# Ania and the Garden



## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

My husband and I are attempting to have our own vegetable garden this year (if you have any tips for us, my ears are open). We've been working very hard on it for quite a while now (okay, my husband has, anyway), and we're kind of at the point now where we water it and wait. So I thought I'd snap a few pics since we have nothing else to do with it. Sort of like before pics. Then, I played fetch with Ania, which made for pictures that are more Dog Food Chat appropriate. ;-) So, here they are!

The garden turned out huge. Much bigger than I thought.... My civil engineer husband actually has it plotted out in AutoCad.









And the Ponster Monster! Forgive the blurriness. I'm still trying to figure out how to work my fancy camera. *Sport mode, Richelle! Sport Mode!*








Ania actually doesn't really have that sloped back common to GSD's. But in this picture, it looks like it!

This was me gettin' all artsy after she pushed her way into my lap.

























































Thanks for lookin'!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

awww Ania is SO pretty! and your yard looks HUGE!


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

I've been growing vegetables probably for longer then you've been an adult! And in a multitude of states (although not Washington). Ours down here are at the point now where tomatoes are just starting to turn red already. Best thing you can do for the garden is MULCH!! Otherwise you're gonna spend all your time weeding it and you will end up hating the garden. I just finished mulching mine, so now I can just pick out the occasional weed that is tough enough to get through the mulch. Of course, here we also use mulch to keep the soil damp during the ever present heat and drought but I don't imagine you have to worry about that where you live!

Oh yeah......you might consider a little bitty fence to keep that giant, beautiful wolf that I see running around your yard from dancing thru the baby plants ! Rocky actually gets in my garden and eats the flower leaves for some reason so I have a little 2 foot tall fence around it.


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## Mollygirl (May 14, 2011)

I grew up on a farm, my grandma gave my parents 10 acres on the farm to build. My dad built our home all by himself, it took him 2 years, so I grew up with my grandma just up the road from me. She grew up in the depression and we always had a garden that was all of ours and we all worked it. And this wasn't just a little garden behind your house, it was huge that went on and on. We grew everything and canned and froze so much stuff. We would have tomato canning day, where we picked all the tomatoes and canned them, jars and jars of them. Then we would have corn picking day. We would pick all the corn, shuck it and cut the corn off the cob to freeze it, bushels and bushels of corn. The same thing for peas, green beans, broccoli, okra, asparagus, oh I love eating fresh asparagus, not to mention the fruit, cherries, blackberries, strawberries, apples and pears. We had fruit for supper every night, even in the winter because it was frozen. My grandma would not waste one thing. And don't forget the jellies, canned jellies, the apple butter was the best. Oh how I hated all that work. Digging holes, walking down rows of rows of holes to put seeds in it, got caught putting hand full of seeds in the holes so we would run out of them faster, got in trouble for that. Having to pack water because no water was near and the hoeing. I refused to have a garden when I grew up, why, you can buy a can of green beans for .25, of coarse that was a long time ago. I planted a little garden this year as prices are going up. My grandma has since passed and my parents still live out there, only have a small garden, but still too much for just them. I enjoy getting home grown from them now. I just brought home a bag of onions, tomatoes are starting to come out and I saw a few peppers. The blackberries are all gone, as with the cherry, apple and pear trees. My mom don't attempt asparagus anymore, she says it's too hard to grow as with the strawberries. I think about how much I hated that garden, but I always have a smile on my face when I recall the memories. Why can't life be that easy again.


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## bernadettelevis (Feb 2, 2011)

i have no advice on the gardening! but Ania is beautiful ! I have a soft spot for GSDs since i grew up with one!


