We did it!
We made it through the big weekend.
It was even more gorgeous than we could have hoped. Low 70s, sunshine and a light breeze. What a perfect weekend. It was certainly the perfect setting for all the work we had to do, and the (nearly) finishing touches for our gardening.
Simply – everything that was inside, needed to be outside.
With high hopes that our hardening over the last month has made the babies tough enough, we made the final touches on where they were headed, and got to work! Peppers, sunflowers, and tomatoes, have now joined the broccoli outside.
And, we’ve done our best to protect each plant from our little creatures.
Which was our next learning curve.
We have this squirrel…
Or maybe more than one squirrel (which seems likely).
But we have a ‘squirrel problem’ either way. These little critters, stick their little paws in any available dirt and dig. Pots, exposed dirt in the gardens, the lawn – anywhere they can dig, dig, dog. I think they are looking for food, but they are also digging up the roots – which is frustrating!
For the herbs, I added a gravel to the surface, which seems to have deterred them, but for the vegetables, we had a much bigger job of protecting them. We, of course, were also worried about them eating the plants (as they have done with some sweet peas).
And, squirrels can easily jump into our raised garden bed.
Solutions?
Tall cages around each vegetable, and netting over the raised bed. I asked James if he could put pool noodles over the chicken wire to stop me from ripping my clothes, and it turned out they were the perfect thing to hold the netting in place! (I felt pretty clever about that one).
As for the sunflowers, I have cut little holes in the fabric of the flower bed, and placed the babies in their biodegradable pods. I’ve been very careful about not disrupting their roots, but needed them to be tall enough to be placed in the flower bed. My fingers and toes are crossed, and I hope I was careful enough!
For the remaining sunflower seeds, I planted them along the fence at our front yard. This was the time that they were supposed to go in the ground, so I really hope they take root and fly! Sunflowers grew incredibly quick inside, perhaps I will see the babes in a few days.
I’ll return to this blog with a before and after soon. There is so much that I haven’t even begun to share about our little, lovely space.
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