Managing the Garden

• Water regularly:

  • Vegetables need about one inch of water a week.
  • Rain can provide some water.
  • Avoid letting plants stay wet to prevent disease or fungus problems.
  • Fertilize your crops:
  • Add compost to the soil before you plant.
  • Slow release fertilizers and organic matter sources can add nutrients over a longer period of time.
  • Many vegetables require more nutrients when flowering or when fruit are forming.
  • Manage your weeds with mulch and by removing them quickly, before they can produce seeds.
  • Understand which insects are beneficial and which are pests.
  • Attract beneficial insects that pray on pests with flowers like marigolds and yarrow.
  • Use chemical controls as a last resort.
  • Keep them away from children.
  • Avoid spraying plants in bloom with insecticides because these will also harm pollinators.
  • Make sure your product matches the pest and vegetable you want to treat.
  • Apply only where needed and as directed. • Watch out for furry pests
  • Watch out for furry pests
  • Plant some things they don't like to eat, for example deer don't like plants that are furry or prickly.

-Blood meal or hot pepper sprays can keep pests away, but have to be reapplied regularly. -Hanging objects like flags or CDs may scare pests off as they move in the wind.

-Fencing can be used to keep them out, but deer require much more fencing than rabbits.

References

Heft, T. 2013. Rabbits and Deer Won't Eat These Flowers, Shrubs, Herbs, and Trees. http://www.bigblogof-gardening.com/flowers-shrubs-herbs-trees-that-rabbits-and-deer-wont-eat/ (accessed 18 June 2018)

Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky. ID-128. University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Markham, B.L. 2014. The MiniFarming™ Bible: The Complete Guide to Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre. SkyHorse Publishing. New York, New York.

Taylor, L. and The Gardeners of Seattle Tilth. Your Farm in the City: An Urban Dweller's Guide to Growing Food and Raising Animals.

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