Tackling Weeds, Weather and Wabbits! 🐇
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- A challenging time, with consistently wet weather the weeds are getting out of control and so we look at different mulches to help suppress the problem. And as if that’s not enough, the wind has played its part in damaging some of the plants too! But the biggest problem is a RABBIT INVASION! After planting lots of new trees, shrubs and seedlings 🌱 we are in danger of losing the lot if we don’t take action. Plans are afoot to defend our borders! 🤺
Sympathies on the rabbits! In my city garden, we installed a cedar fence, and then dug a rabbit fence at the bottom to span the gap between the cedar and the soil. We dug a 10” trench and attached hardware cloth (1/2” grid metal mesh) to the bottom rail of the cedar, then formed an “L” shape at the other end and buried it deep. The foot of the L faces outward, so if they dig down, they keep encountering the mesh. It was a chore, but it has worked beautifully for 3+ years. Meanwhile, my poor neighbor has seen a corresponding uptick of rabbits on his property. He uses a humane trap, and baits it with peanuts (shelled) and has had great success in getting the varmints into the trap. Best of luck in your lovely garden!
Hi Amy
Sounds like your defences have paid off. I hope ours will too in the end. However, I think we still have at least one rabbit 🐇 in our garden and now the barriers are up, he is stuck inside 🤣. I am trying your peanut technique to lure him into the trap and we can release him on the other side. It’s been like a comedy sketch with us trying to herd him out of the gate whilst not letting any others in!!!🤣
You and Alistair work so hard on your beautiful property, it’s a shame that the rabbits are wreaking so much havoc. Hopefully you will get this under control. We are in a rural area, or so it was until every empty lot had a house built on it, so our wildlife is quickly being squeezed out of its natural environment. We don’t have rabbits, but the deer are a menace. I have to spray shrubs and perennials with a repellent which has an awful smell, but does work. Good luck with your continued rabbit proofing. 🇨🇦
Thank you so much
Hail has been a problem here in Norway as well. So devastating for the young plants. So depressing for the garderer.
Oh dear, there’s always something that thwarts our plans, be it weather or pests! Hope you poor plants recover
Another informative video thankyou from New Zealand. Goodness, the amount of Gardeners over there that are having rabbit problems. Feel so sorry for you all. Bloom and Gray who I also follow has had horrific time with rabbits 😢
Yes, I watch her too, it’s annoying enough for me but when it’s your livelihood that’s terrible. We’ve made good progress with our rabbit proofing, they were bouncing off it last night and couldn’t get in! Thanks for watching
Oh my, I’m having issues with rabbits too. I hope your rabbit proofing works. Your garden is so beautiful.
Are you in the UK too. Another UA-camr I watch called Bloom and Gray has lost all her beautiful flowers to rabbits this year, terrible for her as it’s her business. We’ve completed most of it and they were bouncing off it, trying to get in, so think it’s worked!
@@MurphysGarden No, I’m in the U.S. That’s so sad somebody lost their livelihood. I’m using a product called Deer Fence which is a spray. Works well until the rain washes it off. 😩 Glad to hear your solution is working.
Your garden if fabulous! I have the opposite problem in Illinois,USA. We have gotten very little rain and tons of wind. This week it’s unseasonably warm (high 90’s) and everything is dried out. No rain in the future forecast either. I too have a big rabbit problem. They ate most of the leaves off my dahlias. Ate my Brussels sprouts and are now eating my annuals.😩
Oh I wish I could send you some of our rain 🌨️! The rabbits seem intent on world domination, everyone’s got rabbit problems this year it seems! 🤣
I sympathize with what you are going through with the rabbits. I have neighborhood deer that seem to enjoy decimating my flower beds oftentimes eating the flowers off of my plants before I've had a chance to enjoy them. I do have a fenced off area for my vegetable garden and periodically try deer sprays but nothing seems to work long term.
It can be very demoralising!
Yep mulch (and membrane) is the way to go. Some of our shrub beds we did close on 18 yrs ago and the mulch we put down is still evident.
In recent yrs we have gone for ground cover, sedum, cotton eater, mock strawberries.
It works it chokes the weeds and the stuff that suceed can be seen n plucked away.
