I know what you are thinking…I just spent all day tilling, weeding and planting this garden hoping to get fresh veggies in a few weeks, and along comes Mr. Squirrel. Mr. Squirrel knows your favorite plant and starts there, digging it up, eating some, and removing the rest to save for later!

The most common squirrels in Tennessee are the gray squirrels. Gray squirrels breed in mid-December and again in June. They will always be working a ‘labor of love’ right before and during those times. Home ranges can be from 1 to 100 acres, depending on food availability.

Squirrel damage in a garden is difficult to control, and squirrels removed are quickly replaced by new arrivals. There are a couple of ways to try and control the damage…1. Newly seeded and planted gardens can be protected by placing ¼ in. wire mesh cages over the seeded areas or plants. Make sure to bury the wire several inches below the soil. You can remove the wire after the plants are established, or just let your plants grow through them. 2. Methyl nonyl ketone crystals are repellents labeled for border treatments to protect vegetable gardens. Use as directed. Most people don’t like this idea because it is a ‘chemical’. 3. If you are bored, you can set out live traps and remove Mr. Squirrel from your yard, but beware of Mrs. Squirrel!

Just remember, Squirrels are gardeners too, sort of. They bury peanuts and forget where they put them. They are one of the most effective forest restoration creatures on the planet!

That has been a question asked by many people for many years. There has been many remedy ideas thrown around and very few of them I have had good results with. Moth balls, Hot pepper powder, shooting water, all these things don’t give good results.

We have two issues going on; Lora’s problem is the neighbor’s dogs are coming over and killing her bushes. Other people have their own dog’s killing their bushes.

Dogs are creatures of habit. My operations manager at my garden center was/is a dog trainer for the last 24 years and I asked him what solutions he had for this problem. He gave me the answer of training them to not use the bushes as a bathroom. If the dog is yours and you have lots of time to train, then using a shock collar or a citronella collar works well. Every time you let the dog out, you watch for him to hike and then you shock. If you are consistent, then the dog will start associating the bushes as a bad thing and will stay away. The citronella collar, instead of shocking will put off a mist of spray, and dogs hate citronella scent.

Now, for Lora’s problem of neighbor’s dogs. She obviously cannot use a collar on those dogs, so what are her options? Well, according to my friend, she needs to invest about $40 in an above ground electric fence. They are designed for dogs and you set them up around the perimeter of the shrubs. Let the dog pee on an electric fence and I would say that after the second time, your problem will be solved. Remember, dogs are creatures of habit, once he associates peeing on that bush as painful, he will not come back. Then you can remove the fence and sell it to a neighbor to get your money back!!

It all started when someone decided to make money selling black plastic to make money and call it weed control.  My mom and I got sucked into this web of lies about 16 years ago.  We had moved into a new house and ripped up all the overgrown shrubs and backfilled with dirt to make raised beds all the way around the house.  To prevent weeds, we laid down the black plastic before we planted anything.  Today, they sell Fabric.  The claim is it prevents weeds for up to 8 years and the fabric lets water move through to protect the plants water supply.

Let’s talk about this scenario for a minute.  Where do weeds come from should be our first question.  There are two different types of weeds: Grassy weeds and Broadleaf weeds.  We will discuss those in depth in another blog.

The worst grassy weed is Bermuda grass.  It grows ANYWHERE!  It spreads by runners, and will creep under the fabric and strengthen itself dramatically before it ever pokes its head through a crack in the fabric.  By then it is too late to control.  Fescue, goosegrass, and nutsedge are other grassy weeds in flower beds.

Let’s talk about your run of the mill weed.  This involves chickweed, henbit (the purple flower), dandelion, clover etc.  All these guys are seasonal one time growers.  They will die in the winter, and reseed in the spring.  Which brings me to the point I am trying to make, they reseed themselves.  How are seeds transferred?  They are transported by wind, dogs, lawnmowers, birds etc.  What I mean is, they are airborne.

Ok, here’s my point, Black Fabric that is under the mulch will prevent nothing, because seeds come from the air, germinate on top of the mulch, and root out in your plastic so that it pulls up with the weed and shows through the mulch forever.  It allows Bermuda grass to establish a permanent structure within your flower bed that you will never get under control.  And, Oh, by the way, it doesn’t drain water!!  I poured a cup of water on it in 90 degree weather one day and the water stayed until the job was completed that day.

Needless to say, my mom and I have since pulled up every sliver of plastic and have not used it again.  The answer to weeds is using Treflan.  I will discuss Treflan in another blog, stay tuned.