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

Ooo, what an awesome looking garden! And Ania is very pretty! It's so refreshing to see a nice, lean GSD. I swear, the ones around here are all super FAT :frown:


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

YAY!!! This is too awesome....Ania looks fantastic BTW! Love your yard too, looks like there would be plenty of room for 6 or so big dogs coming for a visit :thumb:


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## Lisa_j (Apr 7, 2011)

Ania is a beauty!! Love your big garden too. We garden every year here and have an aspargus bed as well. Out aspagus havest will be allowed to go to seed starting the 15th. We cheat with our garden. I lay plastic down and then plant preventing weeding for the most part and it also holds the moisure in!


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

chowder said:


> I've been growing vegetables probably for longer then you've been an adult! And in a multitude of states (although not Washington). Ours down here are at the point now where tomatoes are just starting to turn red already. Best thing you can do for the garden is MULCH!! Otherwise you're gonna spend all your time weeding it and you will end up hating the garden. I just finished mulching mine, so now I can just pick out the occasional weed that is tough enough to get through the mulch. Of course, here we also use mulch to keep the soil damp during the ever present heat and drought but I don't imagine you have to worry about that where you live!
> 
> Oh yeah......you might consider a little bitty fence to keep that giant, beautiful wolf that I see running around your yard from dancing thru the baby plants ! Rocky actually gets in my garden and eats the flower leaves for some reason so I have a little 2 foot tall fence around it.


Thanks for all the advise! We really DON'T know what we're doing, so I really appreciate it.

And those wolves, man I tell ya! Hahaha! Actually, Aina is pretty good about not walking through the garden. It's like she knows better without us telling her.  Now the deer on the other hand... We may need to do something about that, actually, because if they're tromping through it now when there's nothing really to munch on, I don't even want to think of the damage they'll cause once we get some growth! 



Mollygirl said:


> I grew up on a farm, my grandma gave my parents 10 acres on the farm to build. My dad built our home all by himself, it took him 2 years, so I grew up with my grandma just up the road from me. She grew up in the depression and we always had a garden that was all of ours and we all worked it. And this wasn't just a little garden behind your house, it was huge that went on and on. We grew everything and canned and froze so much stuff. We would have tomato canning day, where we picked all the tomatoes and canned them, jars and jars of them. Then we would have corn picking day. We would pick all the corn, shuck it and cut the corn off the cob to freeze it, bushels and bushels of corn. The same thing for peas, green beans, broccoli, okra, asparagus, oh I love eating fresh asparagus, not to mention the fruit, cherries, blackberries, strawberries, apples and pears. We had fruit for supper every night, even in the winter because it was frozen. My grandma would not waste one thing. And don't forget the jellies, canned jellies, the apple butter was the best. Oh how I hated all that work. Digging holes, walking down rows of rows of holes to put seeds in it, got caught putting hand full of seeds in the holes so we would run out of them faster, got in trouble for that. Having to pack water because no water was near and the hoeing. I refused to have a garden when I grew up, why, you can buy a can of green beans for .25, of coarse that was a long time ago. I planted a little garden this year as prices are going up. My grandma has since passed and my parents still live out there, only have a small garden, but still too much for just them. I enjoy getting home grown from them now. I just brought home a bag of onions, tomatoes are starting to come out and I saw a few peppers. The blackberries are all gone, as with the cherry, apple and pear trees. My mom don't attempt asparagus anymore, she says it's too hard to grow as with the strawberries. I think about how much I hated that garden, but I always have a smile on my face when I recall the memories. Why can't life be that easy again.


When I was really little, my mom did a lot of gardening too. She always canned a bunch of stuff and we'd have it throughout the year. It was a lot of fun "helping" her. And YES! Apple butter is the BEST, huh?!? We actually have a bunch of apple trees on our property, but they've been neglected for quite a few years. So we have a bunch of work to do on them before we can get good apples sans worms.

Thanks for sharing your memories! 



