How to Keep Raccoons Out of your Home Vegetable Garden

I love the commercial on TV where a lady is at her back door and she is calling for her cat that she had let out. Using the normal calls for domesticated cats she tries fervently to retrieve her pet. Unbeknownst to her, due to her poor eye sight, she thinks she is letting in her cat when it turns out to actually be a raccoon. This commercial holds true to life exactly what you could be doing with raccoons in your own vegetable garden. Your vegetable garden is an inviting source since it gives them easy access to the food they need.

Issues with raccoons most often occur in areas close to the woods, a forest and sometimes in the city if you live near an alleyway with lots of dumpsters. In order to get the best solutions for raccoons I once turned to the experts on our vegetable gardening Facebook fan page. Here is what they came up with.

Traps
Traps are a good way to remove not only raccoons from your home vegetable garden, but other rodents as well. They are fairly inexpensive and can be used over and over. Many of the respondents to the post suggested using dog food as bait as that seemed to work well for them. Once trapped drive the animal at least 10 miles from your home to a wooded area and release it. Just be careful when you do. Raccoons are very protective of their young, in the event you trap their babies as well.

Animal Control
If trapping the animals yourself is not appealing many areas have animal control that is available to them. A phone call or two to your local animal control and they can take care of the problem for you. They might even have the cages to rent so the raccoons can be trapped and they will get rid of them for you.

Hot Pepper Spray/Powder
This one is also popular for squirrel control as well and that is to either use hot pepper powder/flakes and surround the perimeter of your garden with it or crush hot peppers and mix them with water, blend thoroughly and put in a spray bottle to create a pepper spray that you can also spray the perimeter of your garden with. You will have to reapply after every rainfall. The hot pepper works as a good repellent.

Water Sprinkler on a Motion Detector
This was my favorite option of all and that was to put a water sprinkler on that would spray water once a connected motion detector sensed something was moving in the garden. It is safe to both the gardener and the animals of course and all respondents that used this method claimed the raccoon problems were gone within a week. Just remember to shut it off when you are heading to the garden or you may become a victim of your own trap.

If you have an issue with raccoons or other animals that are causing problems in your home vegetable garden then put one or all four of these methods to work for you. You could be raccoon free in no time.

About the Author
Mike is the administrator for the largest vegetable gardening group on Facebook. You can join the vegetable gardening group for free.

Fixing the Clay Issue in your Home Vegetable Garden

Having clay in your soil is a very common problem. You may not know where it came from, but rest assure you know it is in your vegetable garden. Clay, like many other elements in nature, naturally occurs usually through a gradual weathering of rocks or some other silicate based item. The biggest disadvantage to having clay soil is poor drainage and when water sits in the soil the roots of your plant will rot.

You may have an issue with clay in your soil but so do many other people and that is why we posted on our vegetable gardening Facebook fan page this very question. ‘How do I solve the issue with clay in my soil?’ As usual we received a tremendous amount of responses to the question from our thousands of experts. Here are the two answers that came in on top as the most popular.

Raised Beds
I write a whole book on the benefits of raised bed gardening. In fact, many expert vegetable gardeners have. Raised bed gardening is the practice by which you raise up the soil beds to plant your seeds and vegetable plants. This can be done by using pots, or building box planters and so on. Raised bed gardening allows you to control the soil that is in the raised bed as well as creates the means by which you will have plenty of water drainage.

Organic Matter
Although Alex suggested that you drink plenty of whisky and hope that the problem goes away, he and many other expert vegetable gardeners like Alex, suggested mixing in large amounts of organic matter such as leaves, grass clippings, your left over dinner, and cow or chicken manure to name a few. Large amounts of buried organic matter will attract an underlying ecosystem that will break this matter down into useable valuable compost. Over time with a strict regiment of heavy organic feeding to your soil, the clay will be replaced with wonderful fluffy rich dark soil.

