Urban Gardening and Landscaping
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- City Center Square
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
I had a relative tell me that if you have a cat you should clean the fur out of your cat brush and put it around the edge of the garden so the bunnies will smell the cat and stay away. Anyone have feedback on the effectiveness of this strategy? The downside seems to be risk of cat hair in your vegetables but if you have cats in your kitchen that is a risk we live with already.
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- Strip mall
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
You could always make some pantyhose baggies and tie those around.LenexatoKCMO wrote: I had a relative tell me that if you have a cat you should clean the fur out of your cat brush and put it around the edge of the garden so the bunnies will smell the cat and stay away. Anyone have feedback on the effectiveness of this strategy? The downside seems to be risk of cat hair in your vegetables but if you have cats in your kitchen that is a risk we live with already.
- grovester
- Oak Tower
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
yep cat hair and human hair if you're one of those who does their own hair. oh and you should always wash your veggies, even if you grow your own!LenexatoKCMO wrote: I had a relative tell me that if you have a cat you should clean the fur out of your cat brush and put it around the edge of the garden so the bunnies will smell the cat and stay away. Anyone have feedback on the effectiveness of this strategy? The downside seems to be risk of cat hair in your vegetables but if you have cats in your kitchen that is a risk we live with already.
- taxi
- Penntower
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
You put the pantyhose over the cat's head, cat burglar-like, and then the wabbits won't recognize them. Tah dah! You get rabbit and vegetable stew.
"Hit it, lick it, split it and quit it." -James Brown
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- Oak Tower
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
Nope-I've tried that several times to no avail. Others that don't work-human urine, other animal fur or urine, noises, rubber snakes, etc.LenexatoKCMO wrote: I had a relative tell me that if you have a cat you should clean the fur out of your cat brush and put it around the edge of the garden so the bunnies will smell the cat and stay away. Anyone have feedback on the effectiveness of this strategy? The downside seems to be risk of cat hair in your vegetables but if you have cats in your kitchen that is a risk we live with already.
My cat "patrols" the garden-he loves laying in the veggies lying in wait for an unsuspecting critter. Trouble is, he's out of practice and the critters are onto his practices. They are safe. Safe enough that they bathe in their birdbath all the time with him lying on the base.
If you try the cat hair-you wash your veggies anyway-cat hair will wash away.
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- Colonnade
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
Where I live, deer are the problem. The rule of thumb is they don't like stinky or sticky. That may hold true for rabbits. Of course, the joke on the west coast is that the problem with lists of deer-resistant plants, is that deer can't read.FangKC wrote: It doesn't have to be a tall fence. You can buy small, chicken-wire fencing that stands about 36 inches tall and just wrap it around the garden and stake it in the ground with sturdy stakes. Bury about six inches of it under the ground so the rabbits can't dig under it.
You can also plant lavendar and catnip around your garden. Rabbits don't like the smell.
The other option is to keep a beagle in your yard to protect your garden. But then, you still have to fence the garden or the dog will poop in it.
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- Alameda Tower
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
I've heard that cayenne or other powerful chiles work as well. Of course, if the animal is really hungry, they'll just grin and bear it.
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- City Center Square
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
Have to reapply every time there is rain or wattering too.heatherkay wrote: I've heard that cayenne or other powerful chiles work as well. Of course, if the animal is really hungry, they'll just grin and bear it.
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- Colonnade
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
Maybe you should call Elmer Fudd about those 'wascally wabbits'.
- chrizow
- Global Moderator
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
you may want to practice your shot. you can be noshing on some local, sustainably harvested rabbit this spring!
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- City Center Square
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
Not a bad idea - there's no rule against pellet guns in the city is there? Not sure I can talk the GF into cleaning the buggers though. My mind keeps coming back to the distrubing rabbit lady in Roger & Me.
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- Oak Tower
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
One would have to have a very lucky shot to kill an adult rabbit with a pellet gun at any distance.
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- Western Auto Lofts
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
If anyone finds a real solution to the rabbit / squirrel problem, please let me know. I tried about everything I could think of last year other than a .22, and those little bastards ate everything. They especially liked the cucumbers. They didn't get to the jalapenos and would generally leave the cherry tomatoes alone, so if I try a garden again this year I might plant just those two.
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- Bryant Building
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
Disagree Nota. A Co2 powered .177 pellet gun is the near equivilent of a .22 rimfire.nota wrote: One would have to have a very lucky shot to kill an adult rabbit with a pellet gun at any distance.
It will readily dispatch small animals at 50 feet.
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- Western Auto Lofts
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
I came across an article in the 2-18-10 edition of the New York Times about Aquaponic gardening, which is kind of like hydroponic gardening, except you have a recirculating system that feeds your plants nutrient rich water from your fish tank and then filters it and sends back clean water to your tank. You can do it indoors or outdoors in a shed. It's got to be warm enough to keep your fish alive.