DaneMama said:


> YAY!!! This is too awesome....Ania looks fantastic BTW! Love your yard too, looks like there would be plenty of room for 6 or so big dogs coming for a visit :thumb:


Thanks! And for sure there's enough room! Of course by then, the novelty of open space will have worn off for your pack. Hahaha!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i know nothing about growing vegetables. i can grow the heck out of useless but pretty flowers....

but your garden looks beautiful and perfectly rectangular...it has the touch of a civil engineer.... your honey did a heck of a job.

what i do have is this.

i have plenty of room in my fridge and freezer, should you have a need for extra storage.

i, however, cannot promise said veggies will be here upon your return. 

ania looks as good in photo as she does in person....this is one magnificent dog...


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

magicre said:


> but your garden looks beautiful and perfectly rectangular...it has the touch of a civil engineer.... your honey did a heck of a job.


Not even joking, Re, he broke out his fancy laser level thing in order to get 4 perfect 90 degree angles. I'll let him know that you noticed. ;-)



> what i do have is this.
> 
> i have plenty of room in my fridge and freezer, should you have a need for extra storage.
> 
> i, however, cannot promise said veggies will be here upon your return.


Sure! If I find myself with an extra carrot or two, I'll toss 'em your way! For safe keeping, of course...



> ania looks as good in photo as she does in person....this is one magnificent dog...


Well thank you very much! You know, you're the only one here who's actually met my wittle baby. Though I've meet a few DFC'ers in person, you're the only one who's met Ania. She's very elusive, you know. :biggrin1:


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## Montana (Apr 10, 2011)

Gawd we're jealous of that yard! (We being myself and the pets ;P).

My mom grows herbs and veggies, I'll ask her if she has any good tips! I on the other hand can manage to kill a fake plant... seriously I can't even keep bamboo alive.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Man, your place is just gorgeous. Its so nice to see nice green grass. All ours is brown right now, we are impatiently waiting for the rainy season to be rainy.
I can relate to your husband using CAD and the laser to lay out the garden. I have one of those too - husbands that stress the line or the angle might be 1mm out. At least your's does the work himself. believe me, thats a big plus. 
Unfortunately down here, I do the work and he squints at it and criticises! Sadly for him, I'm one of those, 'she'll be right mate' types, close enough is good enough. 
And, I cant' offer too much help with the vege's. My parents use to grow their own back when we were kids, and I grew my own cucumbers. Thousands of cucumbers. So many cucumbers that my family, relatives, neighbours, hell the whole street, were quite heartily sick of them, including myself. Its taken a long, long time for me to enjoy a nice cucumber sandwich again. 
I must say, Ania is one good looking dog. She's got the life!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Ania's Mommy said:


> Not even joking, Re, he broke out his fancy laser level thing in order to get 4 perfect 90 degree angles. I'll let him know that you noticed. ;-)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


ask my honey. he love/hates that my eye is like a natural level. so yeah, tell your honey that not only did i notice, it jumped out at me.

one measly carrot? after all the nice things i say about you and your dog? sheesh. what's a girl got to do to get a veggie LOL

seriously, though, you're going to have lots of fun...i used to help a friend of mine who turned two acres of her property into a 'garden'...ah, the corn....picking a salad for dinner....canning tomotoe sauce......freezing corn and green beans..making peach jam and strawberry jam...

ania even let me pet her. i am honoured. 

we worked in august. the heat on the east coast was awful; and, yet, i remember those days fondly......


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

First, nice pics! Luuuuuurves the Ania!

Second, I agree with Chowder, get a fence of some sort around that garden.

Third, as a child, I was, apparently, brought forth in to this world MERELY to act as weed puller and seed planter for the parents. We had to do it every. single. summer. I am an EXPERT at weed pulling, whether I like that or not, and I'm pretty darn good at plantin' the veggies. Mulch. Mulch. Mulch. (Or, you may know it as compost.) Not only does it help keep the weeds away, it also enriches the soil.

*Richelle*: Why thank you Chowder and Serenity, for that fabulously, wonderful advice. Now, where would I find this mulch?

