Squirrels and peppers

Tricia and Willow Dove - welcome, and thanks for following my blog!

Everyone knows that there's an area by the shed where I attempted to grow tomatoes last year, and pretty much lost all of them to the squirrels. That's why the funny looking trap was built, so the little devils could be caught and relocated. Well, perhaps the biggest reason for this happening is because the area is completely unprotected. So, I began thinking of things that could be grown in the spot that might not be appealing to a squirrel. Peppers are a possibility, I guess, and that's just what i'm aiming to try. Jalapenos are a no-brainer, but I wonder if they would eat a bell pepper? We'll see, I guess....Anyway, here's a photo of the squirrel problem location......

Photo below - After 2 grow seasons with sweet potatoes in them, these planters will be relocated to the area above, topped off with compost, then planted with the peppers. Best I can figure, they hold about 20 gallons of soil, and hopefully that'll be enough to support 2 peppers in each. One thing i've learned about growing in these things - the soil needs to be mounded as much as possible when filled, because it settles quite a bit during the season. Anyway, i've already started to empty each one into 5 gallon buckets, so that the landscaping fabric stapled to the bottom won't rip off when lifted for relocation. Two are already in their new home....

Photo below - A 1/2" layer of sand was added to the bottom of the largest propagation system, then the 22 ft. long rope light coiled along the entire length. Once in place, the entire thing was covered with more sand, then smoothed out. Hopefully this will provide some bottom heat for the seedlings growing in there later - at least that's the plan...

In other news, most of the weekend was spent working on one of our heat pumps for the house, as it had developed a tiny refrigerant leak....all is put back together now, and i'll do a post on it in a few days. I'm sure thankful that working on one is one of my best skills, because hvac companies are some of the most crooked people out there. Oh, you'd be surprised how much the stuff they charge you for really costs...sheesh...

Also, more work will be done to the tomato-growing area over the next few weeks, because it's just not tall enough to keep grass/weeds from spilling over into it. Another layer of landscaping timbers will be added, then leveled off with dirt from the new flowerbed.(Wife doesn't want to use the native soil of the flowerbed)

Take care, and happy gardening!

EG