smerchly Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 This has been a crazy year for gardening ! I have turned 90% of my garden into grass . The big maple next door has infringed its roots all the way across the garden & nothing will grow My apples have been invaded by birds & I pick up about 2 dozen half eaten apples every day ....& the squirrels also have eaten some ( not many of them left ....the trap works good) I planted a few beans along the chain link fence & they have been producing enough for the odd meal . Today I watered the new grass I just sowed a week ago & went in for supper ....came back out in 30 minutes & noticed 1/3 the row of beans were GONE ! ....cleaned off at the stem 1/4" from the ground....not a bean left ,or a leaf or a stem . I looked for rabbit signs (poop, tracks) but only saw a couple of grackles near by (they drink from the bird bath) . I'm thinking it was a rabbit as it ate 100% of each plant , leaves and all . Got more grass seed ready for that last remaining spot ! here's all that is left of my nice tasty beans........maybe I can make some soup ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunner-2 Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 Definitely looks like the work of a rabbit my dad had problems with rabbits stripping the bark off his saplings so he put chicken wire around them but he had to bury it about a foot under ground cause they would dig under it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 Rabbits love young plants. The more tender the better. I've had a quarter of one of my pepper rows mown down by the rodents (that's 50 plants). These were plants heavy in fruit. Pretty soon Rob is going to have to play Elmer Fudd for a weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted August 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 It all points to rabbits might have to hire Rob ......My Daisy pellet rifle isn't persuasive enough to change their mind ......but now I have rabbit (hare) pie on my mind ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunner-2 Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 It all points to rabbits might have to hire Rob ......My Daisy pellet rifle isn't persuasive enough to change their mind ......but now I have rabbit (hare) pie on my mind ...... LOL there you go nothing like a good rabbit pie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest terry1368 Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 i had the same problem one time but i found out it wasn't rabbits it was a ground hog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynemartin Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 it could also be skunks or coons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cplummer Posted August 23, 2014 Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 My apple trees produced nothing this year and my bosc pears are very few. Last year both were loaded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted August 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 I have a huge red delicious apple tree . The apples are 90% wormy and the birds are eating them like crazy ! The half eaten ones fall to the ground & then yellow jackets go for them . My dog will snap at them as well as flies and skitters so I have a spray tank full of sunlight soap/water & spray them ....kills them real quick and real dead ! I kill dozens of them everyday . It's nice to have some sweet apples but they attract them stingy things as well as tree rats . Cliff .....I noticed very few bees this year ....could be a reason why not much fruit formed on your trees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted August 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2014 Well I think I may know what (who) the bean thief is......I pulled the rest of them today since they are not doing well in that spot due to the BIG maple tree next door . The roots have completely taken over my whole garden and nothing grows well now . I tossed the bean plants , complete with some small beans in a corner near the fence . About an hour later as I was walking passed them a mouse ran out ! It was eating them . Maybe he has some friends helping clean out the plants . I dug it up to seed it over ....clogged solid with roots from the maple & ready to seed.......... just scratched the bed with a rake ......the roots were a solid mass .... might as well plants seed on the sidewalk .....took me 2 hours to dig out the roots ( 2' x 15' ) I sharpened the shovel with a file to cut through some 1" roots & they will grow back next year ....but grass seems to do okay with extra watering . All the surrounding grass has roots from that tree under it . And some how, the worms get through it ....picked plenty from it a few nights ago . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted August 24, 2014 Report Share Posted August 24, 2014 Voles also love tender plants and veggies. With peppers, they chew a hole in the bottom so they can eat the seed core in the middle and leave behind the rest of the pepper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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