*Serenity*: Fear not, Ania's Mummers, I have the answer: You can use bark, leaves, newspapers, the lawn clippings in those photos and...poop! (Horse, cow, etc. Stinky but wow, will that soil LOVE you!) Bark is probably the last thing you want to use. The lawn clippings...ya may want to just keep on the lawn. Newspaper, believe it or not, is a pretty darn good mulch. So, here's what ya do, novice apprentice: Spread the sheets of newspaper around the plantie wanties and water 'em down. (So's they don't go flyin' off.) THEN, get a whole bunch of leaves, spread about 2 inches of those over the papers. (Oh and shred those leaves, missy. Shred them! You don't want whole leaves as those mess everything up by matting especially when it rains...which, you live in Seattle so it rains.) Sit back and laugh maniacally knowing that the weeds don't have a chance in hell.

You can also do straw or something like that but those attract eight legged beasts and I HATESES the eight legged beasts so I don't use it. But, you might not have an issue with such things and it would work very well, as well.

*Richelle*: zOMG! Thanks for letting me know! I have TONS of lawn clippings I can use and I really need to do something about that stack of newspapers in the hallway...I have mulch! I'm SO sorry that even though you got to meet me and my friend, I was not considerate enough to buy a ticket on that cruise for Ania so you could meet her, as well. I will do better, next time.

*Serenity*: Be sure that you do!


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

SerenityFL said:


> First, nice pics! Luuuuuurves the Ania!


Why thank you! I kinda love her too. 



> Second, I agree with Chowder, get a fence of some sort around that garden.


%$*&#^%@!*(#*Q)@#* I was afraid of that. We might have to fashion something... 



> Third, as a child, I was, apparently, brought forth in to this world MERELY to act as weed puller and seed planter for the parents. We had to do it every. single. summer. I am an EXPERT at weed pulling, whether I like that or not, and I'm pretty darn good at plantin' the veggies. Mulch. Mulch. Mulch. (Or, you may know it as compost.) Not only does it help keep the weeds away, it also enriches the soil.


So.... do you think mulching would be beneficial in any way? 

We actually are the proud owners of a worm farm that produces black gold from our food scraps (ok, so it's really just worm poo, but I hear it's pretty good stuff!). The problem is that when we got the worm farm, we severely underestimated the size our garden would end up being. In other words, I think we're gonna need a lot more worms. And a lot more food scraps. Maybe I'll run to the store and buy some.... :biggrin1:

Or we could just go buy some manure. But my husband mentioned the possibility of e. Coli. You think? Man, that'd really piss me off. To spend all this time on creating my very own organic produce, then kill myself (and possibly Re too, if I give her the wrong carrot) with e. Coli. 



> *Richelle*: Why thank you Chowder and Serenity, for that fabulously, wonderful advice. Now, where would I find this mulch?


^^^ Yup! So perceptive, you!



> *Serenity*: Fear not, Ania's Mummers, I have the answer: You can use bark, leaves, newspapers, the lawn clippings in those photos and...poop! (Horse, cow, etc. Stinky but wow, will that soil LOVE you!) Bark is probably the last thing you want to use. The lawn clippings...ya may want to just keep on the lawn. Newspaper, believe it or not, is a pretty darn good mulch. So, here's what ya do, novice apprentice: Spread the sheets of newspaper around the plantie wanties and water 'em down. (So's they don't go flyin' off.) THEN, get a whole bunch of leaves, spread about 2 inches of those over the papers. (Oh and shred those leaves, missy. Shred them! You don't want whole leaves as those mess everything up by matting especially when it rains...which, you live in Seattle so it rains.) Sit back and laugh maniacally knowing that the weeds don't have a chance in hell.


So, I'd be putting mulch AROUND the plants, right? Not just cover them? Because it doesn't make sense to me to use mulch to prevent weeds, and then cover the plants. Then the plants wouldn't make it through the mulch, right?

And what about the fact that most of the stuff hasn't even sprouted yet? I don't know for certain WHERE each little seedling is, and I don't want to doom them at this early stage. So should I wait until they sprout? 

