Good morning!
I know I've divulged a bit of my weeding routine on the blog recently, but I must confess. I might of done some sporadic spending since then. Yep - I invested time installing some weed blocker mesh, and (surprise!) bought rich soil and mulch. About 150 dollars worth to be precised. 🤗
This was 100% not predicted. I was committed to pull weeds every morning and evening to keep it clean. But then I went on Home Depot's website, and I saw the high quality soil and mulch on sale for just over 3 bucks a bag...I couldn't say no.
To be honest, and to make myself feel better, I see this purchase more like an investment. I've mentioned in my previous post, How to Prep Your Soil that it's ALL about the soil - and it's true. I know my soil isn't great, so I'm doing my best to improve it. That's why the very affordable prices were too difficult to pass up. So we ordered some - 15 bags of mulch and 10 bags of soil. Youpi!!
So how will mulch improve the soil and plants exactly?
I've been doing a lot of reading, and this is what will happen (apparently)
good quality soil = good quality nutrients = healthy plant. We've covered this in How to Prep Your Soil post.
mulch acts like a barrier and insulation. It keeps the moisture in the soil from being evaporated from the hot summer sun, resulting in less watering, preventing the roots from overheating, and reducing the weeds from popping through.
So, buying all that soil and mulch is like an investment because the plants won't need to be watered as much, the weeds won't be so intense to maintain, the roots won't overheat and everything will continue to flourish in healthy rich soil. Sounds great! Let's hope I don't somehow figure out a way to mess it all up.😋
Other considerations that I'm starting to learn about are bugs and animals. They can easily make you feel like you're moving one step forward and two steps back. Sadly, some have gotten a hold of my tulips and kale already.
Eaten tulips before they had a chance to bloom.
As I've been training my seedlings for the outdoors, I've been bringing them inside and outside pretty frequently. One day I noticed the butternut squash leaves looked a little speckly. The following day, I noticed a bunch of little black spots on the backs of the leaves. My first thought was eggs, from a bug when they were outdoors. But then after looking at them closely, they were moving! iiick! Turns out they're black aphids, a tiny microscopic beetle sucking the sap from the backs of the leaves causing those little white speckles on the tops. Since I'm still bringing them in and out a lot, I haven't treated them yet. But I've read a good insecticidal soap does the trick, and it's not bad to do that treatment regularly so I might pick up a bottle of that soon.
Squirrels have also been an annoying problem lately. They've been occasionally digging holes in my planters or gardens. So far, they've ripped up one of my morning glories, dug up my herb planter, twice, and they obviously hang around the vegetable garden and dig because the soil is nice an easy to maneuver. Those buggers! Hopefully some of that weed blocker may also prevent them from digging..
So naturally, I did some reading. I found an organic squirrel repellent spray mostly made of water and peppers. Apparently they're sensitive to smell and will stay away from the scent of peppers. So a few sprays of the solution around the garden is supposed to help. Plus as a bonus, peppers are highly effective for some bugs as well. This may be a way to replace the insecticidal soap and get a little 2 for 1 action. I'll have to try it out and document later!
Lastly, we're thinking about getting a fake owl decoy to scare off some critters. Owls eat rodents, so bunnies and squirrels should be deterred from it quickly. They're not overly expensive and in the end, it's saving you time and money. Looking forward to see how effective it will be!
For now, that's all the tricks for my ongoing battles.
What critters are you fighting off? What trick have you found to work best? Share them so everyone can get the best crop this year!
Happy gardening 🌱💚
- Liv
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