Monday, September 8, 2008

Who Has Been Digging in My Garden?

Last week I planted two more tomatoes. I hope these little plants will grow fast and give me a good fall crop. This may be another year where I am dealing with green tomatoes in November. That’s okay we will make pickled green tomatoes and fried green tomatoes. When I planted these I really amended the soil with a ton of compost, blood meal, and bone meal. After the plants were in the ground, I watered them with compost/bunny poo tea. The tomatoes were planted sideways, so roots can grow along the buried stem. They turned their little crowns up nicely and seem to be growing about half an inch a day. So far so good.
This morning I went out to give them some water and discovered that something had dug a hole about six inches deep beside the biggest of the tomatoes. It was too big a hole for one of the cats to have dug. The gate was closed, so I don’t think a dog could have gotten in. Hmmmm. I am going to go out and heavily mulch them this afternoon and hopefully the hole digging critter will be deterred.
The mystery digger reminds me of another digging situation we had a few years ago. We have a tiny St. Augustine lawn. It is usually in pretty good shape, but we don’t baby it with tons of water or fertilizer. During the year in question all sorts of little cone-shaped holes were being dug in this little green lawn. I accused the Monkeys and they denied involvement. I threatened exotic punishments if they did not quit digging up the lawn. They pled their innocence. This went on for about two weeks. Everyday there were more little cone-shaped holes in the lawn. My husband came home one morning after working a nightshift and called me out into the front yard. There was an armadillo digging up the lawn. That was the only time I have ever seen one alive rather than dead on the side of the road. Stupid armadillo.
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11 comments:

  1. Sprinkle some Cayenne pepper on top of your mulch, too! Maybe it's a racoon -- they are tricky little critters. Good luck - I had to build a fence to keep my dogs out of the tomatoes, but never thought about someone going over the fence!!!

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  2. Great idea diana, I will definitely do that. I hope it is not a coon. I understand they can really tear stuff up.

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  3. I have to agree with Diana, it's probably a raccon or a squirrel. They love digging holes.

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  4. Maybe a dog? When I use blood meal in my gardens my dogs go nuts for it and it doesn't matter if I used it 2 months ago, they still find it.

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  5. The sqirrels are digging like crazy around here leaving holes all over the garden. Guess they are trying to find hiding places for winter treats!

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  6. We have a nasty chipmunk in our yard that likes to dig stuff up in our yard. It has a nice big home dug right under the shed we just built. Silly critters.

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  7. pgl, How big a hole does a racoon dig?

    Tina, I thought of that but the gate was closed.

    Meadowview thymes, This was a really big hole do squirrel dig really big holes?

    cinj, I have never seen a chipmonk before, maybe that's it.

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  8. Hey, that compost/bunny poo tea, is it a new Lipton flavor? Do you think it's caffeine free?
    Those tomatoes, will those grow those in a container? LOL I read some of your previous posts, so I just hadda ask!

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  9. Nola, if you wanna drink that compost tea more power to ya, hahahaha.

    Not sure how to answer the container question. Oh wait, YES, yes, you can grow it in a container. I think.

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  10. Oh, wow---a cone-digging armadillo! And you've never seen a chipmunk?!! Things sure are different out there in God's country. Sounds like you did everything right planting those tomatoes, including setting them in sideways. I agree with the folks who say that someone was after the blood- or bonemeal, but it shouldn't have been a chipmunk, maybe a raccoon. Or (shudder) rat?!

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  11. ofb, RATS!!! DEAR LORD DO NOT LET IT BE A RAT.

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