My husband was thinking that if we used the grass clippings, it would hold too much heat in. I told him that in this crappy climate, we need to retain all the heat we can get. I'm right, aren't I? :wink: Also, those aren't entirely "grass" clippings. We don't really have any nice grass. Just a few fields of weeds. So if we used the grass clippings, wouldn't we, in essence, be planting the evil weeds we are trying to prevent?!?!

The newspaper/leaves sounds very promising. The problem is that I have neither. Who has newspaper anymore?!? We have the internet to learn about what Kim K. is up to. And leaves? It's spring! THe only leaves I have are on my trees. I assume you mean dried ones, right? So that won't work... Oh! Could use the newspaper type things I get in the mail that have coupons? Is it okay that they are colored and glossy? 



> You can also do straw or something like that but those attract eight legged beasts and I HATESES the eight legged beasts so I don't use it. But, you might not have an issue with such things and it would work very well, as well.


Nope. Not going to happen. No need to actually invite spiders to the party. I already have to deal with garter snakes. And by "deal with" I mean run away screaming for Andrew to save me.



> *Richelle*: zOMG! Thanks for letting me know! I have TONS of lawn clippings I can use and I really need to do something about that stack of newspapers in the hallway...I have mulch! I'm SO sorry that even though you got to meet me and my friend, I was not considerate enough to buy a ticket on that cruise for Ania so you could meet her, as well. I will do better, next time.


True dat. I'll be sure that the next cruise I book will be a pet friendly one that leaves out of a port in Maine. :thumb:

Thank you SOOO much for your helpful advise!! I REALLY appreciate it. And Re's glad that you're helping her carrot thrive.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

magicre said:


> ask my honey. he love/hates that my eye is like a natural level. so yeah, tell your honey that not only did i notice, it jumped out at me.


I did. He acted all cool-like. As though he wasn't just bursting with pride. But he was.:wink:



> one measly carrot? after all the nice things i say about you and your dog? sheesh. what's a girl got to do to get a veggie LOL


Hey, man, I don't want to get your hopes all up! This is our very first attempt, so I'm trying to keep my expectations on the low side. But you *are* pretty good to me, so how's about I throw in an ear of corn? :becky:



> seriously, though, you're going to have lots of fun...i used to help a friend of mine who turned two acres of her property into a 'garden'...ah, the corn....picking a salad for dinner....canning tomotoe sauce......freezing corn and green beans..making peach jam and strawberry jam...


I know! This kind of thinking is what gets me super excited!! I REALLY hope it all works out well. I want to do ALL of that stuff!! I can't even WAIT!! Aw man! There you go gettin' my hopes all up again! I was probably made to be a farmer's wife. 



> ania even let me pet her. i am honoured.


So was she. She told me so. :smile:


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

DEER!!!!! Yes, the deer will eat every single one of your plants and won't be the least bit scared of the dogs. They sneak in at night when no one is around and you wake up to find all your plants devoured to the ground. The deer here will leap over my 4 foot chain link fence and eat my entire garden.

So......what can you do about them? I have had NO deer damage for the last two years. First thing you do is get metal pie pans. If you don't have any, you can buy them at the dollar store. You punch a hole in one end, hang them from a post in the garden so that they dangle, and let the wind bang them around and make noise. Not real attractive but they keep the deer away.

Second, the thing that I've had the greatest success with is WHIRLIGIGS!! You can make them, or buy them. I actually got a bunch at Target last year for $1 each. They spin in the slightest breeze and scare the deer. This year I just have the whirligigs and no pie pans and I still don't have any deer damage. 

You need to get these out before the plants come up because it only takes one night for the deer to eat your entire garden.

RABBITS!!!.......get a roll of 2 foot high rabbit wire at Home Depot. Surround the garden with this. It is tall enough to keep the dogs and rabbits out, but short enough that you can step over it and get into the garden still. Rabbits will eat whatever the deer leave behind. 

