Planting and Mulch
Saturday, after consulting an employee at our local nursery, I decided to go with cocoa hulls as our mulch. The cocoa hulls give off a very strong aroma that cats tend to shy away from. The texture of the hulls also seems to feel funny on their paws. (Note: He urged me not to purchase the cocoa hulls IF I owned a dog, as it can be deadly for them if ingested.) So far I have had no problems with neighborhood cats digging in the beds. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I know the bed will become crowded, as many of the plants I included are known to take up a bit of space. I'm just hoping the plants play fairly and only push and shove one another a little bit. Also, I have an extra lemon cucumber and zucchini plant if anyone is interested.
Neat-o! I would love an update photo or two along the way. Noticed the date on this pic and thought how fun to see the progress!
ReplyDeleteOoh, I'm glad the nursery employee was able to help you find a solution to the cat problem. The cocoa hulls are WAY prettier than straw would have been. Probably less messy too. Let's hope the strong aroma is off-putting to toddlers as well. ;-)
ReplyDeleteSo far so good with the todds. *fingers crossed* I noticed a trail of slime left by a snail this morning....have you any tips for those?
ReplyDeleteYes! Sluggo. Biodegradable, safe for pets and wildlife, deadly for slugs and snails. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.biconet.com/crawlers/sluggo.html
It was recommended to us in our organic gardening class and we bought it at Green Acres.
"Iron phosphate baits are sold under several brands including Sluggo by Monterey; Lilly Miller Worry Free-Ferramol, Garden Safe Slug & Snail Bait, Bayer Dual Action Snail & Slug Killer Bait, and Bonide Slug Magic. Most garden centers will cary at least one of these brands. Each of these brands is equally effective."
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I just purchsed the Lilly Miller Worry-Free one at Lowes last week...I'll go ahead and start using it! Thanks again, lady!
Great! :)
ReplyDelete