Re moles we use the sonic sticks, carbide, - but mainly traps. Just two of them can cause a real mess. On ave I catch 1- 2 a season. One yr I was watching one cross the lane to our place.
Re snails n slugs, we have 100s n 100s of them in the season. On a early morning it's quite possible to collect 100. We don't use pellets, but rather encourage the hedgehogs in. Easy enough by starting them off with cat food.
Re rabbits n hares, we found that the cats chase them away, prior to their adoption of us - we had regular rabbit visitations. Downside of the cats is the the squirrels keep well away now.
There are plenty of challenges to overcome, thanks for watching
Jenny
Morning
I just become a little philosophical about the little garden visitors (animal or botanic).
Ultimately, the garden is for all
Hi Jenny! Love the title of your post. So sorry to hear about your gardening issues. However, it sounds like you have some good plans to getting the weeds & wabbits under control. Who knew grass clippings would be a good weed suppressor? Wondering if a layer of cardboard under the grass clippings would be beneficial? Also, could you tell me what the purple flower & variety that is under the lime trees & behind the Annabelles? So pretty! I found rabbits burrowing under a Clematis a few days ago. I think they ate a Crossvine I newly planted in the Fall & are eating my newly spring planted Hostas! Grrr… Dealing with Rabbits & weeds can be a bit frustrating! Keep up the good work!
Hi Gina
Thank you for your encouraging comments and we have made good progress and not a rabbit in site this morning 🤞
The plant behind the hydrangea is nepeta, I produced it all from cuttings several years ago.
How discouraging to be dealing with rabbits! I have a cat, and the rabbits keep a wide berth. Maybe that's an option for you? The deer discovered my garden this past winter, and ate a number of new trees down to the trunk😢 I am using a battery operated device called a deer fence that seems to be keeping them away (or maybe they just have enough to munch on elsewhere now during summer?) The challenges of gardening are many, but keep going!! You have such a beautiful space and I find your videos so interesting and helpful.
Next door’s car was in the garden today, so it may be performing a function! Thanks for your lovely comments
Jenny
I do wonder whether all the windy, wet weather has kept the hawks from hunting and that’s why everyone’s rabbit population is booming.
Perhaps, you may be on to something!
FYI. I have raised beds exactly the same…….exactly. Watch out, slugs hide between the builders wrap and the wood on the top. I don’t know the answer. I took off the top wood and siliconed the builders wrap on both sides. Just for your info
Oh dear, you wonder how they get in. I will keep a look out for that, thank you for the tip!
So sorry for all the damage ,have been there too ! deer and hares ! Only solution is fencing with chicken wire entire perimeter ,gates included ,laid 6 inches or so flat on ground ,to prevent burrowing and remainder vertical ,under hedges as well ,very tiresome but it WORKS as long as everyone is vontentious about shutting gates !good luck
It seems to come in waves, we go for several years with no problems and then their population swells again. We lay the chicken wire in an L shape against the fence and peg it down well, hopefully that will work 🤞
Excelente trabajo 🎉
I know it’s a large area but while you are working on the physical barriers perhaps a spray repellent for your more precious plantings. I finally caved in and bought a battery operated sprayer on Amazon to make quick work of deer/rabbit repellent application and I have protected many of my plants from the critters. Easy easy.
Thank you, good idea! I’ve heard that chilli 🌶️ spray can work, think I’ll try it on my new hydrangea and they’ve started on my new skimmias plants too!
Further comment,our raised beds ,identical to yours are 7 yrs old no sign of any rot suggest chichen netting on bottom of raised beds to stop moles ! They also require regular irrigation at height of the season (even here in scotland ,) i regret not installing a sysrem at the beginning ,good luck with the rabbit proofing
That’s good to know, I think they will be so much more productive, I love them already! Good idea about irrigation
Thanks
Hi ya as a county lad all my life, rabbits are not cute, they are same class rats and pigeons. You need to get an air rifle and stop it before they take over your garden
Yes, thinking the same thing!
@@MurphysGardenI had them come in, next door said o they are cute, I was no thanks, gun out and bye bye bunny
Wtf wildlife friendly ? Unsubscribe till the bunny takes the rifle
Don’t worry, no rabbits have been harmed! We will attempt to fence them out and then everyone is happy 😆