Mulch .....I agree....I've used newspapers. This year I am lucky (?) because the tornado tore up all my trees and the tree company made them into piles of mulch for me. If you aren't luck enough to have a tornado, you can order mulch delivered for a price, or if you are independently wealthy, you can buy landscaping fabric at home depot and spread it between your rows. It is black and heats up the soil at the same time as it keeps the weeds away. 

Can you tell I spent all weekend working in my yard !!!:smile:


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

Ania's Mommy said:


> %$*&#^%@!*(#*Q)@#* I was afraid of that. We might have to fashion something...


Follow the advice by Chowder in regards to the fencing to keep out them pesky adorable rabbits. However, for deer, really all you need are stakes at each corner of the garden and some line strung around the perimeter...any kind of line, fishing line, string, twine, whatevs. Put this just a leeeeeeetel outside the perimeter of the garden. Deer do NOT like being touched by the line. When they sneak in to your garden area for a dine and dash, they will come upon the line that they didn't necessarily see. It scares the beejeezus out of 'em and they take off. However, if you are planting corn and things like that, yes, do the noise makers to keep birds from getting a free hand out.



> So.... do you think mulching would be beneficial in any way?


I will answer thusly: Do you think watering the plants would be beneficial in any way? In other words, absolutely, positively YES!



> We actually are the proud owners of a worm farm that produces black gold from our food scraps (ok, so it's really just worm poo, but I hear it's pretty good stuff!). The problem is that when we got the worm farm, we severely underestimated the size our garden would end up being. In other words, I think we're gonna need a lot more worms. And a lot more food scraps. Maybe I'll run to the store and buy some.... :biggrin1:


Never used worms in gardening...gonna have to let worm experts handle that one.



> Or we could just go buy some manure. But my husband mentioned the possibility of e. Coli. You think? Man, that'd really piss me off. To spend all this time on creating my very own organic produce, then kill myself (and possibly Re too, if I give her the wrong carrot) with e. Coli.


I can almost assure you that at one point in your life you have eaten veggies that were "fertilized" with manure. It goes around the plants, not on them. Plus, I also assume you wash your veggies before you eat them? 



> So, I'd be putting mulch AROUND the plants, right? Not just cover them? Because it doesn't make sense to me to use mulch to prevent weeds, and then cover the plants. Then the plants wouldn't make it through the mulch, right?


My lands, ladies and gentlemen, she is a quick study! Yes, you are absolutely correct for exactly the reason you stated.



> And what about the fact that most of the stuff hasn't even sprouted yet? I don't know for certain WHERE each little seedling is, and I don't want to doom them at this early stage. So should I wait until they sprout?


If you don't remember where you planted, I guess you're going to have to be on top of it for awhile with the weeds. In the future, you'll want to build "rows". Once you have planted, you may wish to lable those rows, (usually with the seed packet itself stuck on a stick of sorts and placed at one end of the row). Your rows should be defined so you know where you planted things and don't step on them, pick them thinking they are weeds, water them, etc.

Edit to add: If you do know where the rows are and you followed the directions as far as how far apart to plant, you should be able to ascertain where each little seed actually is and mulch around that.



> My husband was thinking that if we used the grass clippings, it would hold too much heat in. I told him that in this crappy climate, we need to retain all the heat we can get. I'm right, aren't I? :wink: Also, those aren't entirely "grass" clippings. We don't really have any nice grass. Just a few fields of weeds. So if we used the grass clippings, wouldn't we, in essence, be planting the evil weeds we are trying to prevent?!?!


You are correct. I really don't think you're going to have issues with retaining heat up in the PNW. Grass clippings should be ok. You are not planting. What happens is that when you spread layers of that mulch around, (keep in mind, you're not just laying a clip here and there, you are, essentially, creating a blanket), is that the grass and dead weeds will eventually get mushy. (One of the problems with using grass, however, that is why they invented gardening gloves.) They aren't going to grow.



