Where did my blueberries go???

[Dawgluver]

<<spitting bits of mesh>>

noted.

AHA!!!

 

[justplainbill]

If it's coons you should see some scat.

 

[Dawgluver]

If it's coons you should see some scat.

No scat. I'm leaning toward ground squirrels and catbirds. I now have just under a dozen blueberries left.

Something is also taking a bite out of many ripening tomatoes, probably the same culprits.

And I think a deer reached over my 5 foot high fenced in veg garden and pruned the tops off several pepper plants.

Next year I'm planting Astroturf.

 

[Timothy]

No scat. I'm leaning toward ground squirrels and catbirds. I now have just under a dozen blueberries left.

Something is also taking a bite out of many ripening tomatoes, probably the same culprits.

And I think a deer reached over my 5 foot high fenced in veg garden and pruned the tops off several pepper plants.

Next year I'm planting Astroturf.

A live trap baited with some blueberries should do the trick!

When you fix the netting and relocate the critter, you should start getting some berries to keep!

 

[Dawgluver]

A live trap baited with some blueberries should do the trick!

When you fix the netting and relocate the critter, you should start getting some berries to keep!

I have a neverending supply of critters...

 

[Somebunny]

I feel your pain Dawgluver, I had to replace one of my blueberry bushes (I only have two) a couple of months ago. I planted it one evening, the next afternoon I went out to have a look at it and discovered that the deer had given it a haircut already! (by at least a third). That was some expensive deer feed! These are urban deer, we really don't live in the "country". They also ate all the leaves off of the strawberries and mowed down the raspberries. I noticed this week that either the rabbits and or the deer have been munching the tops off the peas and green beans. I had to replace two pepper plants earlier which I now have caged. Our garden is small and I suspect that the critters may win this battle and enjoy more of the harvest than we will :-(

 

[Dawgluver]

I feel your pain Dawgluver, I had to replace one of my blueberry bushes (I only have two) a couple of months ago. I planted it one evening, the next afternoon I went out to have a look at it and discovered that the deer had given it a haircut already! (by at least a third). That was some expensive deer feed! These are urban deer, we really don't live in the "country". They also ate all the leaves off of the strawberries and mowed down the raspberries. I noticed this week that either the rabbits and or the deer have been munching the tops off the peas and green beans. I had to replace two pepper plants earlier which I now have caged. Our garden is small and I suspect that the critters may win this battle and enjoy more of the harvest than we will :-(

Arrrgh! Critters!

On a positive note, I thoroughly enjoyed all 7 blueberries. Next year I plan to build a couple critter-proof structures.

 

[Claire]

In some places I've lived I've had bad birdstrike problems with papayas and with tomatoes. Rather than using "bird netting" I went to a fabric store and bought green nylon net. It let the sun in, but put a sort of camoflage effect on the bush/tree. The birds would strike as soon as the fruit changed color from green, but the nylon net hid the fact that the fruit had changed color. It was one thing with papayas, which really taste just fine if you pick them green and let ripen inside. But if I wanted tomatoes picked green and ripened inside, I wouldn't grow them myself, I can get them year round at the grocery store.

 

[Dawgluver]

In some places I've lived I've had bad birdstrike problems with papayas and with tomatoes. Rather than using "bird netting" I went to a fabric store and bought green nylon net. It let the sun in, but put a sort of camoflage effect on the bush/tree. The birds would strike as soon as the fruit changed color from green, but the nylon net hid the fact that the fruit had changed color. It was one thing with papayas, which really taste just fine if you pick them green and let ripen inside. But if I wanted tomatoes picked green and ripened inside, I wouldn't grow them myself, I can get them year round at the grocery store.

Great idea, Claire! Is it the netting like that used for overskirts? I could staple it to a wood frame.

Gardeners Supply has some tent-like mesh structures, but they wouldn't be tall enough for one of my bushes.

 

[Claire]

Yes, exactly. Also for those big puffy peticoats women used to wear under full skirts, or in wedding regalia. It is very inexpensive, very light, and the holes are large enough to let in sunshine and air circulation. It is nylon, so it is also very tough.

 

[Zhizara]

Tulle.

 

[Dawgluver]

Yes, exactly. Also for those big puffy peticoats women used to wear under full skirts, or in wedding regalia. It is very inexpensive, very light, and the holes are large enough to let in sunshine and air circulation. It is nylon, so it is also very tough.

Perfect! Thanks so much! I was going to try window screen, this sounds so much easier. The GS units are 50 bucks.

Yes, Zhizara, tulle! That's the word I was looking for.