetable gardeners that I talk to that aggravates them the most are weeds. The getting down on your knees with a pair of good garden gloves, gripping the weed tight, pulling the persistent pest in the hopes that you get the root, only to find out that a few days later you didn’t, and the weed is back. This describes a common problem that we all face as home vegetable gardeners but are some others.

To get more answers I turned to, where else, our Vegetable Gardening page on Facebook where we received a plethora of answers. Here are the most popular.

Rabbits

They are cute and cuddly until they get into your lettuce patch and then they become something on your wish list for tomorrow night’s dinner. Many remedies were listed from human hair to the family dog and everything in between. Regardless of the remedy the rabbit was the top critter on the list of annoyances.

Deer

Not an issue where I live, thankfully, but for many of our responders, deer rank right up there as a problem. Due to their size and their appetite your garden is an inviting atmosphere for them, especially if you leave it unprotected. Six foot high fences and coverings were listed as potential deer deterrents, although one person did say a shotgun during hunting season works well. I’ll leave that up to you guys.

Weather

I can attest to this one. Nothing can be more aggravating than the unpredictability of the weather. Just when you thought the fear of frost was gone, bang, mother nature laughs at you and delivers a nice healthy dose of frigid temps overnight, delaying your vegetable gardening season.

The Neighbor’s Cat

I am fortunate as I do not have this issue. My neighbors do not have any pets besides the indoor domesticated fish, more commonly known as the goldfish, although I doubt the fish will be hurting my garden anytime soon. However, for a lot of responders the neighbor’s cat is a big problem because it likes to use their gardens as the litter box. Many simple told their neighbor and the issue seem to go away, but for some it took trapping the cat. Use your own judgment, they are your neighbors.

There were countless others posted, too many to list here, and I am sure you have your own.

About the Author
Mike Podlesny is a contributing writer for Mike the Gardener Enterprises, LLC, who operates the largest Vegetable Gardening page on Facebook and the widely popular Seeds of the Month Club.