Both items listed above will solve your clay soil problem and if you were to combine the two you should never have any more problems with it. Your beds will have adequate drainage due to the raised beds and your plants will have all the nutrients they need due to the organic matter.

About the Author
Mike the Gardener Enterprises, LLC is the exclusive home of the seeds of the month club where you can get 4 packs of vegetable, fruit and herb seeds every month.

Solving Your Vegetable Garden`s Water Problem

Last vegetable gardening season marked one of the wettest we have had on record here in the northeast part of the United States. It seemed to rain nearly every day and when the rain fell it was not a light drizzle but constant down pours. Your vegetable, fruit and herb plants require water just like everything else in life, but too much water can do more harm then good.

Regardless of the amount of rain you receive there are remedies that you can implement that will help whisk away the excess water. I recently posted this question on our vegetable gardening Facebook fan page to see what the expert gardeners had to say and what they recommend helps them through periods of too much water.

It is a light hearted fan page so we do receive some funny solutions from our expert vegetable gardeners, which included Orvil`s suggestion of using sponges, to Mickie`s naked rain dance and of course Franny saying to “just tell the rain to go away.” All great suggestions of course, but none really too practical. They did have more real world solutions though and here they are.

Water Crystals
Available for just a few bucks from your home or garden center, water crystals make for a great way to help absorb the excess water. A very practical solution for those with smaller gardens, but if you have a larger garden then this option could get pricey so keep that in mind.

Sand/Compost Mixture
Many suggested using a good mix of sand and compost together too help absorb the excess water while at the same time using the water run off itself to push the nutrients of the compost into the soil.

Moat/Trench/Raise the Beds
This was the most popular answer and I have combined all three of them here because the premise works the same for all three. The idea is to create a drain where the excess water will run off away from the plants and into the moat or trench. Raising the beds of your garden will create a natural trench between the rows. One person suggested a very creative idea and that was to whisk that run off through a French drain into some rain barrels so that the excess water can be used at a later date when you may experience dry spells.

These are just three of the many solutions that are available out there to make sure your vegetable plants do not receive too much water. Remember, too much water for a plant could result in root rot which will kill your vegetable plant. So make sure you monitor how much moisture your soil contains. You can either pick up a soil meter from your local home or garden center for a few bucks or go the el cheapo route like me and pick up a handful of dirt from your garden and squeeze it. If water drips out after you squeeze it, your soil has too much. If that is the case, try one of the solutions above and test regularly until you have your water issues under control.

About the Author
Mike the Gardener Enterprises, LLC is the exclusive home of the seeds of the month club where you can get 4 packs of vegetable, fruit and herb seeds every month.

Keeping Cats Out of your Home Vegetable Garden

What a better way to see the fruits of your labor then to grow a vegetable garden, right? You spend countless hours making sure you do everything right so that the fruit and vegetables you harvest are the best tasting you have ever grown.

However, looking through your kitchen window one morning you notice your neighbor’s cat decides to use your home vegetable garden as their personal litter box to do their business. Don’t get mad at the cat, (maybe your neighbor though). The cat is just working off of their instincts as to how they were taught so they see a spot that looks like where they should go and, well, they go.

Just like the cat’s owner trained it to do it’s business in an appropriate spot, you must train the cat that the appropriate spot is not your vegetable garden. We asked our experts on our Facebook vegetable gardening page as to what methods they use to deter cats from doing their business in their vegetable gardens, and here is what they came up with.

Are you a dog person? This seemed to be the biggest consensus for many who responded, and that was to get yourself a dog to let the cat know not to enter the yard. Of course with owning a dog comes a great responsibility in many cities and towns all over the world, from licensing to shots, to leash laws and the list goes on and on. So keep this in mind if this is the route you choose.

A number of people suggested using cocoa mulch to act as a natural deterrent for cats and although I have read no scientific studies that suggest this, those that did post this claimed it worked great and one person wrote that it even helped with her snail problem.