> The newspaper/leaves sounds very promising. The problem is that I have neither. Who has newspaper anymore?!? We have the internet to learn about what Kim K. is up to. And leaves? It's spring! THe only leaves I have are on my trees. I assume you mean dried ones, right? So that won't work... Oh! Could use the newspaper type things I get in the mail that have coupons? Is it okay that they are colored and glossy?


You would be surprised who has newspapers still delivered. Go raid some recycle bins. No, you don't want to use the colored and glossy stuff, only the black and white stuff. As for leaves, this fall, start saving 'em up in to a compost pile. You can go ahead and put them on to the garden area during the winter and it will still help to enrich that soil. Remember, compost/mulch is not just to keep the weeds away.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

tegra is the finest mulch you can buy....where your plants are, they aren't bursting through yet, are they? if so, you put the mulch around the plants not on them. 

that's the extent of my knowledge 

and i know you'll do fine.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Sorry, I'm just now getting back to this. Lately, I've been so busy I just pop into DFC for quick little visits. :tongue:



SerenityFL said:


> Follow the advice by Chowder in regards to the fencing to keep out them pesky adorable rabbits. However, for deer, really all you need are stakes at each corner of the garden and some line strung around the perimeter...any kind of line, fishing line, string, twine, whatevs. Put this just a leeeeeeetel outside the perimeter of the garden. Deer do NOT like being touched by the line. When they sneak in to your garden area for a dine and dash, they will come upon the line that they didn't necessarily see. It scares the beejeezus out of 'em and they take off. However, if you are planting corn and things like that, yes, do the noise makers to keep birds from getting a free hand out.


Doing that. Sounds nice 'n cheap. Me like-y. Never thought I'd be a little excited to scare the beejeezus out of a deer, but such is the life of a farmer, huh?



> I will answer thusly: Do you think watering the plants would be beneficial in any way? In other words, absolutely, positively YES!


Oh! Well in THAT case... :becky:



> Never used worms in gardening...gonna have to let worm experts handle that one.


I always suck at explaining the worm garden thing to people. The worms don't go IN our vegetable garden. We keep them in this container and the "make" compost. Same idea as a regular compost heap, just more concentrated. My understanding is that all compost really is is worm poo. Here's what we have: Worm Factory Worm Bin



> I can almost assure you that at one point in your life you have eaten veggies that were "fertilized" with manure. It goes around the plants, not on them. Plus, I also assume you wash your veggies before you eat them?


K. Pretty much didn't think that one through all the way. Duh, Richelle! :doh:



> If you don't remember where you planted, I guess you're going to have to be on top of it for awhile with the weeds. In the future, you'll want to build "rows". Once you have planted, you may wish to lable those rows, (usually with the seed packet itself stuck on a stick of sorts and placed at one end of the row). Your rows should be defined so you know where you planted things and don't step on them, pick them thinking they are weeds, water them, etc.
> 
> Edit to add: If you do know where the rows are and you followed the directions as far as how far apart to plant, you should be able to ascertain where each little seed actually is and mulch around that.


Yeah, we have defined rows, and all that. I just wasn't sure how close I get to the plants. Would I just mulch between each row? Or does it need to also go between each seed in each row? Resulting in a tic tac toe kind of pattern? How close to each seed should the mulch be?



> You are correct. I really don't think you're going to have issues with retaining heat up in the PNW. Grass clippings should be ok. You are not planting. What happens is that when you spread layers of that mulch around, (keep in mind, you're not just laying a clip here and there, you are, essentially, creating a blanket), is that the grass and dead weeds will eventually get mushy. (One of the problems with using grass, however, that is why they invented gardening gloves.) They aren't going to grow.


I KNEW I was right! HA! Thanks for clearing that up about planting the weeds, though. 



> You would be surprised who has newspapers still delivered. Go raid some recycle bins. No, you don't want to use the colored and glossy stuff, only the black and white stuff. As for leaves, this fall, start saving 'em up in to a compost pile. You can go ahead and put them on to the garden area during the winter and it will still help to enrich that soil. Remember, compost/mulch is not just to keep the weeds away.


