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| Birthday Gift to Self: Front Step Guest-Greeter |
Calling All June Dragons
Although
I enjoy every month for its unique gifts, if I had to choose a favorite it
would be June. Longer days and warm weather boost growth in the garden. My
birthday and the summer solstice are causes for celebration. School time ends
and summer begins, heralding the season of vacations and staycations. The very
short cherry season comes and goes, and raspberries and apricots ripen. In the
northern hemisphere flowers are everywhere, both on the central CA coast and in
places where winters are harsher.
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| Squirrel-proofed Young Basil |
With
June’s wealth of fruits, I’ll be firing up my canning equipment to try making
raspberry jam and perhaps my mother’s strawberry-pineapple jam. I’ll also be
canning some cherries in light honey syrup, similar to my all-time popular
post, Berries
in Light Honey Sauce.
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| Roses Are Edible if Organic |
For those whose
gardens are challenged by gophers, I’ll be posting some tips mid-month after
taking a class in non-chemical gopher eradication. To the four-footed rodents
who share my property: the third rose was one rose too many!
Enjoy your month,
and happy almost-summer.
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| Cherry Tomatoes by End of June? |
June Veggies & Fruits: For Recipes, click links
Arugula
Asian Greens:
Mizuna, Tatsoi, Bok Choy
Escarole
Summer Squash
(end of month)
Cherries
Raspberries
(end of month)
Apricots (we
hope)
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| Promise of Summer Fruit |
Favorite & New June Recipes
Springtime
Borscht with Dill
Green Garlic Bok Choy with Ginger Lime Sauce
Microwave Steamed Veggies (broccoli, chard, summer squash, link to winter squash)
Microwave Steamed Veggies (broccoli, chard, summer squash, link to winter squash)
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI see you've put little boxes in your basil and say it squirrel-proofs them. Stupid question: does that work, and what do the boxes accomplish to keep the little thieves out?
Thanks,
Pat
Hi Pat,
DeleteThanks for the question!
It's really more of a squirrel-deterrent than squirrel proofing. They still get into the pots and dig, but the boxes crowd them so they don't damage the plants as readily. Of course, they do sometimes knock the boxes off, so I check them every night. Eventually the plant grows big enough to remove the boxes.
Another (better) thing that I discovered recently for discouraging squirrels is "gorilla hair" mulch. It's shredded redwood bark, or sometimes called redwood mulch. The brand that I use is Redigrow. The mulch has long rough fibers. The texture itself seems unpleasant to squirrels (I wear gloves when I put it on), but the long fibers also make a tangled mat that is less easily disturbed when they do dig holes. It's easy to close the small digging holes up by rearranging the mulch.
I would still use the strawberry boxes with the redigrow when plants are very small. Put the boxes over the seedlings in the beginning, and build up the mulch around the box to hold it in place. Then remove the boxes when plant gets too tall for them, and build the mulch up around the plant itself.
Good luck with the little varmints!
Robin