If anyone is interested in taking a look, here's some links.
Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics
Youtube - Single videos
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... type=&aq=f
Youtube - Channels
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_t ... tems&uni=3
Rob Torcellini's channel. He's got some vids on how to DIY.
http://www.youtube.com/user/web4deb
Rebecca Nelson - Publisher of the Aquaponics Journal
Her Youtube channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/slywoman1
Her Aquaponic's blog - http://aquaponicgardening.wordpress.com/
Earth Solutions website where they sell their Aquaponic "Farm in a Box" and other materials and parts for your garden.
http://www.earthsolutions.com/Aquaponic ... c_303.html
Travis Hughey's Faith And Sustainable Technologies Co. He calls himself an Agri-Missionary and his site has free step-by-step plans to build your own garden. http://www.fastonline.org/ He also has plans for free to build a bigger aquaponic system that you can use to grow plants while at the same time you raise your own Tilapia. He's grown everything from radishes to Papaya trees in his system.
All of the above came from the article which was in the Home section on page D1.
If anyone is interested in taking a look, here's some links.
Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics
Youtube - Single videos
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... type=&aq=f
Youtube - Channels
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_t ... tems&uni=3
Rob Torcellini's channel. He's got some vids on how to DIY.
http://www.youtube.com/user/web4deb
Rebecca Nelson - Publisher of the Aquaponics Journal
Her Youtube channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/slywoman1
Her Aquaponic's blog - http://aquaponicgardening.wordpress.com/
Earth Solutions website where they sell their Aquaponic "Farm in a Box" and other materials and parts for your garden.
http://www.earthsolutions.com/Aquaponic ... c_303.html
Travis Hughey's Faith And Sustainable Technologies Co. He calls himself an Agri-Missionary and his site has free step-by-step plans to build your own garden. http://www.fastonline.org/ He also has plans for free to build a bigger aquaponic system that you can use to grow plants while at the same time you raise your own Tilapia. He's grown everything from radishes to Papaya trees in his system.
All of the above came from the article which was in the Home section on page D1.
There's nothing wrong with shooting as long as the right people get shot. Harry Callahan
For every moment of triumph, for every instance of beauty, many souls must be trampled. Hunter S. Thompson
For every moment of triumph, for every instance of beauty, many souls must be trampled. Hunter S. Thompson
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- Colonnade
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
If you kill the rabbits, how are you going to get your Easter eggs?
- KCMax
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
Okay, so we're going to make a go at this. When should I start planting? I assume pretty soon with the rainy season coming on?
- FangKC
- City Hall
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
Here is a planting guide published by Kansas State University.
http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/hort2/mf315.pdf
http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/hort2/mf315.pdf
There is no fifth destination.
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- Strip mall
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
We generally don't start planting until around the 3rd week in May. This may help.
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/calendar/gardening/
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/calendar/gardening/
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- Strip mall
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Re: Urban Gardening and Landscaping
So how is everyone's garden doing?
In late April I picked up two tomato plants at the city market, green zebra and cherokee purple (husband wants to know why we can't just have any red tomatoes). the cherokee purple has buds on it already. the tomato plants are planted in an earthbox with topsoil, fertilizer and lime.
On Friday I picked up herb seedlings (turkish oregano, another oregano for the butterflies, spearmint, peppermint, thai basil, sweet basil, rosemary), a fennel seedling and a jalepeno seedling. On Saturday I picked up a canteloupe seedling at the City Market and a watermelon seedling. Yesterday my husband built me a 4 x 2 x 3 raised bed out of cedar and filled it with topsoil, gardening soil, sphagnum peat moss and mushroom compost and planted this new group of seedlings (the cantelope and watermelon may have to come out, it's my first time with them and I've read that they'll need a place to be cradled). \
I'm planning on getting a dwarf meyer lemon tree and a lime tree from Four Winds Growers and will put them in pots on either side of the walkway up to the front door and then move them into the house this winter.
In late April I picked up two tomato plants at the city market, green zebra and cherokee purple (husband wants to know why we can't just have any red tomatoes). the cherokee purple has buds on it already. the tomato plants are planted in an earthbox with topsoil, fertilizer and lime.
On Friday I picked up herb seedlings (turkish oregano, another oregano for the butterflies, spearmint, peppermint, thai basil, sweet basil, rosemary), a fennel seedling and a jalepeno seedling. On Saturday I picked up a canteloupe seedling at the City Market and a watermelon seedling. Yesterday my husband built me a 4 x 2 x 3 raised bed out of cedar and filled it with topsoil, gardening soil, sphagnum peat moss and mushroom compost and planted this new group of seedlings (the cantelope and watermelon may have to come out, it's my first time with them and I've read that they'll need a place to be cradled). \
I'm planning on getting a dwarf meyer lemon tree and a lime tree from Four Winds Growers and will put them in pots on either side of the walkway up to the front door and then move them into the house this winter.