The next method of choice for deterring cats was to sprinkle hot pepper flakes in and around the area where you see the cat attempt to do its thing. However, those that wrote in that used this method said that after a rain, you need to replenish the source. In other words put down more hot pepper flakes.

There are also a number of devices that came up in the conversation. The one mentioned the most was netting over the garden. This allows for the plants to receive the sunlight, water and nutrients they need and at the same time keeps the cats out. Another popular device, although it was not named, was an electronic device that emits a sound that is unheard of to humans but apparently not liked very well by the cats in the neighborhood. You will have to do a Google search on such devices to find out what works best for you.

Finally, last but not least, but last for a reason, was to contact your local SPCA or animal control department to rent some cages and trap the cat. Just like dogs, cats have rules they must abide by as well so your neighbor just can’t let their cat roam around all over the place. I left this for last, because this should be a last resort after all of the above have failed. You don’t want to create a war with your neighbor over something that could be handled differently. However, if you tried everything else, then go this route. The local animal control board will warn your neighbor about the issue.

Cats make great pets; there is no question about it. But you do not want them to interfere with your home vegetable garden and you certainly do not want them to do their business there. Try the methods above to make sure you can deter them from causing you any problems.

About the Author
Mike the Gardener Enterprises, LLC is the exclusive home of the seeds of the month club where you can get 4 packs of vegetable, fruit and herb seeds every month.

Home Vegetable Gardening: Support Your Tomatoes with These Ideas

Tomatoes rank first as the most popular item to grow in a home vegetable garden. Although botanically they are classified as a fruit, most people refer to them as vegetables. Regardless of what you call them, there are literally thousands of varieties to choose from. You can get them in the small variety such as cherry, grape or roma up through the big boys like beefsteak and each of those choices come in a widening array of colors. Whew! That’s a lot to think about right?

Not really. The number one recommendation of what to grow from many, if not all, of the vegetable gardeners I speak with at my vegetable gardening Facebook fan page is a simple straight forward one. Grow what you will eat. Don’t waste your time growing tomatoes that will just end up in the compost pile. The idea of growing your own food is to save money and grow food you like to eat.

With all of that said, most tomato varieties have weak stems. In other words the tomatoes produced are too heavy for the support system that the plant itself provides and will, therefore, lead the plant to fall over. The last thing you want as a home vegetable gardener is to have your tomatoes lying in the mud after a big rain. Here are some ideas that some of our Facebook members have come up with to give those tomatoes the support you need.

Cages
This is the basic method by which most people use including yours truly. With the protected cages available today that can withstand the weather elements, once purchased they can last you forever (so as long as you put them away in the winter time).

PVC
I have not tried this one myself but this recommendation came from on of our members who swear by it. They use the PVC by placing it behind the plant and then lightly tying the plant to the PVC. One person suggested growing the tomato plant inside the PVC tube, although I am not 100% how that works.

Rebar
Able to some rebar for free off of craigslist one member said they drive the rebar vertically into the soil and use it as a stake. They use expandable Velcro ties (available at your local home or garden center), to tie the plants to the rebar.

Fence Posts
One member wrote in that they asked a neighbor for the fence posts of an old wooden fence they were taking down. The fencing was made from cedar and was neither stained nor treated, which is good because you do not want any chemicals near your tomatoes or any other vegetable for that matter. Attach to the fence post with one of the previously mentioned methods.

Lattice Fence
Another very creative idea that came in that I am definitely going to give a try to this season is the use of lattice fencing. A quick image search on Google will show what lattice fencing looks like. In any event, this one particular member actually weaved the tomato plants through the lattice as it grew. Very creative indeed and the plant was very well supported.

These are just five of the many, and I really mean many, ways to prop up your tomato plants. Pick a method that works best for the style of tomato plant you are growing and the area in which it grows. Over time you will find what works best for your home vegetable garden.

About the Author
Mike the Gardener Enterprises, LLC is the exclusive home of the seeds of the month club where you can sign up and receive 4 packs of vegetable, fruit and herb seeds every month.