Great. I'm off to dumpster dive. Is it still considered dumpster diving if it's recyclable goods I'm diving for? For some reason, I feel like it's a little more classy than just plain garbage. And I'm a pretty classy broad...


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

chowder said:


> So......what can you do about them? I have had NO deer damage for the last two years. First thing you do is get metal pie pans. If you don't have any, you can buy them at the dollar store. You punch a hole in one end, hang them from a post in the garden so that they dangle, and let the wind bang them around and make noise. Not real attractive but they keep the deer away.
> 
> Second, the thing that I've had the greatest success with is WHIRLIGIGS!! You can make them, or buy them. I actually got a bunch at Target last year for $1 each. They spin in the slightest breeze and scare the deer. This year I just have the whirligigs and no pie pans and I still don't have any deer damage.
> 
> You need to get these out before the plants come up because it only takes one night for the deer to eat your entire garden.


K. I'm going to try that. That also sounds nice and cheap, so I'm IN! Thanks for the tips!



> RABBITS!!!.......get a roll of 2 foot high rabbit wire at Home Depot. Surround the garden with this. It is tall enough to keep the dogs and rabbits out, but short enough that you can step over it and get into the garden still. Rabbits will eat whatever the deer leave behind.


Rabbits. Not so cute now! (If they were still considered cute, I'd call them bunnies. But right now, they're the enemy :tongue But you realize you've given my husband a legitimate excuse to go to Home Depot, right? I'll be lucky if he makes it back before the rabbits have eaten the whole garden...



> Mulch .....I agree....I've used newspapers. This year I am lucky (?) because the tornado tore up all my trees and the tree company made them into piles of mulch for me. If you aren't luck enough to have a tornado, you can order mulch delivered for a price, or if you are independently wealthy, you can buy landscaping fabric at home depot and spread it between your rows. It is black and heats up the soil at the same time as it keeps the weeds away.


Not independently wealthy. Grass clippings, leaves, and old newspapers I've sneaked out of recycle bins under the cloak of darkness it is! 



> Can you tell I spent all weekend working in my yard !!!:smile:


Yes. And I'm very appreciative!


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

magicre said:


> tegra is the finest mulch you can buy....where your plants are, they aren't bursting through yet, are they? if so, you put the mulch around the plants not on them.
> 
> that's the extent of my knowledge
> 
> and i know you'll do fine.


Yes! We have sprouts and even some real, live PLANTS! In fact, Andrew just brought me our inaugural strawberries, and they were delicious! I helped MAKE those!!


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

And a couple more pics of Ania because she's so dang cute!! This was on our walk the other day.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Ania's Mommy said:


> Yes! We have sprouts and even some real, live PLANTS! In fact, Andrew just brought me our inaugural strawberries, and they were delicious! I helped MAKE those!!


yay....my strawberries are starting to flower....so i'm guessing i won't have strawberries but i do have pretty pink flowers....

actually, i think you can get tegra for free....look it up. i've never seen such phenomenal stuff....


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

magicre said:


> yay....my strawberries are starting to flower....so i'm guessing i won't have strawberries but i do have pretty pink flowers....
> 
> actually, i think you can get tegra for free....look it up. i've never seen such phenomenal stuff....


Do you mean Terra? I couldn't find anything for "Tegra" in the Google-sphere. Terra-Mulch® — Better Science. Better erosion control.

And congrats on the flowers! At least that's something, right? :wink: I'd call that a success!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Ania's Mommy said:


> Do you mean Terra? I couldn't find anything for "Tegra" in the Google-sphere. Terra-Mulch® — Better Science. Better erosion control.
> 
> And congrats on the flowers! At least that's something, right? :wink: I'd call that a success!


my bad. it's tagro and you can get it in tacoma


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

You're right, Ania is a beautiful dog. There's just something about German Shepherds that I adore. You live in a lovely area.


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