I was up and outside early to beat the 86°F heat yesterday. I first got the chicken coop mucked, and washed the watering unit. Why oh why do the chickens seem to dirty it up in one day?
Anyway, I spent the rest of the morning out in the gardens, pulling plastic, stakes, and anything I missed last fall. I have more to do, and I need to move all the grow bags out before the rain arrives. We are hiring a person to come till both gardens, so we need the pea fence and the bean fence pulled. He is a friend, and doesn't charge a lot, and can get it all done nicely and quickly for us. We keep up after that with the smaller tiller.
Oh, and for 14 some years we've been growing gardens here, we've not had too much to deal with, in the way of critters. We did very well actually.
The last two years have been a headache. Not sure if it's due to not having dogs here or what, but the rabbits and squirrels have been the biggest nuisance. We are installing an electric solar fence this year.
We have never done this, and if you have, and have suggestions for the solar part, I would to hear them.
4 comments:
Isn't it wonderful to get out in the garden again? Except you had a pretty hot day to do so!
I can't help with the rhubarb, but I can offer some experience with solar electric fencing. We've tried both the fence energizers: the type with the built-in panel and battery, and the type that's connected to a 12-volt battery. Both have pros and cons.
The built-in solar energizers we tried had too small of panels and batteries to be of much use except on a full-sun day. When the charge gets weak, the animals don't respect it. This type also seems to have a shorter lifespan and died after only a couple of years.
The energizer that we later got, I really like. It's a Speedrite J model. It can be charged with mains electricity or a 12-volt lead-acid rechargeable battery. It has four choices for pulse speeds (besides off): fast, slow, fast day & slow night, or slow day & fast night. It also has a built-in battery tester to let you know the status of the charge.
The thing to be aware of with the battery, is that it requires more hands-on monitoring. The higher the amp-hours of the battery (AH), the longer it lasts, but you still have to keep track of the state of charge. Then, it must be disconnected to be recharged. We have a separate solar recharging station set up for that, plus a second battery to use when the one is recharging. The batteries are heavy too, so toting them around is another kind of a chore.
I don't know if that's the kind of information you're looking for, but I hope it helps!
Leigh, it has been so refreshing to be back outside again. However, it has been unseasonably hot for this time of year for us. Thank you for the info. Any info is new info, and it helps alot. I can't believe we've had a garden this long and not done this.
I envy you being able to putter in your garden. Even though we have had three days in the 80s+ that doesn't mean that we won't have a freeze (or two or three or ten!) in the next month. We usually don't plant in ground until Memorial Day. I've had no experience with electric fencing. Hope you have a great weekend!
Debi, I am just weeding it, pulling fences and getting it ready for compost and tilling. I am not planting anything, as it is too early. We do not spray or use any chemicals on the garden, so weeds need tended to a lot out there.
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